June 2026

World Premiere Review!
AGD's Allegro Unleashed: GaN-Powered Stereo Integrated Phono / Streamer That Rewrites High-End Rules
A powerful 250+250 Watts of GaN amplification, R2R DAC / music streamer, and analog MM / MC phono stage all within one precision chassis — convenience meets reference level sound.
Review By Brett Rudolph

  April is a busy month for the audiophile world as it hosts various luxury home audio shows, with many companies releasing their products to enthusiastic music lovers worldwide. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend it this year as planned, but, as luck would have it, something even better came down the pike. AGD announced its first integrated amplifier, the Allegro, and we were lucky enough to get it in-house for a review.

AGD Productions, Inc. is a company started a few years ago by Alberto Guerra. His goal, as he puts it, is to bring "emotion" to his customers. I met him a few times at both the CAF and FLAX shows and have always been a fan of his equipment. His designs have always been extraordinarily well thought out and incredibly beautiful. He has always been able to take his lifelong passion and utilize his skills and knowledge to create masterpieces.

The AGD Allegro is a new entry for the company. It is their first attempt at an all-in-one system. The Allegro features a R-2R DAC, streamer, Phono Stage, balanced headphone amplifier, and a 250 + 250 Watt amplifier. Effectively, it is pretty much plug-and-play right out of the box, with very little setup. Although the setup will be covered a little later in the setup section.

In addition to all the components packed into the simple-looking case, it also offers many built-in electronic functions. While not all features can be covered here, some of the most notable include compatibility with streaming services such as Tidal and Qobuz Connect, as well as music management platforms like Roon and Audirvāna. The AGD Allegro USB module uses the latest XMOS chipset—a specialized processor for audio tasks—and can decode nearly any widely used file format, like MP3, WMA, MPEG-4 (audio tracks in video files), AAC, WAV (uncompressed audio), FLAC (lossless compressed audio), AIFF, ALAC, and DSD (high-resolution audio standard). It is also compatible with Apple AirPlay (for streaming from Apple devices) and Android Play (for streaming from Android devices).

Set Up And The Beginning
The AGD Productions' Allegro stereo integrated streaming / MM & MC phono / DAC is a breeze to set up and configure. There really aren't any fancy setups or configuration options. It is all straightforward on the streaming side. In my case, everything was set up with banana plugs for the Gershman Symphonia speakers, using Nordost Blue Heaven speaker cables at the outset. Additionally, we initially used the RSX Benchmark digital and analog audio cables. Eventually, we switched everything over to Kimber Kabler Select, but that was later and is noted.

The biggest "hurdle" with this component was the need for a hardline internet connection. AGD decided not to use Wi-Fi. It supports Bluetooth and USB for most things. For the steamer function, you need a LAN connection. Achieving this is no longer difficult, even in older houses like mine. Newer MESH networking systems let you run a hardline nearly anywhere. That is exactly what I did. It just took a little more thought.

Once everything was connected, there was no break in time, and the Allegro seemed to flow seamlessly from the show. This allows me to listen to the component without needing to pause or worry about potential imperfections. However, as components and cables break in, they often start to sound different. It takes time for them to settle, and if you're not patient, you may regret rushing. It's important to let things break in before making any decisions.

The AGD Allegro came before the Kimber cables arrived. Setting the component up with the cables I had gave me the unique opportunity to hear it with known cables and to experience it with cables that were perhaps a bit below the component's level. It was an eye-opening experience, as I have quite a bit of time on these cables and knew what to expect.

Listening Begins
The first thing that became apparent was a complete lack of noise throughout the system. Imagine yourself on a desert island, completely devoid of any external noise from the outside world. That is what it felt like. Normally, you wouldn't even think you were hearing anything, but when the noise is removed, you can almost feel the difference. The first time I played internet radio from my Cambridge Audio CXN V2 via the Allegro's digital input, it sounded exactly like that. The proof came when the stations began playing higher-resolution music. This usually made little difference, but without background noise it certainly changed things—though, depending on the selection, not always for the better. This is the way it is supposed to be.

A second thing that became clear is that you can't hide from this component. It's truly one with incredibly high resolution. There's a funny story about how we discovered this. At first, to get Qoboz Connect working, we had to use either my Cambridge Audio component with the digital cable or a workaround. That issue has since been fixed. During the process, one of the settings was wrong, and the resolution was set incorrectly. This caused slightly lower playback quality, which normally wouldn't matter—but in this case, it did.

It made enough of a difference that I called Alberto to confirm the configurations. The difference, as I mentioned, was that in the Qoboz configuration, you can change the playback resolution, and the available resolutions differ. I have made this mistake before, but I haven't been called out on it until now, so I contacted the manufacturer to confirm whether I had made a significant departure from the norm. It was refreshing to find it. It was even better because it occurred at the beginning of the review and did not affect any of the actual notes I took for the evaluation itself.

The Details
Two weeks into the shortened one-month review, the Kimber cables arrived. These were a huge step up from the cables I was using earlier. The Kimber Select KS-6065 replaced the Nordost Blue Heaven cables. A D60 digital cable replaced the RSX Benchmark digital cable. The other cables were also replaced by various Kimber Select cables. These will be reviewed later. However, what needs to be noted here is that, once again, the level of resolution alone did not change as one might expect in an audio system; it changed dramatically.

Before discussing specific selections, let's begin with an overview. The AGD produces a rich tapestry of sound that engages listeners in a real, visceral way. Its quick response to changes in music captures idiosyncrasies hidden within many musical genres and artists. It does not alter the intended performance by adding artifacts that might result from power constraints, nor does it introduce technology with flaws causing playback challenges. The only challenge it introduces is a physical constraint on chassis size and component spacing. This is a design restriction, not a flaw—one that AGD has minimized as much as possible, in their estimation, and I agree.

Once the cables were installed, which took about 10 minutes, the first selection for the review was The Wellerman's "Hoist The Colors (A Cappella)" on Hoist The Colors. This is possibly one of the hardest tracks I have ever tried to reproduce. With all-male vocals, it is daunting. The trickiest part is the tenor, which has a magical quality. This track requires high power for accurate bass, but the system must also resolve the material accurately, and everything must function synergistically; otherwise, nothing is synchronized. The Allegro did a fantastic job resolving the material and providing the necessary power, leaving me and anyone who heard it speechless.

The second selection was "Space Oddity," by David Bowie, from Space Oddity (2019 Mix). This turned out to be perhaps the most interesting selection of the entire review. The track played flawlessly. The amount of information that could be heard was so substantial that it seemed like hearing the selection for the first time, and truthfully, I know I have said that before. The part I have not said before is that there were underlying elements in the music that were not as notable before. For example, there were guitar notes that seemed almost out of place. Normally, they would've been either so muddy they would have blended in with the rest of the music, but although the rest of the music played, these were visible now. In the end, it turned out to be just this version, but it highlighted the detail and resolution, not to mention the sound quality the Allegro can produce in the right system.

The third selection used for the review was "Queen Mary" by Francine Thirteen. It is a great track to test just how well an amplifier can handle a genre or musical selection that demands large power fluctuations. The first thing that struck me about the AGD Allegro was just how controlled the soundstage was with this selection. The music was tight, the notes extremely fast, and the vocals were exceptionally lifelike. Regardless of the challenges the material placed on the amplifier, the Allegro was up to the task, even under significant changes and heavy demands.

The fourth selection was Pink Floyd's "Us and Them," on Dark Side Of The Moon. This is always one of my favorite selections in my reviews. It has so much detail that it can get muddy without enough resolution. Luckily, the Allegro can resolve a great deal of detail. You can hear everything one would expect to find in the playback of the track. The vocals are pristine and somewhat haunting. The instrumentals take on qualities that can only be achieved when the playback system is running at its peak. Again, the blackness of the background and the tightness of the soundstage made the experience extremely enjoyable and left me wanting to experience it time and again.

The final selection mentioned specifically in this review will be "The Rain At Last" by David Schwewitzer on Our Great National Parks. It is from the Netflix series, and it's just a nice orchestral score. Its highs and lows create a rich tapestry of sound that transports the listener to another place full of wonder. The effortlessness with which the Allegro recreates the intended music seems surreal and almost orchestrated. There is an elegance that only the truly great achieve, and the Allegro stands tall among them.

Conclusion
The AGD Allegro integrated amplifier is certainly a powerhouse. It was designed and built to produce emotions, and it does so without a doubt. No stone was left unturned in its design, and the no-holds-barred approach definitely paid off in its performance. It certainly impressed me with just how much power and performance can be packed into one chassis.

The AGD Productions Allegro reproduced the material with a level of clarity that was totally unexpected. In fact, in some cases, it was a clarity that I had here that I had not even experienced before. It revealed a hidden layer of depth by removing noise that didn't even seem to be there. Additionally, its inherent neutrality helps it avoid influencing the sound, again reducing noise and increasing blackness.

The AGD Allegro definitely changed how I look at integrated components in general and especially integrated amplifiers. It is certainly one of the most thoroughly complete and thought-out components I have come across in some time. Its performance and artistry should make its creator proud and bring the company to new heights. It certainly has the potential. Personally, I will be sad to see it go, since it has become a member of the family and is one of the few things I will truly miss.

Specifications
Type: Two-way monitor loudspeaker

Power Output: 250+250 @ 4 Ohm

AGD-PowerGaN module design amplifier

Fully balanced phono preamplifier stage with MM & MC cartridges

Class A fully balanced high power

Headphone amplifier with dedicated ultra-low noise linear power supply

Three analog RCA inputs, one fully balanced XLR input

Network Player functionality (via Ethernet port). Full HD Streaming

Capability via DLNA/UPNP standard protocol. Audirvăna Certified and HD AptX Bluetooth.

Digital inputs: AES/EBU, S/PDIF coax, TosLink optical, and USB

R2R multi-bit DAC with Up-Sampler (sampling rate of all signals is increased to 32-bit/384kHz).

Clock / Jitter control Digital block synchronizes incoming data with an internal clock reference generator, removing jitter

Moving Magnet And Moving Coil (Selectable via Menu)
   MM Input Impedance: 47 kOhm, S/R ≥ 85dB
   MC Input Impedance: 420 Ohm, S/R ≥75dB

Outputs: Stereo via unbalanced RCA plus one RCA for subwoofer

Warranty Five years (transferable)

Price: $14,999

Manufacturer
AGD Productions
2644 Via Valdes
Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

Voice: (310) 406-9673
Email: agdsupport@agdproduction.com
Website: AGDProduction.com