Интегральные усилители — Pier Audio MS 1000 SE

The MS-1000SE is a hybrid integrated amplifier from the French company Pier Audio, pairing a valve preamplifier section with a transistor power stage in one chassis. A central VU meter shows signal level, and the input valves glow amber behind a front glass panel. The price is EUR 2,990 including VAT, and buyers choose a black or gold front panel, with the remote control finished to match.

Key specs that matter

Power reaches 2 x 150 W into 8 ohm at 2% THD, and output doubles to 300 W per channel into 4 ohm. Distortion is below 0.8% at 100 W and 1 kHz, noise sits 97 dB below the signal with A-weighting, and frequency response spans 10 Hz to 50 kHz within -2 dB. The line inputs need about 300 mV for full output, the pre-in socket about 4.3 V and the MM phono input about 2.3 mV. Speaker outputs are specified for 4 and 16 ohm. The case measures 420 x 455 x 178 mm and weighs 23 kg, or 27 kg packed.

Engineering and use context

Inside are two 6SN7 and two 6N11 valves, while eight Sanken transistors form the output stage, and a remote handset is included. Unlike most hybrid designs, the input valves are supplied through a valve rectifier, a 6Z4 or 6U4 double diode. Power comes from a 700 VA transformer wound in the older manner with copper wire. Earlier descriptions mention the first 20 W per channel running in class A before a move to class AB, but Pier Audio states that recent production runs work exclusively in class AB. A removable protective glass panel is fitted to production units to stop the amplifier being switched into power amplifier mode by accident without an external preamplifier, which would otherwise risk sending damaging signal pulses to the speakers.

Pairing

Connections cover two line inputs marked Aux, one MM phono input and a pre-in socket, so a moving magnet turntable needs no separate phono stage, and the amplifier can also act as a power amplifier behind a separate preamplifier. Bluetooth 5.0 is built in and becomes active once the supplied antenna is screwed onto its socket at the rear, which covers phones and tablets without an extra receiver. The high output into low loads gives headroom for demanding floorstanding loudspeakers, while the high-impedance terminal suits older or high-impedance designs.

Alternatives

The Pier Audio MS-580SE is a smaller hybrid integrated amplifier with three 6N11 valves, 50 W per channel into 8 ohm and a weight of 11 kg.