During my nearly 3 months of time spent listening to systems powered by the Orpheus Lab Absolute Integrated Amplifier A Four I200 I’ve come to understand that one of its standout qualities is elegance, a kind of gracefulness it imparted to every recording I asked it to amplify regardless of the speakers in play. To my way of listening this makes the Orpheus Lab Absolute a stand out integrated amplifier in a very crowded field.
Each time I sat down in front of a system with the Orpheus Lab Absolute Integrated I knew I was in for a certain kind of treat that was long on smooth, richly hued control, and that easy elegance that made music feel luxurious. Special in its sounds and ability to move moods.Basically a lot of music stops and starts to sort out and the Absolute Integrated seemed designed for the challenge. Dynamics are always on pace no matter the level or speed of the jolt, individual voices ring out with their natural voice, and the sound image is as vast as the recording permits with each element, no matter the size or level, perfectly defined within it. All of these sonic strengths suggest very low levels of self noise, so low they’re nonexistent for all intents and purposes, and plenty of fast, clean, clear power in reserve to maintain that lovely sense of ease even throughout the densest bits. Very nice.Piano will tell you many important things about your hifi and Alice Sara Ott playing hers here told me that the Absolute Integrated offers a crystal clear, refined, and wonderfully nuanced naturally voiced reproduction that rang out in Barn breaking down the emotional barriers between live and recording. It’s as if I could have reached out and inside to pluck a string. The sound image when string quartet and synthesizer join in was nicely dimensional but that standout silken quality made this music sound all the sweeter. This is the kind of reproduction that focuses one’s attention on the musicians not the hifi which is its ultimate goal to my mind.The sound of the Orpheus Lab Absolute Integrated Amplifier A Four I200 was entrancing and addicting no matter the speaker or music in play. Its standout qualities, the aspect of its performance I found the most appealing and unusual, was an almost liquid silken smoothness and ease that drew me into whatever music I was in the mood to enjoy and ingest. It has the power to drive any sensibly designed speaker and its build quality and appearance are first rate adding to the sheer pleasure of living with the Absolute Integrated these past few months.I find the entire Absolute Integrated package including the matching remote exudes a quiet elegance. I am a big fan of a sandblasted aluminum finish which captures light and turns it into a soft glow without showing a trace of every finger it has come in contact with. The soft blue backlit lyre logo is also a nice touch to my eyes. As you probably know Orpheus, according to Greek mythology, played a mean lyre capable of seducing people, animals, and stones (I did not make up that last one). There is also something quietly seductive about the Absolute Integrated’s appearance. To put it another way, it looks the part of a fine machine meant to make music.Michael Lavorgna, Twittering Machines, January 2026
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