This just scratches the surface. There's still the DAC and the phono stage to work through. In fact, these sound remarkably similar, in all the right ways.

Both deliver a similar performance to the line stages - rich, detailed (but not hyper-detailed and etched sounding), effortless. Of the two, the DAC is arguably more important these days, especially with that USB port.

This does wonders for the sound off a PC, raising even a humble stock soundcard to the performance of the best in computer audio. But don't count out the phono stage - it's a noise-free stage, far better than almost all integrated units and more enticing than many lesser aftermarket models. You'll get better stereo separation from the best standalone devices, but as it stands, this is a lot more than a makeweight.

This isn't the only 250-watt (or larger) amp on the market. Some are a lot cheaper, but generally sound cheap, too, with bright and steely tops and flappy, ill-controlled bottoms (now there's an image you might not want to think too hard about).

Some are more expensive, but tend to sound 'impressive' with extended high treble and an open midrange, at the expense of a well-controlled but slow bass. There are a handful of products that improve upon the Musical Fidelity sound.

Comparing the A1008 to the best of breed does pin-point a minor sense of disassociation between the bass and the rest of the frequencies, as if the bottom end is fractionally out of step with the rest of the sound. But this is the only limitation to the sound of the A1008 and, in fairness, it's both very slight and very difficult and expensive to eliminate without sacrificing the rest of the sound in the process.

Perhaps that's the key thing about the A1008. It does so much for the sound across the board, it's hard to think of anything that can do better without costing a lot more. That makes it a tough act to follow.