General Asylum: REVIEW: Music Reference RM200 Amplifier (Tube) by Matthew G.

I bought one of these amps used on the basis of the high praise of Pat McGintey, the designer of Meadowlark Speakers. As it turns out, when the designer of your speakers recommends an amp, it's good to listen. The RM200 is truly glorious to look at and hear. It's strength, as is usually the case with tube amps, is it's midrange. Clear, completely free of grain or glare (to my ears, at least) and very palpable. It does not have the holographic 3-dimensionality some people like, but I find that can sound artificial after a while. With this amp, you might not believe you at a live concert, but you probably will be too busy grooving to care. The bass is almost as impressive. The amp is actually a hybrid, with both transistors and tubes (the obscure and cheap 6BQ7a) in the input stage. This must be what gives it such impressive bass control. Bass is not quite as full or powerful as on the McCormack DNA 0.5 I owned before (I had them both for a while, so I was able to A/B test), but it is not weak in any way and is more realistic tonally and more detailed (like fingers on the bass strings, for instance) than on the McCormack. Highs sound natural and non-fatiguing, on good recordings at least. Perhaps most importantly, this amp is exceptionally transparent. Of all my components, it is the one that is easiest to foget is there. It puts out pretty much what you put into it, with a bit of added warmth and smoothness. Soundstage is very fluid. Musicians are put in a natural sounding space, rather than an exaggerated, artificial one; in other words, the music comes out more as a whole than with other amps I've heard. I am flabbergasted to have some Shearwater Hot Rods on the way, which should give a fuller sound and more clarity in the midrange. Incidentally, I bought the amp with EI KT90's (Type III) included. I've sinced switched to Svetlana KT-88's. The tubes do make a big difference in sound with this amp. Since the RM200 only uses for of them, it is not a huge risk to experiment with different tubes. When listening to CD's, I plug my DAC directly into the amp. Although, the Birdland DAC does not have balanced outs, I cannot hear any major flaws from using an adaptor. For vinyl, I use a Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 and a Plinius 12 (which does have balanced outputs). Switching cables on this amp is very easy.

REVIEW: Music Reference RM200 Amplifier (Tube) Review by Matthew G. at Audio Asylum