Constellation Integrated 1.0

Constellation Integrated 1.0

Time for Evolution. Today's hi-end amplifiers all use an age old design, which is actualy far from perfect. The only difference between hi-end designs now are the attention they give to parts quality, transformer quality etc, but fundamentally it comes down to building a better steam engine. Time to move on.

"This Constellation Audio Hercules II stereo amplifier from the company’s Reference Class is the best amplifier I have ever heard, and by a significant margin." read the review HiFi Plus (note this review is of the bigger Hercules model, but the same design topology is used in all Constellation models)

How did they do this? To build the world's best amplifier, Constellation contracted the world's top amplifier designers to address the problem with all amplifiers today. The "Dream Team" sat around the boardroom and agreed on the remaining obstacle to perfect sound. Here is how they defined the issue: The problem lies in the fact that hi-powered amplifers use pairs of output devices. This leads to an asymmetrical signal output and distortion.

Constellation's amplifier design uses all of the strengths of a balanced amplifier (such as a low noise floor, greater dynamic range), and combines them with the refined and sophisticated sound of a single-ended design. Instead of the usual arrangement of P-type (Positive-Negative-Positive) transistors handling the positive rail of the balanced line, and N-type (Negative-Positive-Negative) transistors handling the negative rail, the Hercules II modules are two single-ended amplifier designs, ending in N-type transistors in the output stage. This design has significant advantages over other circuits, because N-type and P-type transistors behave very differently, and that difference undermines the sound quality.

The result is an incredible refined product. 

Reviews

Editors' Choice Awards Absolute Sound

"As I listened to classic Dire Straits tracks like “Telegraph Road” and “Private Investigations,” cuts laden with macro-and micro-dynamic information, cavernous soundstaging, and imaging cues, it was marvelous to experience afresh the nuance and scale buried in these grooves. During the Copland “Fanfare for the Common Man” [Reference], a high-energy recording that can cause lesser amps to grow a little weak in the knees, the Integrated 1.0 merely skated along, its reserves seemingly untapped (although its enclosure did get a little warmer to the touch)" go to the review

 

"The Constellation Audio Integrated 1.0 delivered more impressively than any integrated amp I've heard in my system. I've tried some other big names such as Audio Research and Parasound, but neither had the ability to bring it home like the Integrated 1.0"

"The Integrated was a black hole of silence that held the music out on a three-dimensional pedestal. As an audio writer, the Integrated 1.0 is an indispensable tool of transparency. As a music-loving audiophile, the Integrated 1.0 is an indispensable piece of a large or small system capable of delivering endless enjoyment. Unequivocally recommended and CASH Listed"   read the review in Audiophile Style

"You do pay for the fabulous aesthetic and build quality that you get with an amplifier like this but it’s hard to find an alternative of equal musical and resolving powers in a more affordable box, quite often you have to pay more. It’s not a power thing of course, it’s clarity, transparency and vanishing distortion, that’s what makes a great amplifier. Qualities that are hard to quantify but very easy to hear and enjoy. Even if you can’t afford the entry price I recommend you audition this or one of the Constellation pre/power amps, it’s better to have loved and lost as they say and a brief glimpse of audio nirvana is better than none" read the review in Ear