AGD Production Audion
The Audion pairs tube-like smoothness with lightning-fast GaN authority, delivering taut bass, explosive microdynamics and a remarkably open, layered soundstage. Michael Zisserson found its sweet yet highly resolved timbre exceptional, while HiFi Knights praised its silent operation, compact footprint and effortless speaker control. It is a distinctive monoblock for listeners seeking reference-grade imaging without heavyweight hardware.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
96/100
Build Quality
92/100
Value for Money
96/100
Pros
Expansive, precisely layered soundstage with exceptional depth, width and performer separation.
Fast, controlled and powerful presentation, with strong bass grip and explosive dynamics from a compact chassis.
Unusually smooth, airy and highly resolved Class D sound, avoiding the hardness and grain often associated with the category.
Tiny, cool-running, quiet monoblocks with useful power and demonstrated compatibility across varied loudspeaker loads.
Cons
Its highly neutral, revealing character can make scratchy brushes, electronic distortion and other rough recording artifacts more conspicuous.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 96/100
Reviewers describe an unusually open, highly resolved and neutral presentation that combines tube-like sweetness with Class-D speed and control. Across varied loudspeakers and music, the Audion is praised for explosive dynamics, deep and expansive staging, and freedom from the hardness often associated with switching amplification.
Transparency Resolution
96/100
HiFi Knights heard exceptional illumination, openness and insight, with air around even the smallest spatial details and no sense of veil. Positive Feedback likewise found the Audions extremely detailed and neutral, while Enjoy The Music praised crystal-clear, lifelike midrange and more refined, airy treble.
Tonal Balance Musicality
94/100
The Audion is repeatedly described as smooth, vivid, natural and notably free of harshness, dryness or treble edge. Reviewers heard a tonally balanced presentation with sweet but resolved timbre, controlled sibilance, and bass that is full, fast and tight rather than overblown.
Dynamics
95/100
Reviewers consistently praise the Audion's speed, shove and effortless authority. It delivered quick, full-bodied transients, chest-felt bass slam and dynamics that could erupt from silence while preserving fine gradations and low-level musical detail in complex passages.
Soundstage Imaging
97/100
Spatial performance is a standout. Reviewers report an open, well-lit stage with sharply defined performers, convincing front-to-back layering, and width and depth extending beyond the room; one called its staging among the best heard in 30 years.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
92/100
HiFi Knights found the compact monoblocks tank-like, silent, cool-running and flawlessly reliable over months of use, with strong assembly quality. The GaN-based implementation offers high efficiency, instant operation and a very low reported noise floor, while the distinctive enclosed-tube styling and Pelican-case packaging reinforce the sense of careful execution.
Value for Money
96/100
At roughly $8,000 per pair, reviewers repeatedly regard the Audion as unusually compelling against far costlier amplification. HiFi Knights called it a major overachiever that could embarrass substantially larger and more expensive amplifiers, while Positive Feedback described performance competitive with amplifiers at up to three times the price and explicitly called it a giant killer.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- THD+N 10W/1KHz
- <0.005%
- Output Power at 0.01% THD+N, 20Hz÷20KHz, 8Ω
- 100W
- Bandwidth ±0.5db
- 0Hz÷50KHz
- Input Impedance
- 40kohm (600ohm upon request)
- Efficiency%
- >94%
- Noise Floor (100mVRMS XLR Input)
- -140db
- GaNTubeKT88 MkIII PWM Frequency
- 800kHz std.
- Dimension
- 7.5×5.5×7.5
- Weight
- 5lbs (2.5kg)
- Input Voltage
- 110-240V (user selectable)
Manufacturer's Description — AGD Production
Design Philosophy
The new AGD “THE AUDION” MkIII is one of the most Compact Amplifier Design in Hi-End Audio.
“THE AUDION” Monoblock uses the unique GaNTube™ technology with Gallium Nitride MOSFET based Power-Stage, fully enclosed in a Glass Tube.
The Gallium Nitride Power MOSFETS are the unique technology design advantage of AGD Productions, and are the key to the reference level performance of all AGD amplifiers.
With the seamless ability to drive any load, “THE AUDION” can deliver an unmatched sonic experience that only SET designs have been able to provide so far.
Now with 200W of power capability, a further improved voltage slew rate, and with 30,000µF of super audio grade capacitor reservoir, “THE AUDION” MkIII is uniquely capable of sustaining the most resounding bass punches while delivering the finest harmonic content of any vocal and musical instruments ensemble.
Crafted in a minimalistic ultra-compact solid aluminum case, “THE AUDION” has one single-ended and one fully balanced XLR input, (40kOhm std. and 600ohm upon request), enabling a perfect match with any direct source units (DAC) or preamplifiers in the market.
AGD “THE AUDION” MkIII Monoblock amplifiers are built around the same output power stage used in the AGD Vivace.
To achieve the highest performance in audio reproduction, AGD “THE AUDION” mono-block employs the same fundamental technology pioneered by the AGD Vivace design.
As with the AGD Vivace, also in AGD “THE AUDION” MkIII design we were able to achieve nearly ideal switching waveforms, completely oscillation-free.
Thus, preserving the harmonic content present in the original input signal and avoiding the superimposition of any additional artifacts that alter the overall spectrum and the spatiality of the music reproduction.
The Gallium Nitride power MOSFETs used in the GaNTubeKT88MkIII power stage simplify this challenge through its ability to efficiently switch at much higher slew rates than any silicon-based power MOSFET, with almost perfect (book-like) behavior and oscillation-free switching.
Residual THD+N @ 0db output, 4ohm, 1kHz
XLR Input (40kohm input impedance)
FFT Spectrum @ -20db (100mV)
XLR Input
PWM Frequency waveform at V switching point.
Voltage rise time waveform.
Switching voltage at V point >6000V/µs
Voltage fall time waveform.
Switching voltage at V point >6000V/µs
115 Years of AUDION Evolution 1906 ~2021
Lee de Forest’s triode tube (Audion) from 1906.
- Top metal electrode is the plate.
- Grid is the bent metal wire partly visible.
- The most advanced power stage in high-end audio.
- Gallium Nitride MOSFET-based power stage.
- Fully integrated in a Glass Tube (Octal Socket)
- Extended bandwidth (±0.5db 0-50KHz)
- 200W, 4ohm (>30A max current capability).
- 800KHz PWM (GaNTubeKT88 MKII)
- 40kOhm input impedance.
- <-140db noise floor.
Main Features & Characteristics:
1. Power Entry Module
2. Fuse Holder
3. Input Voltage Selector
4. ON-OFF Switch
5. SPEAKER OUTPUT POSITIVE TERMINAL
6. SPEAKER OUTPUT NEGATIVE TERMINAL
7. Analog Input Selector Switch
8. RCA Single-ended analog input
9. XLR Balanced analog input
Verified Dealers
Online Dealers
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Authorized dealers for AGD Production Audion
- Audio Gallery — online and in-store — Las Rozas de Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
- Audiophile Zone — online and in-store — Baywood-Los Osos, California, United States (website)
- Delve Audio — in-store — Caldwell, New Jersey, United States (website)
- Dr Vinyl — in-store — Middle River, Maryland, United States (website)
- e11even stereophonic — in-store — Atlanta, Georgia, United States (website)
- ECRIN DE FRANCE — in-store — Roubaix, Hauts-de-France, France (website)
- Hifi-Connect France — in-store — Perpignan, Occitanie, France (website)
- Indie Hifi — in-store — New Farm, Queensland, Australia (website)
- Maco — online and in-store — Old Toronto, Ontario, United States (website)
- Next Level HiFi — online and in-store — Wayne, Illinois, United States (website)
and 4 more verified dealers