Xindak A600E 09 Version – Integrated Speaker Amplifier Review
After a good friend of mine highly recommended this amplifier and I hunted it for a while now, I finally managed to put my hands on this beast.
There is one thing I have to punctuate before I start this review. While I’m going to write another post dedicated to the following problem, I want to warn you here as well not to buy anything from the Chinese web store named cattylink, as it seems that they like to scam people.
Introduction and Specs
I already mentioned that Xindak A600 is a beast. You might wonder why I am saying this. Well, mainly because it has 53 kg and the following dimensions: 450*596*220 MM (W*D*H).
When it arrived with dhl at my building, I had to help the delivery guy in order to get xindak in my house, and it would have been funny if you’ve seen us carry the monster for 4 entire floors. After opening the package and finding a place for this huge amplifier, I took some time to catch my breath and to behold the beast.
I must say that it has an impressive and sturdy build quality and that my back hurt for 2 days.
Specifications
General:
- Can be used as a pure power amplifier
- Dual mono symmetrical current feedback amplification design
- Ultra high current output and stunning control power
- Tremendous 240000uF filtering capacitance for huge power supply
- Low inner resistance for perfect performance
- Great mechanical structure including purple copper heat sinkers
- Wide frequency response and high S/N ratio characteristics
- High stability, reliability and ultra long life
- 3 staged Darlington amplification circuit
- 1st stage: MJE350/MJE340; 2nd stage: MJE15031/MJE15030
- 8 pairs of high current Sanken 2SA1295/2SC3264 output transistors
- Specially made huge monster like toroidal transformer
- Peak current of each channel can reach 68A
- 4 pairs of gold plated speaker terminals for easy biwiring connections
Technical:
- FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 10Hz – 100Khz (-0.5db)
- TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION: <0.03% (30W, 1Khz, 8ohms)
- S/N RATIO: >95db (Unweighted)
- POWER OUTPUT (RMS): 160W x 2 (8ohms), 320W x 2 (4ohms)
- DAMPING FACTOR: 220
- DIMENSIONS: 450*596*220 MM (W*D*H)
- INPUT IMPEDANCE: 100Kohms
- NET WEIGHT OF THE AMPLIFIER: 53KG per set
All the specs are quite nice, but I was highly impressed by the peak current and the filtering capacitance. It is quite rare to see those values in amplifiers at this price. One more interesting thing to add is that Xindak A600E has 60W in pure Class A.
Listening Impressions and Tests
The tests were performed with MSB Analog DAC with quad usb, Schiit Yggdrasil, AG500 Power Regenerator, Audio Gd Master 10, Xindak A600 Integrated Amplifier , Piega Premium 5.2 Speakers.
When the song started I was almost like “please don’t hit me“. The attack on every pluck was like a mini explosion. The chords were full bodied as were the drum effect made by the artists when hitting the guitar body. The whole song was full of energy and PRAT leading to a head banging experience throughout the song. Besides that, I felt that the chords were detailed, effervescent & visceral.
Hugh Laurie – Battle of Jericho
The first thing I noticed was a big soundstage that let the instruments loose themselves in a big space, showing good spatial cues. Hugh’s voice was very present and textured playing throughout the vibrating instruments in the scene, instruments that behaved pretty much as I described in the first song with strong attack and extension. The song was very enjoyable, but when comparing to other amplifiers that I heard, especially with the ones from audio gd like precision 2 and master 10, while doing some stuff better, it didn’t have the same clarity, focus and instrument separation, but it did have more energy, impact, viscerality and soundstage depth.
I was mesmerized by the voice on this song. I was overwhelmed by the emotion and extension the voice presented. It also had a warmth that attached the body of the singer to the voice, bringing it closer to the real experience. Besides this, it also had a wonderful extension that showed any “tremble” the singer did on purpose to show more emotion. It was just wonderful.
Pink Floyd – Another Brick in the Wall ( Part 2 )
As expected the drums kicked in with incredible power and control giving an amazing PRAT and energy to the song. The voice was excellent with great body, texture and extension. It also showed great depth, as the voice lost itself in a deep and holographic stage. The electric guitars were very well extended and amazingly textured and visceral. The children chorus made me feel in a large concert hall as they were very well pinpointed in the back of the scene. I must say that the soundstage on this amplifier is great, showing great depth and holography.
The first thing I noticed on this song was the immersive soundstage with incredible depth and holographical experience. Another thing that I liked was that every piano note was sparkly and when the artist flooded the scene with a storm of very fast notes, xindak managed to reproduce that in a relaxed manner, showing good speed and instrument separation.
Vivaldi – Autumn – Allegro (La Caccia)
I ended up listening to the song twice and the whole album without managing to get myself to leave the couch. The explosive and visceral nature of xindak worked like a charm on this song as well. The cellos and all the lower bodied instruments were just amazing showing incredible vibration, pluck, texture and extension, vibrating full of energy. Besides this, xindak presents a very good amount of details, showing small sounds from the orchestra like the squeeking of a chair or the floor, a small cough in the background, etc. Combined with the holographic and immersive soundstage I already described above, it really manages to transport you in the concert hall, bringing you extremely close to the real deal.
Summary
Bass
The bass on xindak is one of the best I’ve heard in a speaker amplifier. It has an exploding attack, it can go very very deep and almost has the control of an iron hand. I would say that it has a little bumb in the mid bass region, giving more weight to the sound signature.
This might take it out of the neutral side, but I sincerely don’t care that much at this point, as this bass also gives incredible rythm and PRAT overall to the songs.
Mids
The mids are another very strong point of this amplifier. Every instrument and voice sound full bodied, rich, well textured and very detailed.
Treble
The treble is not something that drew my attention like the mids or bass sections. It is detailed, sparkly when needed, but I’ve heard amplifiers that offer a cleaner, airier and more detailed treble section.
Transients
The attack on xindak is like a mini explosion and I do mean that. If you look at the specifications, this amp should have incredible swing power and I must confirm that 100%.
I look at xindak, I listen to it and when I think of the transient attack, my mind immediately pictures Mike Tyson’s punch power. Xindak is just a beast when it comes to raw power. The decay is fast but they leave the notes to vanish in a natural manner.
Voices
The voices are mesmerizing as well. What I absolutely love about them on xindak is that they present the emotion that the singers want to transmit in a very touching manner. They are full bodied with great presence.
They are not just voices, as xindak attaches the body of the singers to it, bringing them closer to reality or live experience. They also present very detailed and raw textures.
Visceral
There are times when xindak offers a thundering experience. I’ll give you two simple examples: electric guitar and cello. They both have a vibration so full bodied, well textured, detailed, accompanied by an exploding attack, control & energy that sometimes leads to visceral and energetic sound experience even on classical music.
Soundstage
Xindak has one of the most impressive soundstage I’ve ever heard on a speaker amplifier. There are 2 things that impress me the most here: depth, holography. Every sound is very well positioned in space, and this space is quite big, especially in depth.
This is why, xindak can put you right in the middle of the concert hole, bringing you very close to the real experience.
PRAT and Energy
I might have mentioned this before, but I need to punctuate this quality once more. The awesome control, exploding attack accompanied by a fast decay, viscerality and vibrating textures, lead to a very energetic and head banging sound experience. I just cannot stop myself from tapping along.
Compared to Audio Gd Master 10 2015 Edition
Bass
The bass has quite a different presentation. They both are great in this area, but Xindak has a stronger punch, while M10 hits swifter and faster. Both have excellent control, but m10 is a little better focus. While Xindak has a little more mid bass, M10 has a more present sub bass.
Overall, Master 10 is more neutral than Xindak. I think that overall Xindak impresses more with it’s incredible punch power.
Mids
Both have great mids but in different ways. Xindak has full bodied, rich and very present mids, while Master 10 has a cleaner and slightly more detailed midrange.
Treble
This is the section where Master 10 clearly wins the match. The treble is considerably more detailed and cleaner with more sparkle and energy, without getting to be too harsh or annoying.
Voices
This turns out to be a very interesting comparison. Again, both amplifiers are great in this section as well. The voices on Xindak are more present, thicker and a little brought in front compared to Master 10. They can be a little more emotional than the ones on Master 10 because of this.
What I love about Master 10 is the extremely transparent and clean manner it presents the voices. While they don’t quite have the body they have on Xindak and they are not as upfront, they are still very present in the scene through the amazing transparency / cleanliness and focus.
Soundstage
This is a tough point. As I described earlier, Xindak is great in this area and has better depth and overall holography than Master 10. I feel that the sounds are better positioned in depth on Xindak giving a better impression of the scene and the position of the instruments overall.
However, Master 10 still has something up its sleeve. Because of its very clean sound signature and treble, it has a taller and airier soundstage and sometimes the sound seems to open up when listening to Master 10 after Xindak because of this.
While the soundstage is not as big, especially in depth, Master 10 has better instrument separation and focus, but this belongs to the next section.
Imaging, Instrument Separation & Layering
Let me put it this way: Xindak has great layering while Master 10 has great instrument separation / imaging.
Xindak gives a little more space between the layers, especially in depth, while Master 10 has better focus around each sound, clearer leading edges compared to fuzzier / smokier edges on xindak.
Transients
Overall the transients on Master 10 are faster, but not as explosive as they are on Xindak. In a way think of Jet Lee vs Mike Tyson, where Jet Lee is Master 10.
It’s hard to pick a winner here as both have their strengths, but I can say that sometimes Xindak is more fun because of this, while Master 10 is more accurate.
Viscerality and Energy
They are both energetic amplifiers but Master 10 is more relaxed and it’s not as visceral sounding as Xindak. Master 10 is a little more refined, but doesn’t have the same energy in the vibration of cello cords or electric guitars.
Dynamic Range
When it comes to dynamic range, Master 10 is the clear winner as it does the transition faster and better than xindak.
With Master 10 I almost fell off the couch when I was listening to an opera song where the singer suddenly rose from very low to very high.
Not only it was considerably higher on Master 10 than on Xindak, but it also handled the higher part cleaner, in a more transparent and detailed manner.
Transparency / Clean sound signature
This is where Master 10 truly excels. As with the 2 other amplifiers I’ve tested from Audio Gd (Master 9 and Precision 2), Master 10 is incredible when it comes to transparency.
Considering that Bucharest is going through a quite summer right now, Master 10 is like a fresh and cold drink of crisp water. The sound is flowing like a clean mountain river.
I don’t know if you noticed until now, but I am a clean sound nut and Master 10 is right on my alley!
Pros for Xindak compared to Master 10:
- Amazing bass punch with excellent control
- Richer, full bodied mids
- More emotional voices
- Stronger transient attack
- More energetic and visceral sounding
- Deeper and more holographic soundstage with better layering
Pros for Master 10 compared to Xindak:
- Slightly better control on bass
- Cleaner and slightly more detailed midrange
- Faster and more accurate transients
- Better extended, cleaner treble
- Better instrument separation and focus
- More transparent / Cleaner sound
- Better Dynamic Range
Comparison Conclusions
As you might already gathered from the comparison, both amplifiers have their strong points and it might just be a matter of taste in choosing one over the other.
I for example, ended up liking Master 10 more for the incredible clarity it is capable of, but I will miss the energy and explosive attack xindak has.
Conclusions
As you may already suspect, I love this amplifier. It is a beast in size / weight, but also sound wise.
It has incredible swing power which truly translates into an explosive and energetic sound signature, but I’m not going to get in all the details again.
The conclusion is that Xindak A600 (09 version) is one of the best speaker amplifiers I’ve heard and it offers incredible sound for the price.
Pros
- Excellent bass with amazing punch and control
- Rich and full bodied midrange
- Excellent voices full of emotion with excellent textures and presence
- Excellent transients with explosive attack and fast but natural decay
- Visceral and energetic sound signature
- Immersive soundstage with excellent depth and holographical experience
- Good imaging, instrument separation and layering
- Very good details
- Excellent build quality
Cons
- The size and weight could be a problem when needed to be moved around. Also some handles on the case would have been very helpful. It’s very hard to get a good grip when moving it.
- The treble could use more clarity and extension
- Would be nice if it had a little cleaner sound