Audionet WATT Integrated Amplifier

Audionet has been making bespoke, high performance audio gear for decades, and I have been lucky enough to audition their streamers and amps over the years, and I have heard full Audionet systems at HiFi shows, always coming away impressed. Of course, the German manufacturer’s products have always been out of my budget, but they certainly have a loyal customer base that pushes them to innovate.

My first introduction to Audionet was back when I first got involved in networked audio, ripping my CD collection to FLAC, and using low cost streamers like the Logitech Squeezebox. I used the free Audionet DLNA iPad app to control playback on my devices and it worked flawlessly. They were one of the first HiFi companies to offer a complimentary app that worked with a variety of hardware.

Of course, Audionet’s main business is designing high end “Machines” as they call them, including streamers, DACs, CD players, preamplifiers, integrated and power amps, and phono preamps. Also offered are accessories like power cords, and LAN cables. They also still provide apps on their website, for room correction and music library management.

We received Audionet’s WATT integrated amplifier in for evaluation, and it is a beast. It weighs in at 25 Kilograms / 55 Lbs. The basic specifications are 167 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and 284 watts per channel into 4 ohms. There are user programmable balanced and unbalanced inputs, a remote control, and an optional phono stage board. This uber machine offers over the top build quality and precision workmanship. The volume knob has an immaculately precise feel, with approximately eighty volume steps, and the entire package gives off the vibe of a turbo charged Porsche 911.

The WATT costs $18,000, with an additional cost of $1000 for the phono module. Our review sample arrived sans phono stage, so we used our own stand alone Rega MC phono preamp. The WATT is definitely a showpiece, and when in operation, an orange glow emanates from the ventilated top panel. The amp is dual mono in design, and Audionet designs and manufactures most of the components in the WATT them selves.

Set Up & Listening:

The Audionet WATT is a backbreaker, the massive power supply and other high grade components contributing to it’s heft. So with care it was installed on a shelf in our rack. We used an Audio Art Cable power cord, and a Symposium Svelte Shelf to maximize performance. Our sources were a Bryston BDA-3 DAC, a Sonore microRendu streamer, and a Rega Planar 8 turntable. The amp drove Magnepan 1.7i speakers, and signal cabling was a mix of Black Cat and Audio Art. We left the unit on 24/7 for best on demand performance potential.

We went on to stream and spin countless albums during the review period, making sure to sample many different genres and recording vintages. We started out with a bunch of Donovan albums, including Fairytale, A Gift From A Flower to a Garden, and Sunshine Superman, all remastered for CD quite nicely, Donovan’s voice is one of the purest ever recorded during his 60’s heyday, and the WATT presented this purity with amazing finesse. The same applies to the Scottish born troubadour;s guitar style, which was folky yet bluesy as well. It was easy to hear the wood and steel of his guitars and the timing was impeccable on such tracks as “Hey Gyp”. and “Jennifer Juniper” Through the WATT, all of the mix treatments of the time period were wonderfully on display.

We then transitioned to rips of recent SACD acquisitions, Mobile Fidelity’s DSD remasters of the Eagles first four albums. We ordered these discs with great anticipation, and they lived up to the billing. They essentially sounded like LPs without surface noise and wow and flutter! Long time favorites like “Take it Easy, “Desperado” “One Of These Nights”, and “Already Gone” sounded fresh and vibrant, with the WATT explicitly laying out a wide and smooth soundstage, as well as little nuances in the mixes that previous digital versions cannot match, at least to our ears.

Switching gears to some wonderful contemporary recordings, we started with the Brendan Eder Ensemble’s Cape Cod Cottage. The 24 bit download sounds terrific, and the music is a spell binding mix of pastoral jazz and elegant lounge, with eloquent melodicism The saxophone, flute, and and percussive elements had tremendous body via the WATT, and the amp was able to provide an atmosphere very reflective of the album title.

A new artist discovery from Bandcamp, UK based Katie Spencer, also makes pastoral music, but based on classic British folk rock. Her album The Edge Of The Land, is enchanting, with spellbinding arrangements. The WATT framed this music so divinely, one could picture a seaside cottage on the English shore. Her vocals, guitar, and virtually all acoustic instrumentation were finely fillagreed, with tasteful touches like flugehorn and steinway piano had beautiful body and texture.

Moving on to a stack of vinyl we had on deck, we pulled out original pressings of some of Joni Mitchell’s early albums, including Ladies Of The Canyon, Blue, For The Roses, and The Hissing Of Summer Lawns. These mint original Reprise pressings were mesmerizing through the WATT, with the most pleasing and magical balance we have experienced with these albums. Hearing Mitchell sing some of her most iconic songs like “Woodstock”, “River”, “Woman of Heart And Mind” was really thrilling, and it was easy to hear how influential she was on generations of performers to come.

We then got tremendous enjoyment from some of Miles Davis’s late 60’s more abstract recordings, including early Colombia pressings of Nefertiti, MIles In The Sky, and Filles de Killamonjaro, These albums were groundbreaking, with Davis tastefully incorporating subtle rock flourishes, and going into a clear experimental direction. The WATT did a spectacular job of presenting the avant-garde edge of this music, and providing extremely well defined spacing, and correctly rendering the tonality of the soloists.

Comparing the recently reviewed Mola Mola Kula integrated to the Audionet WATT makes perfect sense. However that superb amplifier has been gone for several months, so we can only work from memory. Both amps are in the same price range, but the Kula does offer a world class DAC/streamer board option that is Roon Ready,

They both offer state of the art, just through a slightly different lens. The biggest difference was the Kula may have a smidgen more lushness in the midrange, and a slightly rounder bass presentation. The Audionet may have a slightly wider and soundstage. But the differences are relatively small, it would come down to listener choice and feature set.

Conclusion:

Quite frankly, the Audionet WATT integrated amplifier is a stunning piece of audio engineering and industrial design. I tried to find flaws in it’s sonic performance, to no avail. I did not get a chance to evaluate the optional phono board, but if it is on par with the amplifier, it is worth the additional grand.

The final words we can muster about the Audionet WATT is that it is a gentle giant. It has muscle to spare, but distills it’s arsenal elegantly, using velvet gloves when needed, and bringing down the hammer when called upon to do so. In other words, it offers power and grace. The Audionet WATT is true classic.

Audionet WATT Integrated Amplifier

Price: $18,800
+ $1000 for optional phono module

Audionet
http://en.audionet.de/

U.S. Distributor

GTT Audio
356 Naughright Rd.
Long Valley, NJ, 07853
USA
908.850.3092

AKRM

AUDIONET WATT INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER - REVIEW