Audia Flight FLS10

The dogma of separates has long reigned supreme among audiophiles: If you're serious about sound quality, you're supposed to need a dedicated preamp and power amp.

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The logic goes that separates reduce interference and offer maximum control over your sound. But there's an argument to be made that integrated amplifiers are more practical ... and potentially better-sounding.

The beauty of an integrated amp lies in its synergy. Audio engineers know exactly how the pre and power sections will interact; the two are literally designed to work together. On paper at least, that means optimized impedance matching, and signal integrity that can rival and perhaps surpass separates. How do you know whether a standalone preamp is a great match for a power amp? For most of us, it's through trial and error. It isn't unusual for restless stereo aficionados to own multiple combos over the years, in search of the ideal one. That gets costly.

Then there's the fact that an integrated amp helps declutter a room, appealing to minimalists and people whose living spaces are less than cavernous. Another plus: no need to shell out for audiophile-grade interconnects.

The why and how

The Audia Flight FLS10, an Italian integrated, came into my life because I'd been scratching my head over a pair of top-of-the-line Diptyque panel speakers that I'm planning to review for this magazine. Once I had them in my home and properly set up, the Diptyques' midrange and treble was as lush and engaging as I remembered from the Tampa and Chicago audio shows where I'd heard them. Bass, however, was another matter. The lower octaves seemed on the lackluster side. I knew that the speakers weren't at fault, because on those previous occasions they'd reproduced bass frequencies superbly. The Diptyques seemed to cry out for something grippier than the tubed monoblocks with which I'd paired them.