Sonic freshness and shine pushed too far introduce dryness, leanness, grain and sharp outlines for losses on heft, internal fill, moisture and textural tissue. These aspects can render music nervous, hollow or sharp and strip from it sensuality, politeness, seductiveness and substance. Not here. Neither did the Classic INT pursue specific traits at a cost of others nor was it flashy or excessive. Instead it was thoroughly sorted on all fronts. Here I mean finessed tonal structures, generous colors, roundness and a dash of a tube-like harmonic aesthetic brilliantly blended with agility, radiance, propulsion, openness and composure. The resulting package was equally relaxed, tactile and organic as it was surgically precise, enjoyably oxygenated and snappy. By walking this perfectly balanced walk, the Swiss combined often mutually exclusive ingredients so expertly that freedom from any obvious weakness followed. Needless to say, such aural feasting doesn't happen every day. More importantly, this rare behavior communicated top seasoning typical for the very best audio products I've heard. Bravo.
Considering, the Classic INT's personality was too mature to enforce any pronounced sonic agenda and become situational in the process. If quick lean amps work rather well with dense syrupy speakers and vice versa, then today's highly versatile amp would form a happily synergistic couple with every compliant load I can think of regardless of its voicing. That's the perk of not being extreme or biased. Moving on, I'm unsure whether how the Swiss cast its pristine backdrop was from its power supply, choice of Mosfets or something else altogether though most likely related to noise floor. With just the right music it rendered space as pitch black and grain-free as conceivable even over revealing monitors of higher sensitivity. I admittedly adored that spooky sensation. Such enveloping darkness contributed much to minutiae but the real trick was in projecting them so easefully that they became casual additives so supporting players not headline actors. That's was absolutely amazing.
Several sessions were enough to understand the above but curiosity how it all would stack up against Trilogy's far dearer separates did kick in at some point. Long story short, it wasn't much of a surprise. My kit uses great speed and openness as backbone for saturated colors, softness, density and somewhat round outlines with generously applied finely differentiated internal fill. It sounds lively, agile and liberated but also pleasantly dense, engaging and layered so does everything the Classic INT does then puts extra emphasis on tone, harmonic content and heft. Trilogy's reference team feels very powerful, present and fearless. The ability to turn into a daring fiend I consider its specialty but it would be wrong to assume that today's amp was dwarfed by comparison. Not at all.
I imagine that at first many ears would view the Classic INT as noticeably leaner and sportier than Trilogy's beefier spatially grander set but several tracks later that observation would turn out to be too simplistic and not particularly accurate. The big picture was elsewhere. The Nagra had properly developed muscle with fully flourishing textural complexity and tonal sweetness instead of generic density, roundness and warmth. It incorporated rarely used measures to produce delightfully intricate results which may take longer to fully grasp and appreciate. Trilogy's 995R/915R felt heavier, bloomier, a fair bit warmer and portrayed weightier more voluptuous images for a more colorful though less transparent outcome closer to my ears. Think of it as a highly skilled drummer keen to once in a while show off in front of other band members. In that context the Nagra would be a legendary name for hire known for upping the game of any band that can afford him and as such fully adapt to whoever is on stage. In audiophile lingo this means that the Classic INT finely revealed the input of digital components within my setup whereTrilogy's stack masked some of that feedback with its own inherently stronger aroma.
