Infigo Audio is an exciting new player in the red-hot world of uber-high-end audiophile electronics. The Canada-based company has a long history in the audiophile industry, and it is coming to market with a full suite of electronics and cables targeting the highest of high-end consumers with some deep pockets, as well as a taste for some no-compromise design philosophies. For example, they make a Class-A operation power amp that, unlike nearly all other designs in that category, don’t get hot. That’s some out-of-the-box thinking.
The Infigo Method 7 stereo preamplifier is designed to serve as the center of a super high-end system. It bristles with modern features controlled by software, while the analog signals always remain in the analog domain. The Infigo Method 7 is designed to offer maximum performance and compete with the best in the business. I’ve got a few of them sitting around, thus the table is set. Let’s see if the engineers at Infigo Audio have accomplished this lofty audiophile mission …
What Makes the Infigo Method 7 Preamplifier So Special?
- The Infigo Audio Method 7 is a very sophisticated stereo preamp that uses software to operate the analog circuity. The software allows for some very useful features that other high-end audiophile preamplifiers rarely offer. For example, any of the six inputs can be converted to an output, which is useful for a tape loop. It also offers volume and balance offset capability to each input. Each input can also be set to a fixed gain for a home theater bypass, making the Method 7 a very flexible audiophile preamplifier.
- The Infigo Audio Method 7 includes a high-quality software-configurable phono input. The software allows the user to program resistance and capacitance values to optimize for your phono cartridges, either MM or MC types. The phono input board is physically isolated from the rest of the circuitry with a aluminum wall for maximum shielding. You can spend a lot of money on a very high-end matching phonostage, but the Infigo Audio Method 7 delivers another level of value for our vinyl-loving audiophile friends.
- The Infigo Audio Method 7 utilizes a high-precision resistor array for volume control. Fixed resistors offer the purest method for volume control but are challenging to implement. The Method 7 uses switched precision resistors to change the volume in 256 steps of 0.5dB’
- Like other Infigo electronics, the Method 7 includes a plexiglass top to show off the internal circuitry. The banks of capacitors, rows of integrated circuit chips and glowing blue LEDs are visually mesmerizing. Truth be told, I spent far too long peering into the top of the Method 7 while it was in my system. If you don’t care to be distracted by the blue glow from the preamplifier, Infigo includes a heavy machined cover that fits snugly over top of the plexiglass cover.
- The Infigo Method 7 color configuration is completely customizable. Chassis components are available in silver, black, and gold. Owners can design their own combination of colors. My review sample had a silver face and black chassis, and looked fantastic. If I were ordering one, I’d opt for all silver to match my other components.
- The Infigo Method 7 uses separate digital and analog power supplies. Digital circuitry is typically noisy and can introduce noise into the delicate analog audio signals. Separating them is solid engineering that creates ultra-low noise backgrounds and a clearer view of the music. The Infigo Audio Method 7 uses 16 distributed linear power supplies, with three banks of capacitors. One bank is for the digital circuitry, and the remaining two buffer the positive and negative analog portions.
Why Should You Care About the Infigo Method 7 Preamplifier?
The Infigo Method 7 offers a unique combination of software-driven flexibility, with old-school analog circuit design for maximum sonic performance. The audio signal remains in the analog domain from input to output, as it should. The Infigo Audio Method 7 is for the buyer who is looking for ultra-high performance and flexibility. They want something unique in a world of plain silver boxes. Something that not all of their audiophile friends already have. They prefer boutique manufacturing and bold styling. If this sounds like you, then keep reading, as the Method 7 checks all the right boxes.
Some Things You Might Not Like About the Infigo Method 7 Preamplifier
- The Infigo Audio Method 7 volume control operation is operationally noisy. The resistor array that makes up the volume control is operated by an actuator that clicks and clacks as the volume changes. It was easily audible from across the room. Personally, this doesn’t bother me one bit, but my audiophile wife (yes, that’s a thing) was not a fan of it.
- The Infigo Method 7 does not have a physical volume knob, and I missed it. If you’ve been car shopping lately, you will realize that knobs and buttons have all but disappeared. Everything in the automotive world is now controlled by a touchscreen, and I am not a fan. We recently purchased a new car and, in order to toggle the air conditioner compressor, I have to scroll through a maze of menus. I don’t want to do that. Give me my damn A/C button back. While the touchscreen of the Infigo works well, I struggled a bit while adjusting the volume via this somewhat unconventional method. Sliding my finger up the virtual volume slider often caused big jumps in volume. I think the addition of plus and minus buttons on the touchscreen would help tremendously, but I would still prefer an old-fashioned knob. I will say that I used the remote most often and each press of the volume-up button gave me a 0.5dB change.
Listening to the Infigo Audio Method 7 Preamplifier …
My current system consists of a Lumin U1 mini streamer, Weiss Helios DAC, CH Precision L1 preamplifier, CH Precision M1.1 Amplifier, and Rockport Avior II loudspeakers. The Infigo Method 7 Preamplifier was connected to the M1.1 amplifier using the provided Infigo Sparkle XLR cables. My current Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 10 XLR cables connected the Helios DAC.
“Everything In Its Right Place” by Radiohead from the Kid A album is a melancholy techno track that has lots of electronic organ that comes at the listener in waves. Underpinning the organ is a melodic bass drum that was deep, full, and punchy. The soundstage that the Infigo Audio Method 7 threw was wide, deep, and enveloping. Organ tones sounded rich and full of harmonics. The overall presentation is one I would usually make me think that there were uber-high-end tubes somewhere in the signal chain. I’ve heard this song a million times, and it just seemed like everything was a bit more pronounced and had more texture with the Method 7.
“Eye in the Sky” by The Alan Parsons Project is a classic that everyone knows, or should know, from the engineer who brought us records such as Dark Side of the Moon. Listening to Parsons’ most famous track from his solo project through the Method 7 delivered sonic details I simply hadn’t heard before. For example, the gently strumming guitar that is prominent in the first half of the song sounds like it was double-tracked, rather than a single guitar. It was easy to focus on either of the guitars if I wanted to, where lesser preamps would smear them together. The drums were clear, tight, and just had a rightness about them. Weight is the word that continues to come to mind while listening to the Method 7. Not a slow syrupy weight, but a rich and colorful weight that makes music more musical, if that makes sense. It’s an added realism that is hard to quantify, but the ear knows it when it hears it. The Method 7 has it in spades, but doesn’t trade musicality for detail. It’s an outstanding blend of both that kept me listening.
“Becoming a Geisha” from the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack features greats such as Yo-Yo Ma playing cello, Itzhak Perlman playing violin, and composer John Williams. This track has a little bit of everything and is an excellent test of a system’s overall performance. Strings, Shakuhachi flute, and Tsuzumi hand drums, to name just a few of the instruments that make up this epic Japan-inspired track. The dueling cello and violin are achingly beautiful with just the right amount of sweetness. Some preamplifiers present strings in a sterile way, in an effort to extract the most minute amount of detail, but this loses the magic. Others put a layer of haze over them, trying to make them seem more tubelike. The Method 7 strikes a perfect balance to my ears. A little over the halfway mark, there is a barrage of drums that brings speed and precision as a counter to the gently flowing beauty of the strings. The Method 7 brings both to life in a highly listenable way.
Will the Infigo Audio Method 7 Preamplifier Hold Its Value?
Repeating what I said about the Infigo Audio Method 3 mono amplifiers (read review here), Infigo is a boutique Canadian audiophile manufacturer that doesn’t quite have the brand gravitas of other high-end manufacturers like, say, Audio Research, D’Agostino, Pass Labs, and others, but their equipment is more than capable of standing toe-to-toe with the aforementioned giants. Their equipment is built to a very high standard, so much so that every electronic component includes a clear cover to show off the internal circuitry. They’re very proud of the internals, and rightly so. The Infigo Audio equipment physically looks like a work of art. You won’t find a lot of Infigo products on the used market, which in my opinion is not a bad thing. Should you need to sell, there is likely a buyer out there ready to snap it up. However, the Infigo Method 7 is a long-term keeper in my opinion.
What is the Competition for the Infigo 7 Preamplifier?
The first competitor to the Method 7 that comes to mind is the solid state Pass Labs XP-32 preamplifier. At $18,300, it is slightly lower-priced than the Method 7. It is a three-chassis unit, with one control and two separate power supplies, one for each channel, so you’d better have some empty rack space. It doesn’t have a phono stage like the Method 7, or the fancy software, but is always in the conversation when it comes to top-performing line stages.
The Audio Research Reference 6 SE is another worthy competitor to the Method 7. The $19,500 Ref 6 SE is a single-chassis unit like the Infigo, but it brings tubes into the conversation. It has six 6H30 tubes in the gain stage and another 6H30 and 6550 tube in the power supply. Tube lovers relish the magic that they bring to music. It’s typically a warmth in the midrange that makes vocals more lifelike and engaging. In the past, this was a distinct coloration that changed the music and usually sounded slow and muddy. Audio Research has all but eliminated this source of criticism, providing clarity and detail, as well as the magical midrange. Tubes do wear out over time, as will the performance. If you don’t mind replacing tubes after a few years, then the Ref 6 SE should be considered.
Final Thoughts on the Infigo Method 7 Stereo Preamplifier …
The Method 7 stereo preamplifier is a very capable product that can serve as the heart of an ultra-high-end audiophile system. It offers lots of useful configurability options and has excellent fit, finish, and build quality. The sound, however, is what truly matters, and it sounds fantastic. I would say it leans a little to the warm side of neutral, but not by much. It lets all of the highly detailed source information come through with the midrange magic that a top-end tube unit brings. I still would prefer a volume knob over the touchscreen volume control, but that’s a small complaint as, 99 percent of the time, volume will be adjusted from the remote control. As with the Infigo Audio Method 3 mono amplifiers, I recommend the Method 7 Preamplifier to anyone shopping for a statement preamplifier. There are a lot of serious players in this rarified part of the market, but make no mistake, the Infigo Audio belongs right there in the conversation.
