Lyngdorf Audio MXA-8400

8-CHANNEL POWER AMPLIFIER

- KALMAN RUBINSON

Woot, woot! I was thrilled when I saw the announcement for this amplifier. I was tempted to order one sight unseen and sound unheard. Why? First off, it employs the newest (as of March 2025) class-D amplification technology. Second, it can accommodate all sorts of audio systems, from an eight-channel surround setup to a megalo-maniacal two-channel stereo system. Third, the specs, even in the context of its technology, are impressive. And fourth, I can lift it by myself—easily! How can I pass this amplifier up?

Peter Lyngdorf has played a major role in the development of modern class-D amplification, starting at NAD (pulse-code modulation to pulse-width modulation,11998), continuing with TacT (whose technology became Equibit, the patented PCM-to-PWM conversion algorithm from Texas Instruments) and, most recently, with Purifi and its Eigentakt technology. Considering that history, it is a bit surprising that the MXA-8400 is Lyngdorf Audio's first Purifi-based product. What is not surprising is that Lyngdorf’s implementation is not just hooking up OEM-sourced modules and a power supply in a box. The MXA-8400 includes some innovative, logical features.

It is not uncommon for amplifier manufacturers to license the technology and produce the modules themselves for reasons of efficiency and cost. Lyngdorf (meaning, from now on, the company, not the man) goes a step farther with the MXA-8400, producing a single large circuit board for all eight channels. The individual amplifiers on the board do resemble familiar Eigentakt modules, but there is “more space around the components, a four-layer PCB with thick copper traces and good grounding, ideal voltage and current supply under all conditions, and select components where it has an advantage.” The quote is from an email exchange with Lyngdorf Director of Product Marketing Roland Hoffmann.