Hi-Fi: Plinius Hiato-Integrated Amplifier – Review – 77
There’s a perception in the hi-fi industry that as one moves up the power, prestige and price scale, the end result is inevitably separate pre- and power amplifiers. However, single-chassis units such as the new Plinius Hiato make a persuasive case for the high-end integrated amplifier by taking up less space, dispensing with additional expensive interconnects and still promising extreme performance.
According to Plinius, Hiato is a Maori word that literally means “to gather together” and implies the concept of harmony, which makes it the perfect name for an integrated amp. Harmonious the Hiato may be but it’s also tall, wide, deep and weighs 30 kilos – it’s not going to slip on to a narrow shelf or a delicate rack. Despite the bulk, it’s a minimalist and clean design, with a single large rotary volume control on a fascia bereft of superfluous features such as displays or a mess of controls and switches.
It’s built to the usual exacting Plinius standards, the brushed finish is exceptionally attractive and the blue highlights visible around the top plate add a touch of colour that stops it from being too stark.
Connections include balanced and unbalanced inputs, with an optional and very serious phono input, which, oddly, can’t be retrofitted. There’s added functionality in the form of a home theatre bypass plus remote IR and 12V input/output triggers for automation integration. Accommodating modern buyers, there’s also a 3.5mm input on the front panel for portable media players.
The review unit had been run in and thoroughly warmed up by the accommodating crew at The Listening Post in Hamilton, who had set it up with the matching CD-101 CD player and a pair of Martin Logan’s attractive Vista electrostatic hybrid speakers. The Vistas are entirely passive, so the bass driver was powered by the Hiato, along with the tall electrostatic panel. This handsome foursome was cabled up with nearly five figures’ worth of Analysis Plus cables including power cords, and a Belkin Pure AV PF60 providing surge protection. Stillpoints isolation devices were used under both amp and source.
Stanley Clarke’s At the Movies was cued up via the substantial Plinius truncheon/remote control and ‘Passenger 57 Main Title’ shot out like a bullet from a gun: loud, sharp and scarily fast. Dynamically, this is a combination that should fear few contenders, with the speed of the panels capturing the sharp intensity of the music and giving the leading edge attack of the instruments real urgency.
The system was equally comfortable with the challenges posed by Rodrigo and Gabriella’s Live: Dublin and Manchester; the speed and agility suited the songs perfectly, while the performers were laid out in a deep soundstage at a ‘reach out and touch’ level. The emotional vocals and raucous guitars on Only By the Night by Kings of Leon were pushed so hard and loud that they became almost torturously intense, but no less fun.
The overall presentation of every disc I played was stripped of any varnish, almost etched but not harsh or fatiguing. The amp gave the overwhelming impression of having masses of headroom regardless of how hard I drove it, but with 300 Watts available into eight Ohms and a rugged power supply the Hiato isn’t an amp to be cowed by anything much this side of a short circuit.
Sonically, it’s a world removed from the mellow sounds of grandad’s old single-ended valve amp, but if you like your hi-fi system to grab you by the throat, the Hiato is a perfect place to start. It’s the kind of deeply satisfying product that defies the dreaded audiophile upgrade-itis, and it makes the concept of an integrated amp in the $10,000 range something to be taken very seriously.
BRETT GIDEON
Tech Specs
Hiato
Integrated Amplifier
$9325 ($10,660 with phono stage)
AUDIO OUTPUTS: 4 pairs of multi-way binding posts
AUDIO INPUTS: 4 RCA (genuine WBT), two balanced, 3.5mm minijack
OTHER CONNECTIONS: Optional MM/MC phono input
POWER OUTPUT: 300 Watts into 8 Ohms
DIMENSIONS: 170 x 405 x 453mm (H/W/D)
WEIGHT: 27.5kg
FINISHES: Silver or black
CONTACT
This Review is from Tone Issue #77.
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