Pathos Lògos MkII Integrated Amplifier Review

Pathos Lògos MkII tubes closeup

The Italian audio brand Pathos may not be a household name, especially in the US, but the company has been making high-end audio products since 1994. There is a sense of uniqueness in Pathos products, not from their function, but from their beautiful aesthetic appearance. Besides the technological know-how for making good-sounding hi-fi products for the consumption of the demanding ears, the company seems to design their products to be visually artistic too. The look of the Pathos Lògos MkII alone drew attention and compliments from a few of my non-audio-hobbyist friends. This is truly a product whose form instills pride of ownership. My review report below should give readers an idea of whether it also has a sonic performance commensurate with its beauty.

Pathos Lògos MkII front view

Pathos Acoustics was founded in 1994 in the northern Italian city of Vicenza, an area known for its metal production, jewelry, and fashion industries. It is no surprise that Pathos products are very much influenced by the vibe of the area. Promoting the spirit of innovation and invention, Pathos carves itself a niche in the audio industry by creating hi-fi jewelry. The aesthetic design of Pathos products can easily be appreciated even by people who are not into audio. But more importantly, Pathos has the technological know-how to make hi-fi products that will gain appreciation from the most demanding audiophiles.

The Lògos MkII reviewed here is from Pathos’ middle-of-the-pack hybrid integrated amplifier collection. The Lògos model has been around for over two decades actually; the MkI was started in 2001, while the MkII was released in 2013. Besides the internal board and circuitry improvements going from MkI to MkII, the product’s exterior design is left mostly unchanged. The only difference is the engraving of ‘MkII’ on the wooden part of the front panel on the Lògos MkII. The Lògos’ beautiful, jewelry-like exterior really exudes timeless design that stays perpetually relevant.

The Pathos Lògos MkII arrived well-protected inside its triple-layered shipping carton, which has a good amount of sufficiently thick pads. Although I had seen the pictures of the Lògos prior, looking at it in person gave me a different vibe. I thought the actual product looked better than the pictures. I felt that I was looking at a delicate art product rather than an audio-integrated amplifier. Even before I tried it on, its look alone made me root for it. I really did not want such a look to get wasted by inferior performance. The phrase ‘don’t let me down’ pretty much described my feeling towards the amplifier before critically listening to some music through it.

The Lògos MkII is a hybrid integrated amplifier with a tube preamplification stage and a solid-state amplification stage. The preamplification stage utilizes two ECC88 tubes and employs a balanced-signal design up to the tubes. Its volume control is purely a resistive analog circuit with a digital control interface. A high-tech miniaturized relay is utilized for the input selector. The amplification stage is of class AB utilizing MOSFET dual-mono zero-feedback topology. With both channels driven, the amplifier can output 110 W/channel into 8-ohm or 220 W/channel into 4-ohm loads.

The base of the Lògos MkII is a traditional analog device. However, an optional HiDac Mk2 board can be installed internally to add a 32-bit/384-kHz DAC functionality to the amplifier for $759. The HiDac Mk2 installation adds one USB and two coaxial digital inputs and essentially converts the Lògos MkII into a modern integrated amplifier with digital signal switching capability. The review sample did not come with the HiDac Mk2 board, and hence the focus of the review will be on the base analog unit.

All the input and output connectors of the Lògos MkII are neatly located on the rear panel. The Lògos MkII can accommodate 2 balanced (XLR) and 5 unbalanced (RCA) inputs. A pair of five-way binding-post speaker terminals is provided for each channel. A stereo line-level unbalanced pre-out is also available, which allows the Lògos MkII to be used as a preamplifier driving an external amplifier.

Pathos Lògos MkII rear panel

The two ECC88 tubes of the Lògos MkII are protruding above the wooden block that cut through the middle of the curvy-shaped silver-finish aluminum faceplate. These tubes, even though protected by shiny chrome metal protectors around them, are still visibly exposed, so you can still see them glow when the unit is operating. The wedge-shaped cut-out for the staging of the tubes has a mirrored wall, which adds classiness to its overall appearance.

The front panel of the Lògos MkII overall looks uncluttered with only two push buttons on the front-right panel and a round display in the middle of the rotary volume knob located on the central wooden panel. The two push buttons are for changing input and for turning the unit on/off. The rotary volume knob is of a digital variety, and it can only rotate 30o max in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Clockwise rotation will increase the volume and counterclockwise rotation will decrease the volume. The volume level is displayed in red digits in the round display. If the input is changed, the display will indicate the input selected for a few seconds before it changes back to displaying the volume level. The display’s brightness is adjustable and can be turned off altogether. The Lògos MkII remembers the last volume level for each input, which is a neat feature that allows you to set preferred volume levels for different inputs.

The Lògos MkII runs rather warm during operation. However overheating should not be a concern if the unit is placed in a properly ventilated area, especially because it is equipped with good heat-dissipation measures. Besides the circular-shaped vents on the top cover, the whole side panels of the amplifier are occupied by heat-sink fins, which are formed into ‘Pathos’ lettering when viewed from the top. As much as I wish for smoother-shaped heat sinks for easier product handling, I could not help but marvel at Pathos’ attention to these design details, transforming necessary product elements into aesthetic design touches.

Pathos Lògos MkII top view

The build quality of the amplifier is excellent. Even though the jewelry look of the Lògos MkII might project a sense of fragility, there is no fragile feel at all with its craftmanship. The amplifier seems to be solidly constructed and meticulously assembled. The different finishes applied to the different portions of the amplifier are all first-rate.

The Lògos MkII is supplied with a simple wooden block-looking infra-red remote control with only six metal buttons on its faceplate. This supplied remote control may not be the most convenient to use, but it is functional and allows you to control most of the amplifier’s functions from your seating position. The Lògos MkII is quite responsive to the commands from the remote control and its command-receiving angles are sufficiently wide.

Pathos Lògos MkII remote control

As with any traditional integrated amplifier, the Lògos MkII is ready to play after input and output connections are made. During the review, the Lògos MkII was used to drive my Revel Ultima Studio speakers. The sources used are primarily the Auralic Aries G1 streamer and PS Audio PerfectWave Transport, connected through the PS Audio DirectStream DAC. Both the balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) outputs of the DirectStream DAC were connected to the Lògos MkII. These two connection types yielded different output levels for the same volume setting, but I did not notice sonic fidelity differences between them. I would be happy to use either type of connection in my system.

After sufficient break-in, the Lògos MkII convincingly erased my concern about the possibility of getting let down by its performance starting with the first note I listened to. This beauty could sing! And I should add that it could sing pretty damn well, and in fact, better than most. I was quite amazed by the way it sang too. Yes, it sounded full and smooth with no sharp edges along the midrange and high-frequency notes as with most tube devices, but it also exhibited sheer textures in its presentation with impressive bass authority. The ability of the Lògos MkII to move the woofers made it overall sound more powerful than its amplifier specifications suggested. The sheer musicality of the Lògos MkII was nothing short of excellent.

During the review, I had a chance to compare the Lògos MkII with the similarly priced Michi X3 integrated amplifier. The Michi X3 is a full solid-state product and has a more powerful amplifier (200 W/channel into 8-ohm loads) than the Lògos MkII, but I thought the end results produced by these two products were quite comparable, even though they were slightly different. The sonic balance and smoothness were about the same, however the Lògos MkII exhibited richer textures in its presentation than the Michi X3. Hence, the attacks and presence seemed to flesh out better through the Lògos MkII. The bass response was equally satisfying, even though the Lògos MkII has a less powerful amplifier than the X3. However, the X3 had a slight edge with its soundstage presentation, as I thought it projected a slightly wider and deeper musical stage in general than the Lògos MkII. They are both solid performers that churn out strong sonic performance, hence which product one prefers would eventually be a matter of taste. I consider the Michi X3 as one of the best in its class (I reviewed it in 2020), and the fact that the Lògos MkII delivered a neck-to-neck performance in this comparison shows that it has the sonic quality that can compete with the best out there in its price range.

Pathos Lògos MkII is a classical integrated amplifier exemplifying the coexistence of beautiful form and excellent function at a price that does not break the bank.

The Lògos MkII is the very epitome of a timeless design piece where form and function culminate in unison. This is an excellently crafted product, whose beauty is not just skin deep. The Lògos MkII is designed with a high aesthetic appearance, it begs to be staged for your guests to admire. The best part is the Lògos MkII exhibits strong sonic performance that further elevates its synergistic form-and-function design approach. Its sonic performance alone easily justifies its price of admission. Coupled with the uniquely elegant appearance of the product, then you have a good value proposition that both your eyes and ears can approve.