I picked one of these up a few days ago, and am seriously impressed with the performance so far - very clear, full and dynamic sounding, with plenty of power. Amazing what $200 can get these days. Sure the display and user interface is a bit clunky, but considering the price to performance ratio and features offered (2 line inputs, sub out, EQ filters, remote control) I can't imagine anyone having serious complaints about this unit.
I did have a few inquiries for anyone who might be more knowledgeable than me, however.
1. I'm basically using this as a pure power amp, connecting it to the preamp outs of my AV receiver and making all volume adjustments through the receiver. In terms of setting the volume output of the A300, I'm wondering if there is any harm to setting it at the max, or is it better to keep it somewhere in the mid range? Or does it not matter either way?
2. I'm somewhat intrigued by the idea of getting another unit and running them in bridge mode as others have mentioned, but I'm not entirely clear what degree of benefit this would provide. The single A300 in stereo mode has no problem driving my speakers as loud as I would ever need them to be, so if the only benefit is additional power to reach higher volume outputs, then it wouldn't make any sense for me. But if there are other sonic improvements involved (additional clarity, larger soundstage, punchier dynamics, etc.) then I might consider it.
Has anyone made a direct comparison and if so, what were the principle benefits of running 2 amps in bridge mode vs. a single one in stereo?