AVM may not be a household name in the US, but this German audio company has been around for a while (established in 1986) and its audio products have been well recognized in Europe. In the US, Bluebird Music has picked up the distribution of the AVM products since last year.The craftsmanship that goes into the construction of the A5.2 is impeccable. You can get a sense of meticulous and tight craftsmanship when lifting the product.A long break-in time seemed to be what the product really needed as I got a totally different listening impression after the sufficiently long break-in time. Gone was the cast of doubt of whether or not the A5.2 would be able to churn out commensurate performance. Instead, the A5.2 comfortably displayed a sonic performance that met my high expectation with its high-quality sonic delivery.The A5.2 never lost its composure even when it was pushed to a high volume level, a testament to the quality of its onboard amplifier. The A5.2 always presented the music with a high degree of clarity and transparency. It was very resolving in its conveyance of details without being bright. I expected a bit of warmth in the sonic character of the A5.2 with the presence of the tubes in there, but I could not be more wrong in this case. The sonic character of the A5.2 was as neutral as it could be.The musical elements of the A5.2 sonic delivery sounded full-bodied and gave me the impression that the delivery was as true as it could be to the recording with no extra bass hump or midrange nasality or treble tizziness that might clutter the interwoven notes in the music.The A5.2 was also a standout in imaging. In my system, it was able to image effortlessly and portrayed a highly palpable musical stage. In fact, the palpability of its musical presentation was among the best that I had ever experienced in my system. For audiophiles who value this aspect of sound reproduction, this alone may be enough to justify its price of admission.If you are a headphone aficionado, you would be happy to know that the headphone function of the A5.2 is not just a feature of convenience. In fact, I could say that the sound quality from its headphone output was among the best I have heard from the various components that have gone through my review bench.Everything about the Evolution A5.2 integrated amplifier screams quality, from its elegant look to its excellent build quality and finish. The sonic performance of the A5.2 convincingly exceeded my high expectations. The A5.2 produced natural and detailed sound, and its ability to present the musical stage with a high degree of palpability was second to none. It is very adept in expressing the musical rhythm and pace that could indulge listeners vividly in the emotion of the music.If the AVM 5.2 is within your budget, I highly recommend giving it a listen, especially if you are looking for a high-end integrated amplifier that can potentially offer you music listening bliss.Yonki Go, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, October 2022
Winner Best Integrated Amplifier of 2022
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