Synthesis

Flying below the radar with no mass marketing, Synthesis builds audio gear that routinely trounces much more famous (and expensive) audio brands. It's the best sounding audio gear from a manufacturer you've likely never heard of. Synthesis components are individually crafted by artisans in Italy. Transformers are painstakingly hand-wound, as in the A40 Virtus integrated amplifier with a tube DAC, our best seller. And the A40V didn't rise to the top of our charts through reviews or advertising, but on the merits of its sound. Outfitted with KT66 vacuum tubes rather than more popular EL34, KT88, or 6550 models, the A40 Virtus sounds full, weighty, authoritative. It's a world-class amplifier at a surprisingly down to earth price. That level of quality and value permeates the entire Synthesis line, from the do-it-all Soprano through the powerful, dual-mono Metropolis series. And Synthesis provides customer service from another era. A true story, as related by Vu: "A customer purchased an A100 Titan amplifier and brought it back, saying there was a buzz. But we heard no buzz when we played it at the store. It turns out the customer had about 128 volts from the AC mains in his house, well above the normal level of 114 to 117 volts. We called Luigi Lorenzon at Synthesis for advice. Immediately, Luigi said, 'Please give me one month. I will wind a power transformer for him and you can swap it out.' I mean, who does that?" Synthesis does, apparently.