[Mariusz]

Those who loved the Maverick DAC headphone output stage will really like what A1 can do for your cans. A real contender. If headphone amp was all that you were getting with A1 for $199, it would still be worth its asking price. 

[djn]

I wish Ryan would build just an amp to match with my D1.  I don't need all the stuff the A1 has and the money saved could be spent on higher quality of the amp itself.

If it weren't for the HUGE jump in volume on the D1, I'd say it is the best money I've ever spent.

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I apologize for being so late to post my impressions of the Maverick Hybrid amp. I hooked it up to my Arcam CD 72 player and Silverline Minuet speakers and listened intensely to a wide range of music for many days. Bluegrass, blues, R&B, classical, rock and roll, jazz, etc. My usual amp is an Adcom GFA 535.

I'm just an aspiring audiophile and don't know all the jargon or the best ways to evaluate gear. But the Maverick made music sound quite real, well timed and clear. The overall sound, because of the tubes, I guess, was what I can only term more relaxed than my Adcom. Less fatiguing up and down the range. The horns on Miles Davis or Brubek recordings sounded gorgeous, laid back and rich.

Overall, I think this is a really fine piece of equipment at a great price. The design and workmanship were clean and first rate. If space is an issue for your system, this is a great integrated amp to have. My personal preference is for more than 20 watts per channel to have adequate headroom.

A big thank you to Mariusz for letting me use this.

[eclein]

I have had the A1 for about a week and listened with it powering my JBL-4312A Control Monitors and while the sound quality is fine and very crisp and golden like tubes the unit is just underpowered. It gets plenty loud and sounds good but just doesn't have the headroom that my Virtue TWO.2 has. No balls, I keep thinking it needs 10-20 more watts...if the power was doubled in the future I'd like to hear the new unit then. I have yet to try it as a headphone only configuration and plan on doing so this weekend. The build quality is excellent, the sound is excellent but it just seems to be anemic to me. All the time I was listening I kept thinking to myself the TWO.2 just has more  energy behind it ready to pounce, these units are on the right track I think...I'll post more after some headphone listening.

[Mariusz]

Thanks for feedback guys. 
This amp is still available for audition for those interested in cheap and cheerful tube-hybrid amp from Maverick Audio.
One of the units is in PA and other one is in NY area.

[ltr317]

First, thanks a lot to Mariusz and to Maverick for making the tour possible.  I listened to the Maverick A1 amp for a couple of hours each day in the span of a week and a half.
   
I was curious about this inexpensive integrated amp since I already own Maverick’s companion D1 dac, which I’m mostly using as a headphone amp and backup preamp/dac.  So what do you get for your greenbacks?  Well, in terms of versatility, a lot.  Like the D1 dac, the amp has a volume control so you can use it as a preamp with its tube output.  Another feature common to both the D1 and A1 is a headphone amp, and this is fed by two 6J1 (6AK5) tubes in the input stage in the A1.  However, the D1’s headphone amp is not fed by its 5670 (396a/2C51) tube.  It is a consideration if a potential buyer is interested in buying one or the other for the headphone amp: tube or not tube.  The amp looks like it shares the same chassis and case as its companion dac.  As for the amp section, according to the Maverick website, it is an A/B transistor circuit.  The signal passes through the tube stage initially and then on to the solid state circuit.  Whether this is a tube buffer or direct tube input stage I don’t know.  Since this is a loaner, I didn’t want to open the case up and risk scratching it.  And I don’t see anything on their website to indicate one or the other.   Perhaps someone who owns the A1 and has already opened the case with itchy fingers can let the curious know.
 
I connected the Maverick A1 to my D1 dac, using the latter as both a preamp and dac; while my OppO 970 was used as a transport.  At first, I alternated using the tube and solid state outputs of the D1.  After a couple of days, I felt the signal passing through the tube output of the D1 into the A1 and then passing through the amp’s circuit added some veiling and made the sound a little sluggish.  I decided to listen exclusively to the D1 solid state output for the remainder of the loan.  With only 20 watts on hand, I listened mostly with the HSU HB-1 monitor speakers (91 db), and for a day with my Heybrook HB150 (86 db), just to see if the A1 could provide enough juice to the more power hungry Heybrooks.
 
Music included Damien Rice “0”, Haley Bonar “Big Star”, Bettie Serveert “Pharmacy of Love’, Hey Marseilles “To Travel and Trunks”, Matthew Sweet “Girlfriend” and Ariel Ramirez “Misa Criolla” with the tenor Jose Carreras.  The overall sound was fairly smooth and pleasant, with good but not exceptional detail/resolution.  The sound wasn’t particularly warm like a vintage tube amp, but more like a good hybrid amp.  Harmonics was also good.  The tonal range was slightly attenuated at the treble and bass extremes.  Micro and macro dynamics were a bit truncated, probably because of its low wattage output.  Dynamics was better with the more efficient Hsu monitors than the Heybrooks, but only slightly.  Note decay and attack also seem to be a little abrupt or rounded off, though not to the point where it didn't sound musical.  Some vocals tended to be a little more sibilant than my reference amps.  All these sound impressions are in comparison to my Virtue M451 Sensation and heavily modified Jolida 302 integrated amps, which both cost a lot more than the A1.  I don’t mean to be overly critical of a $199 amp, and I was comparing the unit to much more expensive competition.  I would certainly choose this amp over a similarly price or slightly more expensive Japanese/Chinese receiver, provided I had more efficient speakers.  I do think at its price point, it’s a solid performer but I wish that it didn’t have almost all the same features as the companion D1 dac.  Rather, Maverick should use the money save for better parts in the amp.  I think for $199 and its low wattage, the amp would be an ideal candidate for inclusion in a cheap and cheerful bedroom, den, office, or college dorm audio system.  For the money, you get entry level hi-end sound, and like its companion dac, very good value.  In that context, I give it an unqualified thumbs up.   

Paul Mah

[Mariusz]

Excellent write up Paul. Right on the money. 

Mariusz

[Lyndon]

Paul,
Your write ups are always so informative, and a pleasure to read.
Thank you for that review.
Lyndon

[eclein]

An update, I've been using this unit as a headphone amp and it is really nice. I'm running the second outputs from my Piano M1 CD player to the Maverick A1 and then using my Ultrasone headphones and I must say this an excellent headphone amp. I don't know much about dedicated headphone amps and impedance's and driving them but I do know what sounds good, and this little baby sounds good.
 Last night after the clock struck twelve I listened via headphones for a few hours and really, really enjoyed it. The price is right for sure, I was using it the other day with my mains and it sounded much better then with my previous speakers.
 Just wanted to post that....FWIW

[jasoncroft]

Can you use any speakers with the amp as it is low wattage?

[ltr317]

Can you use any speakers with the amp as it is low wattage?

If you read my review several posts up, then you would know that the low wattage amp will work better with higher efficiency speakers. 

[Letitroll98]

Just as sort of a wrap up, does anyone know where these amps are presently?

[Venkman]

I got all excited for a moment and thought this was a tour for the D1 DAC/pre. 

Is there any way someone can con them into doing a tour de DAC?  I've been contemplating getting one, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.  It sure would be nice to hear one. 

[Letitroll98]

Sorry, maybe I should have let it die.  Ed (eclein) did PM me that his unit was returned to Mariusz, there is a second unit somewhere, not that it matters a great deal, I thought maybe wrapping it all up might be a good idea, or perhaps if that one is still at large, continuing.

Ref your post, I've been thinking of revving some of the unfinished projects, the cable test thread, this one, and maybe a C&C DAC tour.  Anyone can chime in....

[ltr317]

I got all excited for a moment and thought this was a tour for the D1 DAC/pre. 

Is there any way someone can con them into doing a tour de DAC?  I've been contemplating getting one, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.  It sure would be nice to hear one.

Look in the archives, there was a D1 tour, and many pages concerning the dac.  I did a review as did others.   

[ltr317]

Sorry, maybe I should have let it die.  Ed (eclein) did PM me that his unit was returned to Mariusz, there is a second unit somewhere, not that it matters a great deal, I thought maybe wrapping it all up might be a good idea, or perhaps if that one is still at large, continuing.

Ref your post, I've been thinking of revving some of the unfinished projects, the cable test thread, this one, and maybe a C&C DAC tour.  Anyone can chime in....

I had another tour unit, and that was also returned to Mariusz.  It was Mariusz' personal unit.  I ended buying a unit from the website.

[Letitroll98]

I had another tour unit, and that was also returned to Mariusz.  It was Mariusz' personal unit.  I ended buying a unit from the website.

Thanks so much for the reply Paul.  That would be the second unit I was asking about and since there didn't seem to be much interest in this little amp, it would end the tour.

Look in the archives, there was a D1 tour, and many pages concerning the dac.  I did a review as did others.

Funny, you're the second person that pointed out that we had a D1 tour (one in a PM), which I was aware of.  So I went back and re-read my post again and I'm pretty sure it says "C&C DAC tour" without mention of brand.  There must be something in the semantics or context that leads one to insert "D1" when reading it.  There was a conference video about that sort of thing on some audio forum last year.....

Anyway, since this thread seemed dead I was desperately trying to justify my resurrecting it by seeing if anyone had further suggestions along the same lines.  Ed suggested one of the cheaper gd audio DACs, I was leaning toward resurrecting the cable comparison as I already own 4 or 5 candidates, but not sure if I really want to take that on now. 

[ltr317]

Hi Letritroll,

The Maverick D1 is much more versatile and a bigger bang for the buck than the Audio GD less expensive dacs (NFB-2 and -3).  Besides being a dac, the Maverick is also a preamp and a headphone amp.  The NFB-2 and -3 are both just dacs.  I have not heard either one yet, but according to the Audio GD website, they are neutral sounding dacs.  With the Maverick D1, you can use either tube or solid state output.  All three are 24 bit, with the D1 upsampling up to 96 khz, and Audio GD up 192 khz (coaxial or optical, not USB).   My comments on the D1  are here   If you have the inclination and or the time, you can read all 24 pages of the AC thread.

Cheers,
Paul

[eclein]

Paul--I was suggesting the NFB-12 or similar, the D1 made the rounds, we need some new stuff, affordable new stuff...one of which is this new amp I got. MP-301MK2.

[ltr317]

Paul--I was suggesting the NFB-12 or similar, the D1 made the rounds, we need some new stuff, affordable new stuff...one of which is this new amp I got. MP-301MK2.

That's more like it.  The difference between the two then would be tube or ss (Maverick) vs non-tube (Audio GD) and tonal qualities.