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The amplifier is at the heart of any hi-fi system. It accepts signals from CD players, cassette decks, or other music sources, and amplifies them (go figure eh?) to drive the loudspeakers. Most common amplifiers are one-box "integrated" systems, and dominate the low-to-middle price range. If you go up the scale, you will start getting into the pre-amp and power amp market. Moving up further you will find preamps and power amps that process the low-level and high-level signals separately. If you have even more money, you can get a separate amp for each stereo channel; these boxes are known as monoblocks. For those of you who are not hardcore audio enthusiast, and don’t have thousands to spend on a high-end system, then integrated amplifiers are the way to go.
When shopping for an amplifier, you really have to demo the machine yourself rather than following the "opinions" of a salesperson. It is also dependent on personal music preference. If you like to rock n’ roll, then finding an amp equipped for producing powerful bass or handling low frequencies would be best suited for you. However, if you like classical or vocals, then an amp with good midrange transparency is better than an amp with lots of punch.
And that brings me to another point: output voltage means shit. Now, let's all say it. Output voltage means shit! Don’t let unsophisticated salespeople screw you into buying an amp with their mindless babble about numbers—"This one has 80W. That one has 100W." The finest amplifiers out there outputs at only 12W, but yield loudness aplenty when coupled with a pair of efficient speakers. What I'm getting at is that power bears no relevance to quality. So keep that in mind when you go out hi-fi hunting. A good thing to do when you're out demoing machines is to bring a few CDs that you like and are familiar so you can play them at the store. That way, when you're testing out different machines, you can get a feel for how each one sounds. It makes choosing the right amplifier for you a heck of a lot easier.
The Reviews
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NAD
310 Integrated Amplifier
NAD C320 Integrated
Amplifier