Synthesis Art in Music was founded by Luigi Lorenzon in 1992. It is located in the commune of Morrovalle, Italy, located about 35 kilometres south of Ancona, about 15 kms from the Adriatic Sea.

Synthesis has a specific aesthetic, using lacquered wood accents and tube designs. They are quite recognizable in a sea of competing products and topologies. Some models use metal such as the black/silver model in the photo above. Under review here is the Roma 96DC+25W Pure Class A Integrated Stereo Amplifier with Digital Inputs priced at USD 3650.

I’d like to thank Angie Lisi, Synthesis’ North American distributor, for shipping the unit across the country to the island.

My Use

The unit is quite compact compared to some tube behemoths. It ships with a tube cage and will easily fit in your rack; just leave some breathing room for the tubes (the unit never got overly hot, even during hard-driving periods). My Roma was new from the factory, so I played a CD on repeat for a couple of days. Purposefully, I did not listen to it fresh out of the box. After break in, all listening was completed after a 20-minute warm-up. The Roma 96DC+ has a 30 second cycle from cold and is relay protected during that time. The front panel has a large volume knob, power button and source indicator lights.

The unit (mine was in red lacquer) is quite striking, especially with the tube cage removed (it’s screwed on). The tubes (all Electro-Harmonix) are 4 X EL34/6CA7 (power stage), 1 X OPAMP JRC4580 (input stage) and 1 X ECC82/12AU7 (driver stage). The shipped tubes created a lush, detailed sound with that Class A “readiness” special to the topology. And the way the unit stores current, explosive dynamics from your sources will be well replicated.

The tubes’ behaviour throughout the review were exemplary—no microphonics, no hum…silent.

Ancillary equipment used in the review was a Canor PH 2.10 Tube Phono Preamplifier, MBL N31 CD/DAC, my long time reference speakers, the BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers along with Ansuz C2 and D2 level cables. Although “only” 25W, the Class/A design will allow you to use the Roma with less efficient speakers.

Synthesis supplies an erganomic, solid metal remote control.

All Synthesis products are handmade in Italy.

Specifications

INPUT IMPEDANCE: 50KOhm

INPUT SENSITIVITY: 350 mV for rated power

OUTPUT TAP: 4 to 8 Ohm

CONFIGURATION: Push-Pull pentode

POWER OUTPUT: 25W RMS @ 6Ohm
(1 ch., THD < 1%)

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: from 20Hz to 20KHz +-0.5dB

DISTORSION: 1% @ 1KHz (MAX Power)

S/N RATIO: >90dB “A” weighted

INPUTS: 2 line, 1 phono MM

DIGITAL INPUTS : 1 USB “B” type Windows/Mac/iOs/Android, 1 Toslink Optical. 1 Coax S/PDIF

D/A CONVERTER: AK4495SEQ (32bit 768KHz)

MAX RESOLUTION: 24 bit 192KHz (OPTCoax), 32 bit 384KHz (USB), DSD up to 5,6MHz (USB)

PC REQUIREMENTS(96DC+)

1GHz processor,512MB RAM, USB 2.0 port

DIMENSIONS (W,D,H): 260x420x210mm

WEIGHT: 18Kg

Sound

The Roma 96DC+ is a full-featured integrated amplifier with an MM phono stage and a DAC. As I was deep into the Canor PH 2.10 phono stage review, the Synthesis MM section went unused. I spent some time with the onboard DAC via its USB input (an Asahi Kasei AK4495SEQ chip with 32-bit resolution, usable up to 786kHz PCM, or 5.6MHz DSD). It’s functional, sounds very good through the Synthesis’ tube complement, and performs at least as well as my past experiences with onboard digital cards. However, my primary reason for reviewing the Roma was getting my hands on a relatively inexpensive tube Class/A integrated amplifier and bringing the good or not-so-good news to our readers.

You can purchase the Synthesis in its integrated amplifier guise (USD 2990) if you have no need for the DAC. And while the DAC did an excellent job of deciphering Qobuz files up to HiRes, I’m sure better, very expensive stand-alone DACs can be purchased if digital is your main squeeze. That said, I’ve reviewed 20K All-in-Ones where the phono stage and the DAC sounded like afterthoughts compared to the pre/amplifier section. Not so with the Synthesis DAC.

But the meat and potatoes performance of the unit, its integrated function, was a surprise given its relatively low price. As I mentioned, if you love the sound of tubes, even running in pentode (I’m a huge triode fan), the Roma will give you immediate tube warmth but with a classy and very solid Class/A background. So voices and strings sound lifelike with violins especially sounding silky smooth, even through the DAC. Also, through long stretches of listening, it was fatigue-free.

The balance of octaves is very clean; treble, mids, and bass all get equal treatment. So, a richly detailed sound with no apparent balance weaknesses.

Outstanding timbre, texture, and separation were highlighted from the opening bars of the ORG double 45 vinyl reissue of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. The ballet begins with the eight muted basses on a low A (see photo below). The Roma had no problem locating the basses accurately in Kingsway Hall; more importantly, that sinewy whine that basses can produce was heard while replicating their muted timbre effortlessly. Sometimes very quiet examples produce the most interesting results. The transparency from this excerpt was very impressive.

And while quiet definition, tone, and texture were outstanding from such a reasonably priced product, its Class/A power storage power handling is what truly surprised me. The bass drum whacks on side 2 of the LSO/Dorati/Classic Records The Firebird were nothing less than astonishing. I expected a tube clip of some sort; happily, tube clipping is a little more gentle than a solid-state howl. But I was ready, nonetheless. Nothing. A non-event. All I heard was the initial strike and amazing bass drum resonance in Watford Town Hall’s acoustic.

So, you’re set on tone, texture, and dynamics, but the Roma also images well and reflects the engineer’s vision for soundstage. So my old standby, Stan Ricker’s amazing 1989 MoFi cut of Tea for the Tillerman had all the depth and voice and instrument placement specificity for which the record is famous. And because of its power handling, classic rock fans may audition the Roma with an expectation of excellence.

Summary

In this day of rising prices, tariffs, etc., it’s a pleasure to come across a product of strong lineage, outstanding design, and one that offers excellent tube sound for a relatively reasonable price. The Roma 96DC+ offers features that are useful to music lovers, looks great in a rack, uses efficient, quiet tubes, has low distortion, and will play any type of music with Class/A assurance, all for USD 3650. An audiophile bargain and very highly recommended.

Further information: Synthesis