AudioSource Amp One/A 160-Watt Stereo Power Amplifier with Internal Bridging
By: AudioSource Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 13
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 On: 2008-04-27
I have looked for a while for a affordable mono amp that was not short on power. This amp provided the solution through its bridging switch. The stereo mode is 80 watts per channel. This amp has 200 watts at 8 ohms bridged this allowed me to put a effective amp for my sixth and rear speaker. I am running kef iqs speakers and they demand good clean power and if you dont put enough power into them you can clip them. Clipping occurs when you turn up a speaker and the amp cannot provide the power they need. So running a speaker with not enough power is a far greater risk to it than having a more powerful amplifier run a speaker. I am using a Sunfire amp to run the other five speakers and that is a expensive 5 channel amp. Still Audio Source should be applauded for giving people a inexpensive amp that performs very well as a mono amp with 200 watts power. A buyer at this price cannot complain that the amp doesnt have internal circuits that detect and turn on and off the amp when a signal comes in like a high grade amp either. You must manually turn on the amp and set a baaic volume control on the right control knob. You dont have to set the volume control everytime however. It depends on how loud you want your speaker. But thats a small price to pay for a great little amp that can run a kef center speaker and do it well for this price. I wouldnt be afraid to run a much more expensive speaker that needs 200 watts or less on this amp either. However if you have a speaker that needs more than 200 watts then I think you are better served with a higher wattage amp. Audio Source has a few of these at decent prices. And if you have big bucks you can go for a high grade amp but In these troubled economic times many of us may not be able to spend alot on amps anymore; so this may be a good solution for your home theater mono amp needs. I do not recommend using any but a much more powerful amp on a 4 ohm speaker. Most speakers are run at 8 ohms but some arent so I would check your speaker first before buying this amp.
On: 2007-11-26
This is actually a review for the AmpOne (not the /A version). This one is the same specs, except it has output meters (and x10 sensitivity), dual switchable speaker outs, and a soft-clip circuit.
I have been very impressed. I picked mine up off of Craigslist. I had to replace the meter lights and re-epoxy the meter scales in place in the meters. Otherwise, the build quality was very nice. Heavy toroidal transformer and discrete output transistors. It runs cool to the touch, amd has very adequate heatsinking. Bias and dc-offset was spot on, even after probably 10-15 years.
This thing has well exceeded my expectations. I currently use it to drive a pair of Klipsch KG4s and it will run me out of the room if I want to push it hard. And at much lower volumes, this amp never loses composure. It also drove a pair of a/d/s L-1290/2s in stereo and also was pressed into center channel duty in bridged mode. I have never had the protection engage and the soft-clip gives me some peace of mind with kids in the house.
Highly recommended
On: 2007-11-25
This is actually a review for the AmpOne (not the /A version). This one is the same specs, except it has output meters (and x10 sensitivity), dual switchable speaker outs, and a soft-clip circuit.
I have been very impressed. I picked mine up off of Craigslist. I had to replace the meter lights and re-epoxy the meter scales in place in the meters. Otherwise, the build quality was very nice. Heavy toroidal transformer and discrete output transistors. It runs cool to the touch, amd has very adequate heatsinking. Bias and dc-offset was spot on, even after probably 10-15 years.
This thing has well exceeded my expectations. I currently use it to drive a pair of Klipsch KG4s and it will run me out of the room if I want to push it hard. And at much lower volumes, this amp never loses composure. It also drove a pair of a/d/s L-1290/2s in stereo and also was pressed into center channel duty in bridged mode. I have never had the protection engage and the soft-clip gives me some peace of mind with kids in the house.
Highly recommended
 On: 2007-10-30
These work great in bridged (mono) mode. I ran three across the front of my home theaters in mono mode (one for each of my three front speakers). They did great. However, you do have to manually power each one up and down with the button on the front. Not a huge deal, but it adds to the steps one must take. I took them out of my theater, only b/c my receiver does a good job by itself and I did not have room for any more plugs in a new (old) house we bought.
On: 2007-10-30
These work great in bridged (mono) mode. I ran three across the front of my home theaters in mono mode (one for each of my three front speakers). They did great. However, you do have to manually power each one up and down with the button on the front. Not a huge deal, but it adds to the steps one must take. I took them out of my theater, only b/c my receiver does a good job by itself and I did not have room for any more plugs in a new (old) house we bought.
 On: 2007-05-12
We purchased this amplifier to drive a 5-ohm load based on the manufacturers claim of a low impedance 4-ohm capability. The unit arrived dead out of the box. Amazon promptly credited us and provided a return label. We purchased an identical amplifier locally because of time constraints. When connected to the 5-ohm load it worked but got extremely hot and we shut it down. We double checked the ohm load and it was 5-ohms. We returned the amp and purchased a completely different amp in slightly higher price range from a different manufacturer. The new amp worked fine. The audiosource is OK for a basic, small 8-ohm load and does not have the low impedance characteristics advertised by the manufacturer.
On: 2007-04-14
I have owned two of these amps for almost a year now and I am very fond of them. I have four bookshelf speakers that were being power by a stereo receiver. This stereo receiver bragged that it produced 100 Watts per channel for four channel. So, supposedly each of my speakers was getting 100 Watts of power. However, power in the audio industry is not well defined. Believe me as I am a physicist, they are pretty wacky in the audio business. To calculate power, one uses the formula Power=V^2/R, where V is the RMS voltage and R is the resistance of the circuit or load. Sorry this is getting a bit technical, but the moral of the story is the audio industry feels free to choose R at will. This means they can claim any power. The sad thing is it is legal to so do. Anyway, back to the review. I bought two of these amps to power my four speaker. That means I am running 80 Watts into each speaker. This should be quieter than my old receiver, but it is not. It is much louder because these amps actually put out a real 160 Watts as opposed to my old stereo receiver which most likely put out 50 Watts per channel.
Also, the signal to noise seems excellent. These are the first amps I have owned where if I run a clean signal in and turn the volume all the way up, I do not hear a hiss coming out of my speakers. In fact, they recommend that one keeps the amps turned all the way up at all times and simply adjust the input signal volume. This is what I do an it works well. I am very satisfied this this product.
On: 2006-11-10
This is a top rated audio component. Price was equal to the lowest I could find online. Delivery was as promised (actually a day early). I chose Amazon for this transaction because of past experience and reputation.
Regards, Dave
On: 2006-11-09
This is a top rated audio component. Price was equal to the lowest I could find online. Delivery was as promised (actually a day early). I chose Amazon for this transaction because of past experience and reputation.
Regards, Dave
On: 2004-12-12
I have been an audiophile since I was a teen (over 20 years), having owned some truly high end amplifiers like Bryston, Audio Research, and currently in my main system, a McIntosh MC162. All phenomenal amps. I also happen to own an AudioSource AmpTwo and an AmpOne, both superb amps for the money. The only difference with the AmpTwo, is that it has left and right channel lit VU meters that measure watts output and headroom in db units. Very cool indeed! Other than this, the AmpOne is identical to the AmpTwo. The AmpOne is set up in my home office connected to higher end equipment like Parasound and a Denon HDCD player. My speakers are the very venerable and respected bookshelf horn speakers, the JBL HLS-610, which is very well balanced and revealing of source material and equipment. And lastly, I run fairly expensive StraightWire interconnect cables between my components. That said, I have been blown away by the quality and neutral sound of this amplifier! The amp sounds detailed, accurate, warm, sweet, and powerful - attributes usually found in more expensive high end amplifiers as mentioned above, usually costing thousands of dollars! Quite an amazing feat for this solid little affordable AudioSource that satisfies even high demand audiophile ears like mine. Moreover, I have tested the AmpOne and AmpTwo while driving difficult power hungry loads, such as Magneplanar 4 ohm speakers, and they performed beyond my expectations. Kudos to AudioSource for providing one of the truly best bang for the buck deals in stereo amplification out there! I highly, HIGHLY recommend this product.
On: 2004-12-11
I have been an audiophile since I was a teen (over 20 years), having owned some truly high end amplifiers like Bryston, Audio Research, and currently in my main system, a McIntosh MC162. All phenomenal amps. I also happen to own an AudioSource AmpTwo and an AmpOne, both superb amps for the money. The only difference with the AmpTwo, is that it has left and right channel lit VU meters that measure watts output and headroom in db units. Very cool indeed! Other than this, the AmpOne is identical to the AmpTwo. The AmpOne is set up in my home office connected to higher end equipment like Parasound and a Denon HDCD player. My speakers are the very venerable and respected bookshelf horn speakers, the JBL HLS-610, which is very well balanced and revealing of source material and equipment. And lastly, I run fairly expensive StraightWire interconnect cables between my components. That said, I have been blown away by the quality and neutral sound of this amplifier! The amp sounds detailed, accurate, warm, sweet, and powerful - attributes usually found in more expensive high end amplifiers as mentioned above, usually costing thousands of dollars! Quite an amazing feat for this solid little affordable AudioSource that satisfies even high demand audiophile ears like mine. Moreover, I have tested the AmpOne and AmpTwo while driving difficult power hungry loads, such as Magneplanar 4 ohm speakers, and they performed beyond my expectations. Kudos to AudioSource for providing one of the truly best bang for the buck deals in stereo amplification out there! I highly, HIGHLY recommend this product.
On: 2003-07-23
very flat sounding. im tired of people comparing other amps and thinking they are better for one reason or another.. but thats consumer audio for you... the goal should be to have flat sound that is as true to the origional recording as possible.at any rate, this amp doesnt stray much in frequency response across the spectrum, has practically no noise (most notably, you can turn it up all the way with no audible hiss at all) and very low harmonic distorion. the only real downside to this amp (for this price.. or mabye even a much higher price) is that it would have a pretty hard time driving some of the bigger floorstanding speakers.. but if you have a good subwoofer, who cares, right?
On: 2003-06-19
I bought 2 AudioSource Amp One/As and am running them as monoblocks to drive my front L/R speakers. The difference in sound quality over my Marantz SR-5300 (brand new) is quite stunning. The sound stage sounds much wider and deeper, and even the most delicate note can be clearly heard. Im using the Marantz as a preamp to drive the AudioSource amps, BTW. With the ASs taking the load of the front speakers, the Marantzs dynamics and clarity have also improved dramatically with multi-channel recordings since its now only handling the center and surround speakers.Id recommend buying a pair of these to anyone who has a low-mid priced home theater receiver with preamp outs. The difference is quite extraordinary. I now understand why people spend thousands of $ on monoblock amps. I also tried running the ASs stereo mode, driving Front L/R, Center and Center Surround speakers. The sound was not as dynamic or clear using them this way, though movie soundtracks sounded dramatically better (the Marantz was now doing even less). Im more of a 2 channel music buff who happens to love multi-channel movies, so Im sticking with the 2 monoblock approach. Eventually, I may purchase additional AS Amp ones to drive my other speakers... OK - I guess its obvious Im really happy with this product. Try it for yourself, you wont be disappointed. Its the cheapest way to get a monoblock amp without spending alot more, or dealing with equipment with noisy cooling fans!
On: 2003-06-18
I bought 2 AudioSource Amp One/As and am running them as monoblocks to drive my front L/R speakers. The difference in sound quality over my Marantz SR-5300 (brand new) is quite stunning. The sound stage sounds much wider and deeper, and even the most delicate note can be clearly heard. Im using the Marantz as a preamp to drive the AudioSource amps, BTW. With the ASs taking the load of the front speakers, the Marantzs dynamics and clarity have also improved dramatically with multi-channel recordings since its now only handling the center and surround speakers.Id recommend buying a pair of these to anyone who has a low-mid priced home theater receiver with preamp outs. The difference is quite extraordinary. I now understand why people spend thousands of $ on monoblock amps. I also tried running the ASs stereo mode, driving Front L/R, Center and Center Surround speakers. The sound was not as dynamic or clear using them this way, though movie soundtracks sounded dramatically better (the Marantz was now doing even less). Im more of a 2 channel music buff who happens to love multi-channel movies, so Im sticking with the 2 monoblock approach. Eventually, I may purchase additional AS Amp ones to drive my other speakers... OK - I guess its obvious Im really happy with this product. Try it for yourself, you wont be disappointed. Its the cheapest way to get a monoblock amp without spending alot more, or dealing with equipment with noisy cooling fans!
On: 2003-01-24
The sound quality of this amp is much cleaner than any of the "consumer grade" stuff I own. The amp is a little short on power but an excellent piece of equipment for the price.
Update:
Ive owned this amp for several years now and it has developed a little bit of a humm. This is not noticeable unless your right next to it. Im now using a radio shack mixer as a preamp and and no longer find the amp "A little short on power"
by: Anonymous On: 2002-05-09
Very happy with unit, it drives my AR302s effortlessly. Using a Marantz preamp,and Denon CD player. Clean sound, good detail. Plenty of power in mono-mode to drive my 15" subwoofer. Would buy again.
by: Anonymous On: 2002-05-06
Very pleased with amp. It sounds clean and clear, plenty of power. Using amp with marantz preamp and JBL L-150A speakers. A good unit for the price.
 On: 2001-07-13
The sound from the Audio Source Amp One/A was fuzzy and unclear, when compared to my old Audio Research SP4. I also made a comparison with a Yamaha intergated amplifer model AX-596. The Yamaha also sounded more clear and distinct than the Audio Source. I returned the Audio Source for a refund. Speakers used for the test were NHT super zeros, with a powered NHT sub woofer. I feel the NHT speakers are the best part of my audio system.
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