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Onkyo A-5VL A-5VL Integrated Stereo Amplifier |  | Brand: Onkyo
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
as of 9/9/2010 13:18 CDT details
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 51355
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 22.5
Dimensions (in): 13.4 x 17.1 x 3.1
MPN: A-5VL
Model: A-5VL
UPC: 751398008993
EAN: 0751398008993
ASIN: B002C73WR2
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | 40 W/Ch at 8 Ohms, 1 kHz, 2 Channels Driven, FTC | | • | Burr-Brown (PCM1796) 192 kHz/24-Bit D/A Converters | | • | 2 Digital Inputs (Optical and Coaxial) | | • | Bi-Amping Capability | | • | Compatible with RI (Remote Interactive) Dock for the iPod |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Beneath the A-5VL's slim and elegant exterior lies a surprising amount of amplification muscle. You might wonder how Onkyo managed to incorporate the functionality of a pre- and power amp into such a slender integrated package. The key is the A-5VL's extremely energy-efficient design. Because it produces much less heat than a typical amplifier, the A-5VL requires only a small heat sink. This leaves ample space for a range of precision-crafted audiophile-grade parts, such as specially audio-tuned capacitors and thick, low-impedance copper bus plates. The A-5VL employs Onkyo's exclusive VLSC technology to ensure a smooth, pulse noise-free signal during conversion from digital to analog. You'll enjoy precise and faithful reproduction of any audio source, whether it's a CD, a tuner, or a turntable. As the A-5VL is also compatible with Onkyo's optional RI (remote interactive) Docks for the iPod, you also have the convenience of controlling playback of your iPod via the amplifier's remote controller. Low-Impedance Copper Bus Plates for Perfect Ground Potential Optimum Gain Volume Control Circuitry Precision Motor-Driven Volume Control Tone Control (Bass/Treble On/Off) Balance Control (L/R) Discrete Phono Equalizer Circuitry (MM/MC) Direct Mode 4 Audio Inputs and 1 Output 2 Digital Inputs (Optical and Coaxial) 3/4 (19 mm)-Pitch Audio Terminals for High-Grade Cable Phono Input (MM/MC) Gold-Plated, Banana Plug-Compatible Transparent Speaker Posts Speaker A/B Drive Bi-Amping Capability Hi-Rigidity, Anti-Resonant Flat Chassis (1/16 [1.6 mm] Thick) Heavy-Duty Inlet Power Cord Aluminum Front Panel Headphone Jack Compatible with RI (Remote Interactive) Dock for the iPod
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| Customer Reviews:
 Here's an unbiased comparison...... February 20, 2010
Boilerbink (San francisco)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ok, so first off , let me say how excited I was about this product after reading reviews (especially E. Linder) as his explanation is exactly what I'm trying to accomplish myself. As I purchased a Wadia Itransport in December , I was waffling between buying a fairly high end DAC (Cambridge DacMagic ?) used with my current tube receiver Yamaha R-8 from the mid 80's (85 watts /channel) or an all-in-one Digital amplifier with a high quality built in DAC. This Onkyo seemed like it fell from heaven and was everything I wished for....... WELL, be careful what you wish for ! Initially I thought everything was perfect , but after extended listening my ears actually hurt and developed fatigue and the sound was registering as very shrill and harsh. For short bursts you just think that it's 'bright' and the highs being hidden by the Ipods internal DAC have finally been found.
OK, so I'm mid 40's and have had my ears blasted by concerts, walkman headphone abuse and overall city life destruction, BUT I know what I NEED to hear to be happy and let me say that I found it , the Peachtree Idecco !!!! I was able to demo a model at a high end audio store in town and was amazed at how much clearer , warmer and musical it sounded. Younger guys may feel that the Onkyo is perfectly fine, but at a thousand bucks for an Idecco Vs. 800-900 for the Wadia/Onkyo set up , it's just a no brainer! An all in one unit that has USB , Optical, Digital Coax, Pre amp out and line out connections!!
The guys at MusicLovers in San Francisco said that the Itransport is already obsolete!! It basically became a 400 dollar pass through box for the digital signal, and now other companies are working with Apple to get those rights too, but most are trying to integrate that digital signal into a sound delivery package as well!.Geez, that was fast . From state-of-the-art to gone in 60 days. So, I was able to return the Wadia and Onkyo and upgrade to the Idecco.
Should this have been an Idecco review?? I guess it is, but also, let me state that if you're younger , grew up solely in the CD/Ipod /Downloads, solid state era , the Onkyo amp will probably sound amazing to you.
My Ipod actually has 2000 converted Vinyl LP's using a Tascam CD recorder and played through the Idecco the music sounds as close to spinning the records on my Thorens platter as I can possibly hope for.
Bliss, finally.......... the best music station I could hope for , MY OWN . hahaha
Hit shuffle on the Pod and let 20,000 songs play on.... ;-)
Keep rockin' dudes
* another big plus of the Idecco , ONE remote that works the Ipod and controls the Amps main functions!!*
 Very musical - needs break-in January 8, 2010
Julien (Bloomfield, NJ USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Before you judge this amp, you must let it break-in for at least one week. It sounds very hard in the begining. But with time, the sound really smoothes out and the presentation becomes very musical.
I love this little amp. I bought it as a backup for my main system when one of my UcD400 modules failed in my power amp right before Christmas 2009. It is replacing an Aikido tube pre (using NOS 12SN7) and a Hypex UcD400 based dual mono Class D power amp. Both built and well tweaked by yours truly.
The Onkyo sound is very detailed and smooth. Very musical. It doesn't have quite the transparency, refinement and slam as my main components, but it is very enjoyable. At moderate volume its sound is very cohesive and natural with great imaging. Things start to fall apart if I push it too hard (by that I mean very loud), but for most listening situations, it works perfectly. I haven't tweaked this circuit yet, and I don't really feel the need. But I will try some Black Gate nonpolar caps to replace a few signal coupling caps in the circuit. That should help in the refinement department. And possibly some FRED diodes if it's easy enough.
I haven't tried the phono stage yet, but it looks well designed and very competent. No op-amps!
The built-in DAC is excellent. Somehow better than my main DAC for movies. But not quite as good for music as my AKM based DIY DAC (still very good though). But I have to do more critical listening for a definite conclusion. Who knows, I might use this amp as a DAC when my UcD module gets repaired.
Overall built quality is high inside and out. Sound is definitly audiophile quality. Excellent for movies in 2.1. My only complain is that the volume and source selector are hard to read. But the amp does look slick so I wouldn't change it.
A-5VL VS. A-9555 September 22, 2009
Marek Materka (New York, NY, USA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
After years of getting mixed result from multi-function receivers, I have decided to try a dedicated stereo amp to see if the music really sounds better. And it sure does. There are many brands out there but the real choice (testing the equipment) is quite limited. Since my favorite mid price brand (Harman Kardon) does not offer much in the integrated amp area, the focus shifted to another popular and easily available name -Onkyo. The A-9555 got pretty good marks, but there was very little information on its A-5VL successor available in September 2009. Thanks to generous return policy I got both models and tested them with two sets of headphones - Denon AHD 2000 and Sennheiser HD 800.
Staring with the newer A-5VL model, the moment I turned up the volume knob there was the "WOW" factor. I have never before experienced that excellent sound quality from a mid priced amp and instantly felt this is something to hold on to. However, after a while I have noticed that that the sound does have that sharp digital quality different from the "tube-like" softness and warmth I was looking for and found in its predecessor.
Thus, the A-9555 is a real winner here - sonically more realistic, with a wider sound stage and twice the (Watt) power coming at a lower price tag. I can honestly recommend this amp to anyone looking to boost the CD sound without spending thousands of your hard earned dollars.
Other observations:
1) Both receivers have very good headphone output, but they really lack quality phono input. An LP played with Technics 1200MK2 sounded more like a cd than vinyl record. Harman Kardon is I believe a better choice for analog media. It is clear that the Onkyo was primarily designed for digital media and that's were it really shines.
2) I did not test MP3's as I truly and absolutely despise any decrease in audio quality.
Makes outstanding centerpiece for an audiophile iPod system September 10, 2009
E. LINDER (New York, NY USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I purchased this amplifier because I wanted something better than even a high-end iPod dock (such as the Bowers & Wilkins Zepplin.) I wanted to use my iPod (actually iPhone 3GS) as the source for a small and mid-priced, but high-end audio system and I didn't want to sacrifice music quality or convenience. I also wanted something smaller than a full receiver that wouldn't stick out in my den/library that could accept a digital audio signal, which is almost impossible to find in a mini system, but this has it.
So here's what I did: I purchased the Wadia 170i Transport ($399) which is the only product on the market which can bypass the iPod/iPhone's internal digital audio converter and output a true digital audio output via a digital coaxial cable (it officially only support iPods, but my iPhone works fine). I plugged this digital coax cable output (included with the Wadia) into the Onkyo A-5VL ($599) and added a high quality pair of bookshelf speakers (Boston Acoustics for $600 a pair). So, it is a total of $1,600 for the whole system, but it is more flexible and MUCH, MUCH higher quality and better sounding than a B&W Zepplin or mini system and even cooler in its low profile, audiophile system approach.
When I play a recording from my iPhone (Apple lossless format is best) on this system, the sound is AMAZING and rivals even much higher priced and much larger systems. The sound is effortless and pure (especially with direct bypass of tone controls) and can be played very loudly without losing quality or becoming harsh. I listened to some songs I had listened to many, many times, on my existing mini system (and high end car system) and I heard many instruments in the background that I never noticed before, which is another true testament to high quality amplification. It is more expensive than mass market iPod capable systems, but is actually fairly cheap by audiophile standards and a very good value.
I love the simplicity, lack of flash and very high quality of this product. It's kind of a throwback to old stereo audio days of high quality separate components but easily it handles digital content. It really has only two functions: i) convert from digital to audio and ii) amplify the signal to drive speakers, but these are the only two functions I needed for my high end system it does these two things EXTREMELY well. It has a very high quality Burr-Brown DAC and a higher quality amplifier than found in the already very good Onkyo receivers. This amplifier is solid and weighs a lot for its small size due to its high quality components and thick copper plate. I feel like I spent my money on higher quality rather than features like surround sound, a tuner, etc that I did not need.
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