The Integrated 1 also had a nice sense of openness and air around the treble that better conveyed the brasslike shimmer of decaying cymbals. The Linn had a trace of solid-state brittleness in the top end (though not in the mids) that put a hard sheen on cymbals and made sibilance a little more pronounced than in the tubed Anthem. Cymbals sounded less like chromium through the Anthem, although the tubed amplifier was a tad brighter than the Majik. Similarly, the Integrated 1 had a more natural rendering of treble textures. Although midrange timbres were a touch hard, they weren't coarse." The Rotel RA-970BX, and to a lesser extent the Majik-I, overlaid instrumental and vocal textures with a bit of fine grit, although I didn't find this musically objectionable. The Anthem was the best of the three integrated amplifiers in presenting grain-free textures. I would have never expected this to be the case, but the impression was consistent throughout the single-presentation listening and the matched-level comparisons. Acoustic guitar sounded more "metallic" through the Integrated 1 than through the Majik-I. I also heard this on Mighty Sam McClain's voice on his Give It Up to Love (AudioQuest AQ-CD1015). Herbie Hancock's piano on "Nevermind" had a bit of glare and hardness on the transient leading edges through the Integrated 1. Surprisingly, the Integrated 1's mids were a little hard and edgy in comparison with the Linn. You'd expect that the all-tube Integrated 1 would have a liquid midrange and sense of ease, particularly in comparison with the Majik-I, which uses an op-amp and IC output devices. Instrumental images were surrounded by air, rather than being portrayed as "cardboard cutouts." Image focus was less sharp than that of the Majik-I, but considering the Anthem's expansive window on the music, I didn't care. The Anthem threw a wonderfully spacious, open, and deep soundstage between and behind the loudspeakers. However, one area in which the Integrated 1 excelled was soundstaging. Despite the Integrated 1's more natural rendering of low-frequency timbre, I preferred the bass performance of the Linn and Rotel integrated amplifiers. The Anthem's sonic character tended to emphasis bass guitar and de-emphasize kickdrum. The Anthem's bottom end just lacked the solidity and drive of the solid-state amps, diluting the music's pace and rhythm. The Integrated 1's midbass warmth was nice on some recordings, but the lack of tautness, extension, and bass dynamics was a liability on most music. Nonetheless, the Integrated 1 lacked the bottom-end extension and power of the Linn Majik-1 and Rotel RB-970. The Linn Majik-I and Rotel RA-970BX, by comparison, were leaner and didn't have quite the roundness or realistic timbre of the Anthem. Stanley Clarke's fabulous playing on "Nevermind," from Airto Moreira and the Gods of Jazz (B&W Music BW041 also included on Stereophile's Test CD 3) highlighted the Integrated 1's wonderfully warm and rich bass. Acoustic bass was well served by the Integrated 1 it had a nice roundness and realistic timbre.
SONIC FRONTIERS SFC 1 FULL
The Anthem had a warm and full midbass, which I found pleasant on the two pairs of minimonitors. The amplifier didn't control the loudspeakers' woofers as well as its solid-state competitors did this led to a softish bass and reduced bottom-end extension. The Integrated 1's tubed design was apparent in the listening. By contrast, the Majik-I is based on an op-amp in the preamp stage and uses integrated output devices.
The all-tube Integrated 1 is a tweaky design with lots of high-quality parts and an emphasis on sound quality rather than convenience. The Anthem Integrated 1 couldn't be more different from the similarly priced Linn Majik-I integrated amplifier that I review elsewhere in this issue. Though the Integrated 1 doesn't have quite the parts pedigree of Sonic Frontiers' more expensive products, inside are found tweaky parts you wouldn't expect to see in a $1295 integrated amplifier: MIT and WIMA film- and metalized-polypropylene caps, Noble pots, Roderstein and Holco metal-film resistors, high-quality gold-plated RCA jacks, and Kimber internal wiring. Sonic Frontiers makes much of their use of expensive, top-grade components in their products.