What are you looking for in a two-channel integrated amp (assuming that you're looking for one at all, that is)? Good value and decent connectivity? If so, you're in luck because the market offers a number of such solutions. Retro appeal? You're pretty well covered in that department, too. How about HDMI connectivity in addition to the usual digital audio inputs, networking features (including AirPlay and DLNA), and an all-digital signal path that eliminates the need for DACs entirely except for the subwoofer output?

Wait. What?

I'm going to guess there are a fair number of audiophiles in the audience looking at me right now like I did my business in their kitchen sink; however, for those of you who aren't turned off by a product that rejects tradition and actually embraces the way a lot of people are enjoying their entertainment these days, let's talk about the Classé Sigma 2200i stereo integrated amplifier ($5,500), whose name is just about its only predictable feature.

First, let's spend a few minutes unpacking the last sentence of that first paragraph. In a two-channel market where a sizeable contingent views video as icky at best, Classé has embraced the future by packing the Sigma 2200i with four HDMI inputs and one output, with HDMI 2.0 support for UHD video up to 60 Hz, Audio Return Channel, 3D, Deep Color, and xvYCC support (but not HDR). It also supports HDCP 2.2 via one of its inputs.

In effect, that makes the Sigma 2200i an audiophile-caliber two-channel AV receiver, which isn't even really a thing. But it should be. It should have been a thing a long time ago.

Add to that the fact that (in typical B&W Group form) the Sigma 2200i embraces Apple the way cats embrace empty boxes: wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, in a way that we could all stand to learn a thing or two from. In addition to a front-panel USB port that turns your iOS device into a direct source, the 2200i is also an AirPlay receiver, assuming you can feed it a wired network connection. In other words, instead of telling the younger generation that they're Listening To Music Wrong, Classé has recognized the way people actually consume their entertainment and is striving to make the experience better.

Here's where things get really crazy, though. (Crazy like a fox, in my opinion.) The Sigma 2200i borrows the stereo section of its Sigma SSP AV preamp and routes its DSP output into its amplifier DSP, meaning that the only DAC within its signal chain comes at the very end, and only if you use a subwoofer. And the only ADCs are there to convert input from its trio of analog inputs (one XLR; two RCA) into the digital domain at 96/24. The amps, by the way, are 2 x 200W RMS into eight ohms and 2 x 400W RMS into four ohms, and they are the equivalent of what you'll find under the hood of the company's Sigma AMP2 or CA-D200. In terms of other inputs, you'll find a Type B USB input, two optical inputs, two coaxial digital inputs, and IR in and out.

The Hookup
For the bulk of this review, I relied primarily on a pair of GoldenEar Triton One speakers connected to the Sigma 2200i via a pair of Kimber Kable 12TC speaker cables--although at times I also subbed in the pair of Triton Two+ towers I recently reviewed. Toward the end of my testing, I replaced the GoldenEars with a pair of Markaudio Sota Viotti Ones, augmented by an RSL Speedwoofer 10S.

The one thing that you can't help but notice when hooking up the Sigma 2200i is that pictures of the unit do it no justice. Having reviewed gear from what used to be called Classé's Delta Series, I have to admit that I've always found the Sigma Series to be disappointingly drab from photos alone. In person, though, it's hard to deny the 2200i's simple beauty. Its black brushed-aluminum casing plays with light in ways that can't be captured in static images, and the overall build quality is simply impressive.

It's also a beautiful marriage of form and function. The case is designed to transform effortlessly for rack-mounting. You simply remove the side panels, flip them around, reattach, and pop on magnetic inserts to hide the screws. There's also a large air intake vent along the bottom of the faceplate that adds more visual interest to the all-black design.

For sources, I relied mostly on my Maingear Vybe media PC connected via USB, with a decent amount of listening via my iPhone 6S Plus (via both direct USB connection and AirPlay fed by by a CAT-6 connection from my Cisco 866VAE router) and a few cuts from an Oppo BDP-83 universal disc player connected with HDMI. Tapping into the 2200i's USB input does require the download of a driver, which for some reason isn't available on Classé's website, but you can find it on the B&W Group website.

Describing the speakers and sources I used--and how I connected them--only tells a fraction of the story in terms of the Sigma 2200i's setup. Unlike most stereo integrated amplifiers, there's a ton to adjust here. Like most Classé gear, this piece is graced with a recessed front-panel touch screen that grants access to a wealth of tweakable features, like a fully featured parametric EQ; a configuration setup that allows you to set, store, and recall different combinations of full-range, full-range-plus-sub, and 2.1, with your choice of three crossover slopes and crossover points that range from 40 to 140 Hz in 10Hz increments; source setups that allow you to mix and match AV connectivity and set default speaker configurations; tone control tweaks; volume control tweaks ... Just about the only thing you won't find in the setup menus is a way to set a static IP address for the 2200i, but you can easily do so by dialing into its assigned IP address in a browser on any device on the same network.

Note that I said "just about" there. There is one potentially troublesome omission (the keyword there being "potentially"), but we'll touch on that in the Downside section.

Performance
As is usually the case when reviewing audio gear, I didn't jump right in with anything that could be considered audiophile listening material. Instead, I sat down with tracks that I know backwards and forwards and have listened to uncountable times through my Triton One towers. As is also usually the case, there's a lot to be learned about the Classé Sigma 2200i's performance from less-than-perfect recordings.

"Wiser Time," from the Black Crowes' Amorica (American Recordings), proved to be one such recording. While it doesn't do everything it could to spotlight all of the things the 2200i does right, it definitely reveals so many of the things it could have gotten wrong but didn't, if that makes sense. I've heard so many stereo components, even high-priced ones, render the intertwining guitars in this track as a sort of jam-bandy chaotic mélange, especially once the vocals kick in at the 0:25 mark. Far too many amps simply don't allow the brighter percussion in the track to punch high enough above the background level for full effect. They don't give the doubled vocals in the verses room to breathe. It's one reason I never use this track in reviews. Otherwise-amazing gear just sounds okay with "Wiser Time," especially analog gear.

Through the 2200i, there was so much depth here. So much nuance. It was so much easier to dig in and explore the individual elements of the mix, trace the contours painted in the air by the separate guitar parts. Or back up and trace the complex patterns they create when taken as a whole. The razor-thin dynamic peaks leapt out with force and authority. Off the top of my head, I can only recall this track sounding so clear, so precise, so deliciously dynamic through one other piece of gear: Arcam's AVR750.

For something completely different, and with a bit more audiophile cred, I turned my attention to the 96/24 HDTracks download of "Gadamaylin" from I Ching's album Of the Marsh and the Moon (Chesky Records). Don't be too quick to write this one off because of its heavy electronic element; it's a fascinating study in textures and phase shifts. It's packed with tiny little pinprick details that simply sparkle via the 2200i, from the intertwining of ambient rainforest sounds, human chatter, and marketplace clattering in the intro to the interplay between synths and traditional Eastern instruments like the erhu throughout the track.

The mechanical and the organic come together so seamlessly here that it's impossible not to appreciate. The hard-hitting dynamic punch isn't really a great shock, given the Class D topology of the amp, but the silky smooth transparency of the acoustic elements and the dumbfounding sense of space are, whether they should be or not.

Next up: "Dance of the Tumblers" from The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, performed here by the Minnesota Orchestra, led by Eiji Oue (Reference Recordings), taken from the 96/24 download of the HDTracks 2013 Sampler. I gravitated toward this track, in particular, because it's one in which the slightest imprecision in timing makes all the difference between a thoroughly engaging, impactful listening experience and merely a nice-sounding one. Attack and decay here were simply beyond reproach from beginning to end, in both the percussion and stringed instruments. The depth of the soundstage wasn't really a factor with this mix, but its width was a factor, in an absolutely speaker-position-defying way.

I think what impresses me most is just how the 2200i handled all of the track's tonal and dynamic ups and down with equal impressiveness, from the quiet and delicate frolicking of some passages to the bombastic Bugs-Bunny-ness of others. There's no singular element of the mix that stands out as a particular strength of the 2200i's delivery, because it's all strong. It does what I feel an audio component should do: it gets out of the way of the music, imparting no distinctive coloration or character of its own. It lets the music be what it is with no enhancements and no constraints.

The Downside
Remember that potentially troublesome omission I promised to touch on? It's the fact that, for all of the Sigma 2200i's incredible (and intuitive) configuration tools, it lacks a delay setting for its subwoofer output. If you're planning on running the integrated amp in pure stereo mode without a sub, that won't be an issue. If, like me, you have the luxury of locating your sub right next to a main speaker and tinkering with placement, it's also not a practical concern. If, on the other hand, you're running a 2.1 system with the sub located out of the way in your room, this could become an issue.

My other primary concerns are more universally applicable, but they're for you to prioritize. Firstly, the remote is seriously lacking, due not only to an overall lack of buttons but also to the fact that they're not terribly easy to press. That's more than made up for by the beyond-excellent Classé control app for mobile devices, which gives you access to all of the control (although not all of the configuration) tools you'd ever need for day-to-day operation.

Lastly, although the 2200i does feature a headphone output, the scarcity of text dedicated to it in the instruction manual tells you just about everything you need to know about it. For point of reference, the manual dedicates 135 words to describing the IR window on the front of the integrated amp, and it spends a mere 17 words discussing the headphone output. That's about half the text dedicated to the AC mains receptacle, to put things in perspective. To be blunt: the headphone output is serviceable at best...on par with the headphone amp found on most mass-market AV receivers. If you spend as much time as I do with headphones plugged into your two-channel system, this is disappointing for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that the only audio output from the 2200i is its speaker binding posts, unless you count its HDMI and subwoofer outs. So there's no adding a headphone amplifier.

Comparison and Competition
If you're looking for something a little more old-school but still in the same performance class as the Sigma 2200i, McIntosh's $7,000 MA7900, $6,500 MA6700, and $4,500 MA5200 integrated amplifiers are a good place to start. All provide USB connectivity with integrated DACs, supporting bit depths and resolutions up to 32-bit/192-kHz. All three also feature dedicated phono inputs (with support for both moving coil and moving magnet configurations in the MA6700 and MA7900), but of course they lack video connectivity altogether (which we'll just take as a given going forward).

One criticism that I imagine some will level at the Sigma 2200i integrated amplifier is that it's a little too integrated. You can't add an external amp (or even, as I mentioned above, a great headphone amp) because it offers no line-level or digital outputs (except, of course, for HDMI and the subwoofer out). If that's your grump, consider the Vinnie Rossi's LIO integrated amplifier (starting at $4,875, depending on your configuration). Its modular design allows for the addition of all sorts of goodies, from a phono stage to a DSD/PCM DAC module to a pretty beefy headphone amp with your choice of single-ended or balanced outs.

If you're digging the whole Class D thing that Classé has going but you're not quite ready to spring for its digital-from-top-to-bottom vibe, I would also recommend taking a look at Peachtree Audio's new Nova300 ($2,299), which can handle digital input up to 32-bit/384-kHz PCM and 5.6MHz DSD, and it also features a moving magnet phono input and home theater bypass functionality.

Conclusion
This isn't the first time I've said this, and it won't be the last: my job as a reviewer isn't to tell you how to spend your hard-earned money. It's to help you make an informed decision about whether or not a product is right for you. I love the Classé Sigma 2200i integrated amplifier to itty-bitty little pieces. I want to hug it and pet it and squeeze it and name it George. But if you look at its $5,500 price tag and say, "For that much money, it better do X,Y, and Z," I hear you. The lack of a really great headphone amp section hurts my feelings. The complete inability to even add one positively skins my knee.

At the same time, I have to recognize the fact that headphones aren't a big deal for some people in the home environment. Heresy, right? While reviewing the 2200i, I called and asked publisher Jerry Del Colliano if he could plug a set of cans into his Sigma SSP AV preamp and give me a second opinion. His reply? "I think I would probably have to go buy a quarter-inch headphone adapter to even do that." Totally valid.

If you're the type of audio junky who's constantly searching for that next great system add-on to tweak your performance by two percent (also totally valid!), the Sigma 2200i doesn't leave you many options, aside from changing your speakers and replacing your speaker cables (or, for heaven's sake, upgrading the power cable if that's your bag). Otherwise, the buck literally stops here. Literally.

If, on the other hand, you're tired of chasing the next big tweak, if you want a world-class digital stereo system that also doubles as great two-channel home theater system, if you actually use your iPhone as a music source like a normal human being, if you're tired of buying a new outboard DAC every year just to shave three-sevenths of a picosecond off the theoretical jitter of your signal chain, then get thee to a Classé dealer to audition this integrated amp with your favorite reference tunes ASAP. Because once you're done setting it up, the Sigma 2200i isn't made for fiddling with. It's made for listening to.

Additional Resources
• Check out our Stereo Amps category page to read similar reviews.
• Classé Sigma SSP AV Preamp Reviewed at HomeTheaterReview.com.
• Visit the Classé Audio website for more product information.