Plinius NEWS - INSPIRE 980

[BJ]

Plinius Inspire 980 Integrated Amplifier

A Lot Under One Hood

SA Retail R59K incl

[BJ]

New Zealand’s Plinius Audio has a track record of delivering products that offer great sound for the dollar—and its Inspire 980 certainly offers a lot, especially for $4,450. In addition the power and preamp capabilities of a standard integrated, it also features an onboard MM phonostage and an internal DAC. With all those elements built in, this beauty can serve as a fantastic system hub—just add speakers and sources.


As with other Plinius products, the 980 features simplistic aesthetics, despite a wealth of internal capabilities. The smooth, bead-blasted aluminum faceplate is interrupted only by a volume knob and two buttons to toggle source selection. The 980 comes with a remote, but the $7.99 Plinius Arataki app (available on the iTunes store) makes controlling the unit from your listening chair even easier.

The unit’s dimensions are modest—about 18 inches wide, 14 inches deep and 3 inches tall—though the slender frame is somewhat deceptive when lifting the unit. It weighs in at a surprising 22 pounds, a result of its burly transformer and the breadth of electronics its versatile capabilities require. The unit’s Class A/B amplification section delivers 80 watts per channel into 8 ohms and roughly 100 watts into 4 ohms. While I’m used to a reference amplifier offering much more juice, the 980 has no trouble holding its own. It maintains command of the Sonus faber Olympica III speakers and leaves me not wanting for extra power.

READ full Review:

http://www.tonepublications.com/review/plinius-inspire-980-integrated-amplifier/

[entropyagent]

Could this be regarded as an evolution of the 'super-receiver' ?  It's impossible to realistically evaluate a 'value proposition' for something that is unaffordable (to me) but as a neat and attractive wrapping on a dauntingly sophisticated collection of components, it seems very appealing. It will be interesting to see how this class of product is 'received'.

[CAD]

Oh my 

POWER
80 watts RMS per channel into 8 ohms.
100 watts RMS per channel into 4 ohms.
Both channels driven from 20Hz to 20kHz at less than 0.2% total harmonic distortion
SUPPORTED AUDIO FILE SERVER
DLNA Digital Media Servers
SUPPORTED PLAYBACK CONTROL
DLNA Digital Media Controllers, DLNA Mobile Digital Media Controllers, UPnP smartphone applications, iPad/iPod applications
DAC CAPABILITY
24 bit, 192ks/s
AUDIO CODEC SUPPORT
FLAC (up to 24/192), LPCM (up to 24/192), ALAC,AIFF, MP3
CONNECTIVITY
10/100 Ethernet
Wi-Fi
USB asynchronous
Optical Toslink
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20Hz to 20kHz ±0.2dB
-3dB at 5Hz and -3dB at 300kHz
DISTORTION
Typically <0.05% THD at rated power
0.2% THD and IM worst case prior to clipping
HUM & NOISE
90dB below rated output 20Hz to 20kHz unweighted
POWER/CURRENT CONSUMPTION
300W
Class AB Idle 0.14A (32W) Standby
DIMENSIONS
Height: 72mm (3")
Width: 450mm (17.75")
Depth: 350mm (13.75")
Weight: 10kg (22lb)

[milesgopal]

looks quite interesting
would be keen to have a listen

[Nidri]

Imho products like this Plinius (and others e.g. the Moon Neo Ace, not available here) offer a really compelling yet sensible road to audio happiness.
For one, ito construction, technology and parts quality I would presume a unit like this features much of the same thinking as applied in the brand's 'higher end' products. What you give up in power (for many setups 80wpc is plenty) you gain in simplicity (essentially just one box), reduced weight and likely higher WAF.
I would imagine the 980 still gives you the essence of the Plinius 'house sound', if there is such a thing (I'm not that familiar with the brand), so you're still playing in the 'high end' space, a few notches above the more mainstream mass-produced options - and presumably performance is good enough to warrant a speaker upgrade or three down the line.
If you grow weary of the mix and match approach on the path to audio nirvana, something like presents a viable way to get off the merry go round.
I'm not ready to get off yet, but I know the day is coming.

[BJ]

looks quite interesting
would be keen to have a listen

Hi Ismael, stock arriving early November. Sure we can make a plan, one way or the other, for you to hear this baby

[BJ]

@ Tony and Nidri,

I heard this in Munich earlier this year, and was blown away.

The low power output....very deceiving, and the Plinius Signature is very apparent.

And the Bonus.... the stunning MM phono stage

[BJ]

And....the Clearaudio Concept TT matches the styling...Perfectly  8)

[MadHat]

And....the Clearaudio Concept TT matches the styling...Perfectly  8)

OOoooo very pretty! 

[King_Julian_S]

Shoo imagine ... and less cables needed with everything so ready 👍🏿👍🏿
So these and devailets etc are the evolution to super receivers ? Like that lol...


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