When I first saw a Phasemation amplifier at a hifi show long ago I uttered “Ooh” without thinking. It just came out.
Regular readers know I’ve explored a number of 300B-based integrated amplifiers over the years and you could say I have a sweet spot for ’em—the first one I owned was the Sun Audio SV-300BE which I bought back in the early 2000s. A lifetime ago.
Phasemation’s parent company was founded in 1974 as Kyodo Denshi System and their audio brand Phase Tech showed up in 2002. That company’s name changed to Phasemation in 2010 and today there’s a full line of products including phono cartridges, phono preamplifiers, preamplifiers, mono amplifiers, accessories, and the sole integrated SA-1500 that’s here for review.
The dual-mono transformer-coupled single-ended Class A SA-1500 relies on a pair of self-biased 300Bs in the output stage to produce 9 Watts of output power. There’s no negative feedback in play and a pair of JJ 6SN7s take care of the first two stages of amplification. All triode. The SA-1500 ships with a pair of Psvane WE300Bs but distributor Axiss Audio kindly sent along a pair Western Electrics as well as a pair of NOS Sylvania/Philco 6SN7GTB for some extra fun. I adhere to the SwS principle when it comes to tube rolling—Start with Stock.
The rear panel tells a short story with an IEC inlet, a pair of binding posts per side, ground lug, and three RCA line-level inputs, one of which can function as a Direct input that bypasses the volume control if you want to use the SA-1500 as a stereo power amp.
The lovely San-Kuzushi inspired tube cage is fronted by a thick piece of glass while power transformers from Sweden’s Lundahl and independent left and right choke transformers are under wraps.
When I first unpacked the SA-1500 and set it up for photos, I heard the Barn-resident DeVore O/96 (review) and Ø Audio Ymir (more info) coo—”Ooh”. Stay tuned for more.
Phasemation SA-1500 Stereo Integrated Amplifier
Price: $19,975
Company Website: Phasemation
US Distributor Website: Axiss Audio
Specifications
Input Impedance: 47kΩ
Gain: 30dB
Output Power: 9 Watts （THD：5％）
Frequency Response: 10～40kHz（+0,-3ｄＢ）
Output Impedance: 4～8Ω
Power Consumption: 140W
Dimensions: 430（W）×240（H）×380（D）
Weight: 18 kg