Parasound will kick off a dealer tour for the new John Curl-designed Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifier on February 29th at The Audio Salon of Santa Monica, CA. This will be the first of a number of dealer events nationwide in the USA to debut this new Parasound flagship amplifier.

It replaces Parasound’s original JC 1 after a ‘mere’ two decades as their flagship...more info here.

The Audio Salon

Those who know The Audio Salon recognize it as a special place. It is nestled among the art galleries at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. Owner Maier Shadi says the location pays homage to the idea that music reproduction is an art form.

The event will be held Saturday, February 29th from 2 to 6 pm at The Audio Salon, which is adjacent to the Bergamot Subway Station. It will feature Parasound President, Richard Schram, and John Curl, with the Parasound Halo JC 1+ monoblock power amplifiers driving Wilson speakers.

For more info and links for this and many other Hifi Shows and Hifi Events around the world, check out the Hifi Pig Hifi Diary here!

The AVID HIFI INTEGRUM represents this British company’s entry-level integrated amplifier, yet costs £7000. Janine Elliot takes a listen to assess if this represents a solid investment.

AVID HIFI, based in Kimbolton near Huntingdon, are not new to creating heavyweight audio. They have been designing and making products since 1995 that invariably need strong muscles to move them, but boy are you in for a nice surprise when you get to listen. I have followed the company for a number of years and have reviewed their turntables and speakers in the past. Now I have a chance to listen to their entry model integrated amp, though at £7000 it isn’t cheap, but much much more on price later. CEO Conrad Mas is very passionate about making the very best products, with cost not an option. His interest in HiFi extends, like mine, to his youth, buying a Connoisseur BD1 turntable and Acos Lustre arm at the age of 16 and spending much time on improving it. This led, appropriately, to him forming AVID HIFI in 1995 with his first turntable and then extending manufacture over the years to loudspeakers, preamps, power-amps, phono-stages, arms, cartridges and racks. His company has also in the past done metalwork for other HiFi manufacturers and even the automotive industry, but now his burgeoning AVID HIFI empire is occupying every bit of his time. More recently the company introduced the first integrated amp, the SIGSUM (‘The SUM of two SIGnal’s….SIGSUM’) cascading down the extremely high-specification components found in their Reference electronics; including the phono-stage coming directly out of the PULSUS. This amplifier comes in at £13000 and is powered with a 1.1KVA mains transformer and tons of smoothing capacitors. The new INTEGRA (yes, short for Integrated), at £4000 cheaper, is none the less of an amplifier with a 750VA mains transformer, 88,000uF storage capacity, phono-stage taken directly out of the PELLAR, bespoke Samwha capacitors and an ALPS RK27 volume control.

CONSTRUCTION

The INTEGRA is almost identical in appearance to the SIGSUM with a well-endowed 19mm thick aluminium fascia with the iconic big “A” machined in the front plus an etched “INTEGRA” on the top. You certainly know who makes this product with the word “AVID” appearing on the top and sides formed within the air-vent holes and designed to cool down this Class AB 90W amplifier.  Build quality, as always, is indeed exemplary. One would expect nothing less.

The front has the volume control and matching selector knob for four ‘line’ and one ‘phono’ input. This is sheer quality and feels great in use, unlike many knobs that don’t have recesses for your fingers to fit on. This is a particular AVID HIFI shape that is seen on many of their products; even used for the feet of turntables and the turntable record clamps. The selector knob operates reed switches on the PCB, so you will never have dirty contacts or degradation of sound as the audio signal does not go through the knob. Similarly, sound is muted as you change inputs, making for a classy selection of source; I really found fun in operating it. The volume control is the excellent ALPS RK27, not quite so good as the RK50 appearing on the SIGSUM, but still top quality. As in the more expensive model there is both a mono and a mute switch either side of a headphone socket. There is no remote control. I’m so glad! No worries about sound degradation caused by such things and there’s only a little blue light on the front to tell you the INTEGRA is raring to go. Oh, and the on/off toggle switch is hidden underneath the front, so that means there is easy access to it rather than having one stuck at the back next to the mains socket. Just as well because the amplifier is very deep measuring in at just under 50cm. The INTEGRA is available in silver and black. The model for review came to me straight out of the box so I needed to spend a good 24 hours running it in. No worries there.

As in the SIGSUM and as previously mentioned, the phono-stage is taken directly out of one of their stand-alone models, in this case the PELLAR. It is a passive RIAA unit with Neuman HF correction.  As in the PELLAR there are two dip switches at the back of the INTEGRA to select Moving Magnet and low/mid/high output Moving Coils, plus a pair of RCA sockets next to the inputs for you to connect resistive loading plugs to refine connection to your specific cartridge. As the default loading is 47kΩ which is ideal for a Moving Magnet cartridge, should you wish to utilise MC cartridges you need to add the supplied 500Ω plugs, or you can request you own loading for your specific cartridge, at £50. My Audio Technica AT33sa works best above 100Ω, so the 500Ω plug was fine for this review.

SOUND QUALITY

My first disc to be played was Kate Bush’s 180g vinyl remaster of ‘Hounds of Love’, released in 1985. I love this album not just for its musical prowess but also for the engineering. This album is ideal for using in reviews to test out the soundstage and transients. The second side is a sound theatre drama with everything from thunder to vox pops and jigs. Through the INTEGRA the sound was both detailed and inviting; it grabbed my attention immediately. My Wilson Benesch Arcs had never sounded so good, particularly in the bass frequencies. Transients were equally impressive; so much so that the start of the last track made me jump up out of my seat. That second side of the album is all about someone drifting alone at sea at night with no idea where they are going. This amplifier had no problems in “knowing” what the music was doing, always being confident, though still sensitive to the needs of the music. The music was full of detail and clarity that would make my Leak Stereo20 valve amp appear quite lethargic. The INTEGRA was a very detailed and positive performer, but don’t misinterpret this as being too assertive;  I never felt any fatigue listening for hours, something that amplifiers as detailed as this one can often make you feel.

The next disc to play was Patricia Barber’s ‘Live. A Fortnight in Paris’. This album was particularly detailed and vigorous, just as it would have been up on stage. The INTEGRA personified detail and speed at all frequencies, showing its power and grip over the music I played This was no slouch, and it certainly warranted its place in the AVID HIFI line-up, sharing characteristics with the more expensive amplifiers. Yes, £7000 for the baby of the family might seem steep, but this amplifier was by no means a watered-down member of the AVID HIFI line-up. This was very much a star performer and deservedly priced at 7K. AVID’s design philosophy is to design the best product that they can then trickle it down to cheaper models in the series. Hence there are many ideas, components and technologies that come from models higher up the chain appearing in the INTEGRA. This might be the entry model but it still is a top-quality product from a company that only makes top quality products, just as even the entry model Ferrari or MacLaren wouldn’t ever be sneered at, and that’s sort of how I see the INTEGRA.

Pink Floyd’s ‘The Division Bell’ has an airily quiet start on “Cluster One” that gradually builds up as ideas develop. The INTEGRA is equally quiet in operation, particularly that phono-stage. The next track “What Do You Want” turns up the wick and has some great guitar playing from David Gilmour. Here the INTEGRA was very precise in its performance, leaving nothing untold; all the instruments, the reverbs and distortion pedals were clear. Only that the precision could perhaps be misread as clinical; If you want an easy listening glossy performance, then look elsewhere. The cymbals are very precise and clear, and the guitar and vocal lines are expressive, and there is no chance for you to become uninterested in the performance. The amplifier might be just 90 Watts but at no time did I find the amp sounding short of power. Indeed, the Alps fader very rarely got past 9 o’clock in my daytime listening sessions, though the clock made it past 10 o’clock every evening I listened!

Turning to Mike Valentine’s Espana, an album full of gorgeous Spanish tunes including Bizet’s Carmen and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, the INTEGRA had my full attention, or rather the music did. There was so much detail and I felt I was there with the musicians. The cello and violin solos seemed to move away from the speakers and come alive in my living room. This is a great album once you come to terms with the narrow soundstage of the recording; it is more the soundstage you would hear if you were in the audience of a hall. Turning to mono albums, this would have to be done with the “mono” switch pressed; that not only makes stereo crackles mono but also reduces their interfering output. For this I played my favourite ‘The Other Side of Dudley Moore’, an album with his trio playing famous tunes plus some of his own. Such a shame this 1965 album was in mono when stereo was past its inauguration, and they really needed to tune that top Ab on the piano! Never mind, after playing a few bars you forget and simply enjoy the brilliant performance. Even in mono this is an excellent amplifier that is hard to find fault in.

Yes, this amplifier really was so good I didn’t want to give it back.

Turning to the line inputs I decided to play the Hemiola Records 15ips reel to reel sampler I obtained at the Munich show, using my rebuilt Ferrograph Logic 7. Such a brilliant recording and performance. Similarly, the INTEGRA excelled; a clear and transparent vocal and extended hi-hat on “May This Be Love” (Davide Pannozzo Trio ‘A portrait of Jimi Hendrix). The guitar’s distortion a fitting contrast to the purity from the other instruments. The clarinet and guitar duo from Mirabassi and Traufic in “Aria de Opereta” was a pure delight; only spoilt by the slightly off-set reverb, largely due to the fact that the clarinet was left of centre and having its own reverb signal slightly greater than that of the guitar’s. The clarinet’s melodic lines were very clear and crisp, slightly overriding the guitar.

Playing the excellent 15ips Chasing the Dragon ‘Big Band Spectacular’ further showed off the talents of the INTEGRA. Only the clarinets positioned central in “Little Brown Jug” gave a sense of mid-frequency muffling. The piano solo, however, was as good as I had heard it live at the Air Studios when this was being recorded. The ‘Avril Chorus’ had lots of power and showed off the INTEGRA for its speed and verve. Initial transients were powerful, and the top end was as clear as it gets.

As it stands for a £7000 integrated this was still a remarkable machine. Indeed, the INTEGRA played any music I fed it with near perfection. I regularly use TVC preamplifiers as they don’t leave their own signature on the music, and the preamp stage on this amplifier was similarly invisible. It was also good to see a headphone socket and playing most of the same tracks on headphones as I did on speakers gave me more reason to love this amplifier; the sound was just as clear and accurate.

So, let’s look at the contents; a very able pre-amplifier, an excellent power amplifier with 2 individual power amp boards as in the SIGSUM, a £900 phono stage, a totally dedicated headphone amplifier, plus quality components. Now, £7000 doesn’t seem that bad now, does it?

CONCLUSION

This is a cracking integrated amplifier that sits very comfortably in the £7000 price bracket. The sound is energetic and detailed making it an ideal performer for the home, with a particularly good bass end and a clear and precise top. The phono-stage is particularly good making an excellent package. It was hard to find fault in its performance, which is, therefore, a good reason to try it.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality: Excellent and solid construction, typical from AVID HIFI; thick front panel with the big “A” etched across it, plus excellent components and gold-plated plugs.

Sound Quality:  A very detailed and powerful presentation ideal for those who don’t want to miss anything.

Value for Money: £7000 might seem a lot, but this is masses of amplifier, phono-stage and headphone amp in one heavyweight box.

Pros: Excellent dynamics. Excellent bass end. Detailed and exciting presentation.

Cons: None, not even at £7000

Price: £7000

Janine Elliot

Review Equipment: Pre-Audio GL-1102N/AT33sa and AVID Ingenium P&P (turntable); Krell KPS20i (CD); Ferrograph Logic7 (reel to reel); Wilson Benesch Arc and Graham Audio LS5/9 plus Townshend Supertweeter; IsoTek mains conditioner, Townshend rack; Other cables used; Tellurium Q, Ecosse, Townshend and Nordost.

INTEGRA Specifications

American brand Krell is a name synonymous with big and powerful amplifiers. Here Janine takes their £8998 (including digital board) K-300i Integrated, distributed in the UK by Absolute Sounds, and puts it through its paces.

I get excited when Krell bring out new products, having held a high opinion of the company and owned a few products in my life. My excitement wavered twice in recent years, first in 2009 when Dan D’Agostino left the Connecticut company and went to set up D’Agostino Master Audio Systems, and secondly when the heavyweight American construction was moved to China. That for me just wasn’t the Krell I knew. Dan’s ex-wife Rondi, who left at the same time as Dan, luckily rebought the company in 2016, and manufacture now is back in America with some exciting new products.

Krell began in 1980 with the KSA50 and then one of its best-ever products the KSA-100, both power amplifiers showing that transistors could sound as good and often better than valve. The first notable integrated was the KAV300i, making its triumphant entrance in 1999, headed by Dave Goodman. That amplifier is considered by many as the first integrated with the sound quality of a thoroughbred separate. The K-300i carries on the number “300” and is a development on the original model, and available as a purely analogue integrated amp or the digital version adding a significant choice of inputs, the latter up for review here. That option adds a further £1000 to the price tag of the analogue only model and coming in at a made-in-the-USA price of £8998. If it had been made in China no doubt it would be cheaper, but that just wouldn’t be a Krell. For the quality and finish, I wouldn’t expect anything cheaper. The model comes in a choice of black or silver finish and with the distinguishable Krell central front ‘bulge’ with a large “Krell K-330i” printed just in case you didn’t know what it was.

CONSTRUCTION

The K-330i is a beast of a beauty made of thick aluminium front and sides and weighing in at a hefty 23.6kg. The standard of finish and looks speak pure class, and being a Krell, one wouldn’t expect anything less than Class A. This usually means power-thirsty and hot monsters that are always sucking your expensive electricity whether or not it needs it, a reason why in recent years there has been a shift away from Class A in favour of economical Class D. However, what distinguishes this model over the previous generation, is the use of iBIAS. This process gives the benefits of Class A but without the power consumption and wasted heat of traditional Class A designs. It never gets hot. In simple terms, the circuit measures the output current of the amplifier and adjusts the bias to the optimum level. At low listening levels, the bias is reduced. But boy, this eco-class A amp is no less a beast. Offering 150W into 8Ω (300W into 4Ω) it employs a weighty 771VA transformer and 80,000µF of capacitance. Interestingly, the instruction manual warns against using AC regeneration or voltage conversion devices, as this may limit the power feeding the thirsty transformer and thus affect the sound quality. Luckily my home designed mains conditioner can take 20A so no worries there, although for the review I did some of the review without the conditioner just to check. Finally, the Krell employs Current Mode topology, with fully differential circuitry right from input to the output stage, ensuring an extremely linear and extended frequency response.

The basic analogue model has two XLR and 3 RCA inputs, plus an RCA pre-amp output in case you need it, and Krell’s 12VDC trigger input and output. The digital version adds a significant number of further possibilities and using the excellent ES9028PRO ESS Sabre Pro chipset. This is one hell of a versatile digital section. Options include a USB port at the rear and another at the front for your USB stick, a Bluetooth receiver with aptX (but not HD aptX, unfortunately), TosLink optical and S/PDIF Coax inputs, and an Ethernet input. It even has an HDMI 2.0a and HDCP2.2 input and a single HDMI output for those 4K audio-visual moments, plus RS232 control, baseband RC5 input. The circuitry can render MQA files and is a Roon end-point. The DAC allows DSD up to 128 and PCM up to 24/192 (optical up to 24/96). The digital module also works in conjunction with the downloadable Mconnect Control app on IOS and Android. The Mconnect Control app also handles network streaming audio from Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Qobuz, and vTuner internet radio.

The front of the K-300i is sparse in comparison for the highly spec’d rear. All sockets and connectors are of excellent quality. The front panel contains the standby power button; the main on/off toggle is at the rear if your hands can get that far back if it sits in a shelf on your rack. I much prefer switches underneath the front. Indeed, it would have been ideal underneath the bulging front panel. Buttons at the back are just so hard to get to, and many people don’t leave electronics on standby all the time if they value the planet or their electricity bill. With the source button are 4 navigation buttons and a menu button. To the right of the bulging middle is the excellent display panel, volume up and down and the USB-A socket. Full access to the amplifier can, therefore, be made without the need for the gorgeous heavy black remote control. That remote has lots of small buttons on the top side, typical of Krell, and a distinctive heat-sink design underside, looking like a Class A remote, perhaps. I have always loved Krell remotes; they always look and feel expensive. The blue display on the K-300i initiates with the words Krell then allows you to select your source. Through the menu section, it allows you to individually name sources and even trim their levels. It even has provision to assign sources for the Theatre Mode. But it fails to indicate things I wanted to see, and there are 2 ½ lines of script space in order to do so. For example, playing my digital source into the Coax input it didn’t tell me whether I was playing FLAC or DSD, and bit rate etc.  A shame. Bluetooth just said ‘PCM stereo’.

THE MUSIC

I, therefore, began using the digital inputs of the K-300i, starting with sources from my Fiio DAP. Oscar Peterson ‘Night Train’ (FLAC 24/192) was my first listen. Everything was there with each instrument well defined, but nothing stood out to me as being “wow” from this recording. I put that down to the amplifier coming straight out of the box, but as it warmed up (it doesn’t get hot like my resident Krell) the definition and placement of instruments became ever more profound. Next, I turned to the excellent Pat Metheny group and the album ‘The Way Up’. Performance was certainly way better through the amp; wide and precise drumming, particularly the ride cymbals, and guitarists playing up against each other as well as competing between the left and right speakers. The amplifier now sounded as good as I expected a Krell to be, even as good as a Krell separate. Turning to Miles Davies Quintet ‘Freedom Jazz Dance’ showed me just how much is in reserve in this “limited” 150W amplifier. 150W is ample. This double album, a copy of the master reel-to-reel tape from the recording studio, is really a rehearsal show for Miles and his musicians (including my favourite keyboardist Herbie Hancock), only rarely playing a piece from beginning to end, but you get the original tape recording complete with stops and starts mid-flow and interruptions from the sound engineer. It is well-engineered and actually quite engaging to listen to, and it really needs a good amp capable of coping with good fast transients and energetic bursts of sounds as well as quieter passages. This might be a baby Krell, but it was indeed a fully-fledged member of the family. The master tape must have been stored tail-in at times because print-through of sudden bursts of music is still audible before the real music begins. I always store my reel to reels tail-out so that any print-through from one layer of tape to the next happens just after the music starts, thereby hiding the sounds.

Turning to classics was the excellent Bach Toccata and Fugue BWV565 recorded by Mike Valentine (Chasing the Dragon 2). Perhaps not the best performance but excellently recorded using a spaced pair of Neumann valve microphones.  The result was an equally excellent handling of both bass and treble. The bass was fully weighty when it needed to be, and top-end was clear and musical. Turning to the relaxing Ralph Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 (EMI Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra) showed the amplifier could be gentle and sensible when it needed to be in this work full of relaxed contemplative segments as well as full-on horns, strings and percussion. Finally, on Bluetooth using my phone I played Bach Organ Concertos (Richard Egarr, The Academy of Ancient Music) the performance showed a new layer of detail for me; each instrument given its own space and time. The conductor has limited the strings to single instruments per part, much as Bach would have liked in his day. This was a live performance in my living room, and it sounded equally realistic when I went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee; even in another room it sounded as if musicians were playing away in my house.

After using most digital inputs I moved to the analogue section, using balanced input from my Krell KPS20i CD player and also RCA from the excellent Manley Steelhead phono-stage and Ferrograph and Revox reel-to-reels. For the latter source I listened to the new reel to reel from Chasing the Dragon, which I recently reviewed, ‘A Day in the Life’ from Quentin Collins, featuring his “All Star Quintet” with him on a carbon Trumpet and flugelhorn. Having got accustomed to the sound on my home Krell KAV250a power amp, itself an excellent powerhouse, I wanted to hear how this £9000 entry-level Krell compared. When Quentin was charged with setting up a jazz band for this recording, he chose musicians he had worked with independently in the past, though this was the first time they played together as a quintet. What would be even more demanding is that they would only get a few hours to rehearse before an attempt at performing “as live” direct to vinyl, digital and tape masters. No time for mistakes then. The performance was notably better at the lower frequencies, the K300i having a solid bassline, with excellent clarity and speed making a very live performance of this as-live recording. What’s more, it tamed the music and the musicians; everything felt in the right place – the soundstage was improved on my own lowly Krell – and nothing felt too much effort. Quentin’s own composition “Modus Operandi” was well controlled and easy to get into the music. ‘Modus Operandi’ means a “particular way of doing something”, and whilst Krells can have a reputation of being distinctive in their sound, this one just performed as accurately as a £9000 amplifier should. It let the music take full reign. All was well controlled and tight. Whilst Dan might have moved on, Rondi seems to have brought things back under control with an amplifier that certainly warrants the iconic Krell logo on the front. This was for me a very important product for the company. Whilst part of me wanted a little more of the traditional Krell sound – a bit more punch and excitement – this amplifier was about accuracy and detail, and I soon got to appreciate just what Dave Goodman and his team were trying to do. Listening to David Gilmour ‘On an Island’, track 1, “Castellorizon” it allowed as much separation as an MC cartridge would allow, but in this and all the tracks in the album I felt the music perhaps didn’t have quite as much energy as I have heard from Krells of old, but the K-300i gave a well-controlled and accurate performance.  Typical of David Gilmour (and the later Pink Floyd albums) track one sets the scene for the rest of the album. In ‘On an Island’ he packs in guitars, cello, violin, banjo, voices, fireworks and even an eastern brass instrument.  They all sound great, but I wanted a little more oomph. That said, this integrated is definitely up with the best I have heard, and very hard to criticise. There was a vice-like grip on the music that made it cope with anything that was thrown at it, producing a very detailed and solid presentation. So much so that the “Krell” logo on the front should perhaps be twice the size as this amplifier deserved it. This certainly is a major product for the company.

CONCLUSION

This is an excellent amplifier, even as the baby of the Krell brigade, with excellent accuracy and dynamics no matter what I threw at it. What really sold it to me, though, was the digital board, not only the sound quality but also the facilities. I would, therefore, recommend going for the digital version of the K-300i, and whilst £9000 might seem a lot, you get on the Krell ladder with a really excellent machine.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality: Excellent and solid construction, typical of Krell, including the distinctive thick front and side panels. Excellent components including large 771VA toroidal transformer.

Sound Quality:  A very detailed and solid presentation ideal for those who don’t want to miss anything.

Value for Money: £8998 might seem a lot but this is masses of amplifier and digital board in one lovely box.

Pros: Vice like grip on all the music. Excellent bass end. Detailed and exciting presentation.

Cons: Just wish it wasn’t quite so deep (457mm), as can make it hard to connect new sources up at the back once it is in place in your rack.

Price: £8998 (including the £1000 digital board)

Janine Elliot

Review Equipment:

Pre-Audio GL-1102N/AT33sa turntable; Krell KPS20i (CD); Ferrograph Logic7 and Revox B77 (reel to reel); Graham Audio LS5/9 plus Townshend Supertweeter; homegrown mains conditioner, Townshend rack; Other cables used; Tellurium Q, Ecosse, Townshend and Nordost.

Specifications

To celebrate the UK launch of the new Essence line of amplifiers, Nintronics is hosting the official UK launch event with Danish luxury HiFi brand Gryphon.

There will be demos of the new products and presentations by Gryphon’s very own Rune Skov.

The Gryphon Essence possesses the same big heart as its top of the range predecessors, the Gryphon Colosseum and Mephisto, with levels of control and resolution similar to those which defined its bigger brothers.

Whether you’re a fan of Gryphon or just a HiFi enthusiast in general, this is the place to be to experience some of the very best in the industry.

There will be refreshments available to all attendees.

Nintronics will confirm the full system specs a little closer to the time on their Facebook page.

For links to get your tickets and further info, check out the Hifi Pig Hifi Diary page now!

The Exsequor was Aries Cerat’s first ever commercial design ,and had it’s debut in Munich 2011. Now the Exsequor amplifier, finally got its facelift. It is second only to the brand’s statement Achilleas amplifier.

Working in Class A1, the Exsequor SET amplifier can deliver more than 65W in 8ohm or 4ohm loads.

SET Amplifiers

Stavros Danos of Aries Cerat told us: “We believe that SE non feedback amplification stages deliver the best overall sonic performance to the listener. Yet, almost all SET amplifiers do not have sufficient power to drive the majority of modern loudspeakers. One way of delivering enough power from a SET amplifier, is the use of many parallel mainstream tubes like KT-88, EL34 or big bottle tubes like 845 and the 805”.

“Direct heated triodes with their super smooth sound are the way to go. The tube of our choice is the 813, a 50W thoriated Tungsten filament tube with it’s 125W plate dissipation rating and probably the best big bottle tube sound we have ever tried in our labs, leaving far behind any version of 845 and 300B tubes we ever tried. Almost all tube amplifier manufacturers with their light, slow and weak power supplies, give a distinct flabby sound to the majority of these amps. They get things worse by trying to drive the big output valve with small signal tube like 12AXXs e.t.c. As a result, the output tube, is underdriven with the known results of limited frequency response and lack of acceptable transient response.. We chose to differ”

Driver Stage  

Many SET amplifiers, use a small signal tube, usually RC coupled to the output stage. As a result, the final stage can be well under-driven, compromising the sonic performance, giving the SET amplifiers their usual distinctive mellow sound. In order to drive a pair of big tubes with large grid capacitance,  Stavros says that the driver stage “must be a small amp by itself”.

Aries Cerat decided to build an amplifier inside an amplifier, so the output stage is driven without any compromise. Using the 814 tube, a Direct Heated Thoriated Tungsten tube, they are capable of delivering  >14W in class A operation to the grid of the 813s, more power than many SET amplifiers deliver as their output. Power from the driver tube is delivered to the 813 tubes by an amorphous double-c core, wound inter-stage transformer with wide bandwidth and low distortion.

The driver stage and filament power supplies are located on the bottom chassis.The 814 driver stage PSU is dual tube rectified, triple choke filtered using low DRC chokes and using the Aries Cerat SuperFilmCapacitors. All three tube filament supplies are triple filtered using passive DC filters, and are inductively isolated from the signal path.

Output Stage

The output stage power supplies are located on the main chassis. It uses a tube bridge rectifier using the 6cj3 very high current quiet dumper diodes, plus It uses oil/film capacitors and SuperFilmCapacitors. Each monoblock has an internal power mains filter , independent for each chassis /channel.

Specifications:

Max Power Output : 65W (A1)

Power Consumption (idle) : 520W

Power Bandwidth (@ 60W) : 15Hz-60Khz(-3db)

Weight (each channel, unpacked) :170KG

Noise floor: -100db unweighted

Impedance matcher system: 1-2-4-8-16 ohm user selectable

Price

105,000€

Get all the latest Hifi News with Hifi Pig here!

TAGA Harmony, a European manufacturer of speakers and audio electronics, today unveiled the newest additions to their line of hybrid amplifiers, plus a new subwoofer.

HTA-700B v.3 Hybrid Amp

The HTA-700B v.3 amp is available in 2 versions: HTA-700B v.3-USB and HTA-700B v.3. It uses two 12AU7 Shuguang vacuum tubes in the preamp section serving as a buffer amplifier, and a pair of TDA7296 transistors in the output.

Toroidal Transformer

The revised 150W toroidal transformer provides the power and it also features high grade capacitors (2 x 50V/3300uF), a Japanese ALPS volume potentiometer and an oversized aluminum heat sink system (independent heat sink for each channel).

Beside two analogue sources you can connect a range of digital devices via USB or optical inputs and a built-in high-resolution 24bit / 192kHz DAC (based on SA9123 and AK4430 circuits). It also has a headphone amp and you can stream via Bluetooth.

Thunder SW-12 Sub

The Thunder SW-12 is a 12” single driver subwoofer with built-in high-current amplifier and utilising a slotted bass port on the rear.

The built-in Class A/B amplifier delivers 350 watts of power. An integrated clipping limiter maintains the best performance and safe operation of the amp and woofer even at extremely high volume levels.

The new woofer weighs almost 7.5 kg and utilizes a strong paper cone, metal chassis, 2-magnet structure and a robust 65 mm voice coil.

Get all the latest Hifi News with Hifi Pig here!

Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems has begun shipping the Progression Integrated Amplifier, the latest addition to the Progression Series. The Progression Integrated combines the Progression Preamplifier with the Progression Stereo Amplifier topology, and is built on a modular platform.

The analogue base unit provides two single-ended inputs and three balanced inputs, including a home theatre pass-through. Balanced preamplifier outputs make for the convenient inclusion of one or more subwoofers into a system. The Bluetooth Remote control connectivity, first used in the Progression and Momentum HD Preamplifiers, is included as part of the base package. Bluetooth connectivity eliminates line of sight issues and extends the usable range 5x versus conventional IR remote controls.

Progression Integrated Amp

“The Progression Integrated adds another level of performance, feature set and pricing to our product line-up. It provides our customers an opportunity to experience a fully featured offering within the D’Agostino product line at a more attainable price point,” said Bill McKiegan, President of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems (DDMAS).

The heart and soul of the Progression Integrated is formed of fundamental DDMAS technologies, including discrete, balanced, direct-coupled circuitry married to a substantial output stage delivering 200W per channel into 8 Ohms and 400W per channel into 4 Ohms. A unique toroidal winding technology, first employed in the Momentum M400 amplifier, delivers greater power output from a conventionally sized transformer, enabling the Progression Integrated to be a surprisingly compact amplifier for its capability.

Analogue & Digital

The foundation of the Progression Integrated is a traditional line-stage integrated amplifier suitable for all analogue sources except turntables. If a turntable is part of the current system or added in the future, an optional moving coil phono stage module can be included at the time of production or inserted at a later date.

For those listeners keen to incorporate digital playback within the same unit, an optional digital module,adding a fully differential hi-res DAC and a full suite of capability, is also available. Eliminating external connections, gain stages and additional components offers distinct sonic advantages. Coaxial, optical and USB inputs join ethernet and wireless connectivity for in-house networking and internet streaming.

As part of the digital module technologies, Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and Spotify streaming subscription services are available. For use with appropriately encoded streaming music files, MQA decoding is standard. Customized apps for iOS devices provide easy control of music collections, streaming content and unit control. Roon Music management is also available as an alternative music management program.

Heat Sinks

From the outside, the Progression Integrated is pure Dan D’Agostino. Substantial power output requires proper cooling for optimal operation and long-term reliability and the Progression Integrated is equipped with elegantly efficient heat sinks reminiscent of the flagship Relentless Monoblock Amplifier.

Two analogue meters, inspired by Swiss watch faces, function as signal level meters during music playback. When volume is adjusted, the meter needles change to volume setting indicators; after adjustments are made, the meters revert back to signal level operation. The meters also function as balance, phase and mute indicators. Finished in either anodised silver or black aluminium, the Progression Integrated Amplifier is hand built in the brand’s  Cave Creek, Arizona facility.

Price

The Progression Integrated Amplifier is available now with a UK RRP of £18,500 for the analogue base model, £20,750 for the analogue model with optional phono stage, £24,000 for the analogue model with optional digital module, and £26,250 for the unit equipped with the optional phono stage and digital module. The optional modules may also be added at a later date.

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Distributed in the UK by Absolute Sounds and costing £2698, the Prima Luna Evo200 Integrates amplifier offers a great deal of versatility in that output tubes can be swapped out from the supplied EL34s. Janine Elliot gives it a whirl.

I first got my hands on a PrimaLuna amplifier when I was temping at a HiFi shop in Bedfordshire in the noughties. I was immediately taken in by the lifelike sound produced at a lifelike price, initially believing they were Italian due to the name, meaning “First Moon”. The company is actually from the Netherlands, launching its first valve amplifier back in 2003. Company founder Herman van den Dungen not so long ago decided to create a whole new range of tube amps and so came up with the 13 model ‘Evolution’ series. Each of the four “levels” – the entry level 100, 200, 300, and 400 – include an integrated, pre-amplifier and power amplifier. For you mathematicians out there that would quite rightly equate to 12 products, so they also have a valve DAC making up the 13, the world’s first tube-based data clocking device.

PrimaLuna perhaps is best known for introducing “Adaptive AutoBias”. This continually monitors the tubes and makes adjustments in real time, by addressing what they call “tube pinch off” at higher volumes, and thereby reducing distortion and extending tube life. This means the tubes always perform at their best and you don’t have to worry about setting the bias. PrimaLuna’s system needs to be distinguished from regular “cathode bias” which reduces power to the amp and runs the tubes hard thereby reducing their life. PL’s valves work with less stress meaning they last longer and don’t distort.  Adaptive AutoBias also allows the flexibility of substituting other valves which means a cheap upgrade, a feature in all their amplifiers.

CONSTRUCTION

The Evo200 is the second in a family of four lookalikes of different sizes. The front has a sloping metal valve guard, though this can be removed if you want to see the valves and don’t have babies or pets. Whether you choose to have the cover on or not the unit looks distinctively prime and of excellent build quality. The front panel is available in silver or black and kept sparse with just a motorised volume control on the left and input selector on right. To the right is also a headphone socket. This is operated by a rocker switch to the right side of the amplifier which selects between main loudspeaker and headphone output. There is no separate headphone amplifier and attenuation circuitry ensures that your cans don’t get fed with 44W. This is an unusual way of doing things but highly desirable as it means the headphones you plug in use the main amplifier stage, rather than a cheap op-amp. It also means you can keep the headphones plugged in when using the speaker output. In the centre is the remote sensor with the LED below showing on and mute. Switching on the unit is done using a rocker switch on the left, placing the unit into mute for the first minute, indicated by a red light, turning green when everything is hunky-dory, the SoftStart circuitry that powers the amp up gently extending the tube life. The rear has five line-inputs including HT (more on that in a second) and a useful tape output (if like me you have a reel to reel tape recorder). The loudspeaker connections include a choice of 4 or 8 ohms taps. There is also provision for adding a moving magnet phono-stage in a module underneath the back of the unit; the RCA and grounding connectors are already there for you. The HT (Home Theatre) input allows you to use the Evo200 as a power amp as part of a video set up, or to be used in conjunction with a separate preamp, after all, the preamp section of an integrated usually isn’t quite as good as a separate. It is also well recognized in the world of audio that input selector switches can leak noise and audio from other sources, because when playing one source the others are never turned off. Switches can also deteriorate with age. Also, because they are situated at the front panel there will be long runs of cable to the sockets at the back, possibly picking up RF and EMI interference. Because of all these factors, PrimaLuna has designed it so that selection is done using top quality sealed relays that are mounted at the rear close to the sockets. Only the selected input has a relay closed, the others left open so that no noise or signal can possibly interfere with the music.

The Evo is supplied with four PrimaLuna EL34’s for amplification and four 12A7’s for the preamp stage. EL34s are probably the best-known output stage tubes and are regularly used in guitar amplification. The Adaptive AutoBias means the unit is able to deploy virtually any tube on the output stage should you not want an EL34, allowing fine-tuning for not only the supplied tubes but also 6L6G, 6L6GC, 7581A, EL37, 6550, KT66, KT77, KT88, KT90, KT120, and KT150 octal socket tube types, allowing differences in sound and power output. A switch on the right-hand side allows you to change between high and low bias; the EL34 working at high bias. If a tube fails, Adaptive AutoBias will put the amplifier into a protection mode so that there is no damage. A red LED will indicate which of the output tubes needs to be replaced. PrimaLuna also supplies the plate and screen with lower voltages than most would do (417V). Another major point is that PrimaLuna employs Point to Point Wiring on all their products. The entire signal path, including resistors and capacitors, is painstakingly hand wired with heavy-gauge cable. PCBs are only used in less important areas. Rated at 44W into 8 ohms the Evo 200 uses its own hand-wound toroidal transformers that are then sunk into a non-microphonic resin case to ensure noise levels are kept to a minimum. It is true that the output transformer is the most important and the most expensive part of any tube amplifier. It determines how high the treble and low the bass go. PrimaLuna believes that 250 watts of power will have no top and bottom extension if the output transformers don’t have the bandwidth. To rectify this, they use lower power to extend tube life, and bandwidth to give “slam”. PrimaLuna output transformers are custom-designed, wound in-house, and massive. They are also very heavy. 

The unit comes supplied with a cute heavy metal remote control to adjust volume and change input, plus a mute switch for when the phone rings. There is also provision for stop/pause and eject suggesting it can be used for other purposes. I spent ages working out where the battery compartment was. It is a well-designed box.

THE LISTENING

I started by listening to a track on reel to reel from ‘The Crimson Investigation’, a brilliantly recorded album from a 14-piece big band, with excellent saxophone solos, and definitive soundstage. The EVO is not like my weighty solid-state Krell. This is pure valve heaven, producing a lustre to the music that was highly engaging. “Our love is Here to Stay” had a sheen on the vocalist’s voice plus contrastingly tight drums. Turning to a tape copy of Pat Matheny Group ‘The Way Up’, one that I copied from digits to magnets in order to produce a much more analogue sound, still had the brilliantly clear cymbals and guitars but was much more controlled and a realistic sound.

Turning to vinyl and classics I decided to play Hummel’s Piano Concerto in A minor op85 (Chandos; Stephen Hough and English Chamber orchestra). Hummel is one of those composers you wonder why he wasn’t better known with such a good CV. His teachers were no less than Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, and he himself taught Mendelssohn. His style is somewhere between Mozart and Chopin, and as a result I really love his piano concertos. The Evo allowed the “royal” chordal progressions and vibrant sounding textures to come to the fore. This album has significant reverberation and I wanted to see just how well the valve amplifier would behave. My own modified but ancient Leak Stereo 20 turns this album into one of my very special recordings keeping that reverb just as it should be, but the modern Evo 200 turned it into a much faster and crisper offering, maintaining full control of all frequencies and ambiances, with all the EL34’s warmth and distinctive mid-band detail. Similarly, the bass end was excellent from this album, tight and extended. If this is just the second in the series, I just wondered how good the top-of-the-line Evo400 must be. Being able to change the output tubes to create the sound you want is a great feature of the Evo 200, though I do find the basic EL34’s an excellent choice. However, I would have loved to try the massive curvy KT150 tubes, as regularly used by Audio Research amongst others!

Turning to jazz and Herbie Hancock’s ‘The Imagine Project’ the album gave both warmth and detail, with a prominent piano and excellent depth of sound with extended bass guitar. “The Song Goes On” starts with a solo sitar. This Indian style song is soon to be joined by the Tabla and other instruments. This is a fast number and the PrimaLuna handles with ease the differing textures, structures, and timbres. Hard to believe this substantial valve machine comes in at under £3000, easily matching some tube amps at twice the price. Its speed and ‘bite’ match solid-state amplifiers combined with all the lustre and richness of valves, particularly in the midrange. I soon got hooked in this performance with both Herbie and PrimaLuna at the controls, the Evo grasping the music with great ease.

I wanted to see how progressive rock would work so Pink Floyd was the next call of the day. ‘The Division Bell’ gave a forceful but well-controlled performance with a detailed and large soundstage both left, right and behind the speakers. 44W is more than enough for anyone.

Turning to headphones, the amplifier gives a very capable performance with all the music I played, and only very inefficient cans that require having to turn up the wick might suffer some audible noise. It certainly beats most headphone amps in integrated amps; usually just an op amp. As a loudspeaker amplifier goes this is a very quiet affair, the pair of EL34s per channel giving a warm and lucid performance of the Pink Floyd with potent vocals and an energetic bass tom tom. This was fun!

Turning to digital music from my DAP, everything sounded natural. Decays from instruments were realistic and extended, and all mids and bass were especially authoritative.  Ingrid Fliter playing Chopin Piano Concertos (Linn) was decisive and enjoyable, even with Linn’s distinctive sonic fingerprint. Dee Dee Bridgewater’s powerful version of “Cotton Tail”, celebrating Ella Fitzgerald 80^th Birthday, exudes precision with precise cymbal solos and excellent powerful piano runs. Finally, vocals in Missquerada “Far from Love” had a beautiful vocal sheen over the computer-generated semiquaver backing. There are questions in the internet as to whether Missquerada is indeed a real person or just a computer-generated being. Whether or not she is, this was a very human performance ably accomplished by the PrimaLuna.

CONCLUSION

I had much enjoyment playing with the Evo200. This amplifier offers a detailed and fast sound with excellent mid-band and secure top with a beautiful patina that simply makes music human again. It also looks pretty good whether or not you use the valve safety cage. What’s more, you can tailor the sound to just how you want with the Adaptive AutoBias; the EL34 works just great but there are other great tubes to upgrade at your hi-fi leisure. PL are renowned for value for money and this product carries this forward; at under £3000 this is a lot of tubes and music.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality: A very well-made construction including point-to-point wiring and excellent transformers.

Sound Quality:  An excellent mid-band and bass working well with a clear and secure top end. A very quiet and fast amplifier.

Value for Money: £2698 is exceptionally good value.

Pros:

Excellent bass and mid-band with tight and secure top end

Grasps the music with ease

You can upgrade with different valves.

Cons:

Hard to find any fault at this price.

Price: £2698

Janine Elliot

Review Equipment:

Ferrograph Logic 7 and Revox B77 (reel to reel); Pre-Audio GL 1102AN (turntable); Krell KPS20i (CD); iFi Zen Blue (streamer) Graham Audio LS5/9 plus Townshend Supertweeter (speakers); Townshend, Tellurium Q, Ecosse (cables), Townshend Seismic stand.

Specification

• Power Ultra-linear – 44 watts x 2 (EL34) (8Ω, 1% THD)
• THD – < 0.2% @ 1W < 2% @ Rated Power
• S/N Ratio – 86 dB, 95 dBA
• Inputs – 4x Stereo RCA Stereo,  RCA HT Bypass
• Outputs –4 & 8 Ω, Stereo RCA Tape Out, 1/4″ Headphone
• Response – 10Hz-65kHz +/- 1dB, 9Hz-95kHz +/- 3dB
• Power Consumption – 280 watts (EL34)
• Standard Tube Complement – 4 – 12AU7, 4 – EL34
• Dimensions (WxHxD) – 14.4″ x 8.1″ x 15.9″ (365 x 205 x 400mm)
• Weight – 52.8 lbs (24kg)

We have received the very sad news that Giovanni Nasta, owner of Unison Research and founder/owner of Opera Loudspeakers, has died.

The Italian brands’ UK distributor, Henley Audio, sent us the following message from Unison Research and Opera Loudspeakers:

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of the beloved Giovanni Nasta on Sunday 10th May 2020. He was 65 years old and his death is a great loss to his family and to the audio community.

Giovanni led his life and his work in the same enthusiastic manner, always ready to experiment new roads and solutions. He founded Opera Loudspeakers and took over Unison Research, bringing them under the umbrella of A.r.i.a. Srl, and has left a prosperous and flourishing company, rich in projects and new ideas.

Over the years he created a formidable team of professionals, extremely competent and passionate. His experience, sensitivity and creativity will inspire us all in carrying on his life’s work.

We profoundly thank all those who were close to us during this difficult time: friends, suppliers and customers whose support we never lacked. Our mission now is to carry on his legacy with the same passion and pure vision. Rest assured that Giovanni’s heritage is in good hands, and we will do everything to continue as he would have.

In deep sadness,

Donatella Vigilante, Bartolomeo Nasta, Riccardo Nasta, Elisabetta Nasta,

Gianni Maria Sacchetti, Leopoldo Rossetto, Mario Bon and all Colleagues”

We send our deepest condolences to Giovanni’s family, friends, and colleagues.

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Eon Art of Canada has launched its new Boson monophonic integrated amp. It includes it’s own preamp and each Boson also features a Lundahl splitter transformer to link, two, or up to three amps in a tri-amplifying mono solution. This transformer can be bypassed for regular double mono operation.

Eon Art installed a new console replication circuit to control up to six amplifiers by operating the buttons on any of the amps or on a single remote control.

Each Boson in a system is linked by a specific impedance line base network which is completely silent and permits the communication between any amps in the system, if you adjust one the others will follow.

Components

In comparison with the Quark stereo amplifier (their previous model), the Boson has more space, so Eon Art were able to increase the voltage without reducing the capacitive reserve, to give more power. Eon Art were also able to use some better signal capacitors that were too big to fit the Quark.

The Boson features a better micro-decoupling system and more efficient power supplies, with transformers of double power. It’s power reserve for the preamp and amp stage is the double of the Quark at 194 000 microfarads for one channel.

The volume control uses ultra-precision low noise medical resistors switched by a network of transistors. There is no relay on the path of the audio signal in the volume controller.

The Boson contains multiple ferrous electromagnetic shielding and several aluminium and copper Farady cages.

Boson Amplifier Topology

The topology of the Boson amplifier consists of a valve preamp stage with a full valve regulated power supply, followed by a solid-state impedance adaptation buffer circuit, a solid-state class A input stage, which provides gain, manages and filters the bandwidth and drives a class D output stage. This gives you 250Wrms 8 ohms / 400Wrms 4 ohm with only 2 transistors.

A control circuit with an internal microprocessor makes various acquisitions and manages the parameters of the class D section, and the first three amplification stages (impedance adaptation, gain, filters). It is internally networked with two other microprocessors, one of which manages the preamp section and the last manages the volume control, source selection and infrared and Bluetooth remote controls as well as the link between the Boson blocks.

The Boson block (as the Quark) is full of current, voltage, resistance, and temperature sensors that have a significant effect on its performance. The use of capacitors is organised so that there is no phase rotation at the output. They are selected from top manufacturers such as Clarity, Duelund, Mundorf, Solen.

Casing

The mechanical manufacturing of the casing is carried out at Oracle Audio in Sherbrooke.

Price

£32,000 MRSP

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The CSA100 integrated amplifier is the latest work by Copland, aiming to combine the advantages of tubes and transistor amplification using the synectic design concept from previous Copland hybrid Amplifiers.

The CSA100 amplifier employs a solid stage 2 x 100W current feedback power plant, fed by a double triode tube- preamplifier.

Hybrid Amplification

One tube is responsible for the CSA100 line amplification and the efficiency of this single tube layout is astonishing. The double triode tube runs at high voltage in a setup for maximum linearity, taking care of the voltage amplification only. A MOS-FET circuitry delivers the brute force driving the line stage output and feedback circuitry, thus securing a firm handshake between the world of electronic tubes governed by voltage and the current controlled transistor technology.

If you want the warm and nice colored charm of some older tube designs look elsewhere, the CSA100 tube line stage is made for monitoring. In this application the tube provides” life, headroom and dynamics”  hard to find in amplifiers relying on solid stage technology only.

Vinyl & Digital

For the vinyl enthusiast the CSA100 has RIAA input for MM cartridges. The amplifier also employs an excellent D/A converter with multiple S/PDIF inputs, PCM, and DSD capabilities using the ES9018 Reference 32-bit DAC in quad-mono configuration, 8 mono to 2 stereo configuration.

CSA100 Specifications:

Output power: 2*100W into 8 ohms load. 2*180W into 4 ohms load.

Minimum load: 2 ohms

Analogue Inputs: 1*balanced (XLR)

3*unbalanced (RCA)

Digital Inputs: 1*coaxial S/PDIF.

2*optical S/PDIF.

1* USB.

1* aptX HD Bluetooth (Optional Extra)

Line output: 1*unbalanced (RCA)

1* Pre-out /unbalanced variable (RCA)

Line input impedance: 50 K ohms

Phono input impedance: 47 K ohms (MM)

Phono input Capacitance: 200 pF

Line Inputs sensitivity: 250 mV

Phono sensitivity: 2.6 mV

Frequency response: 10 Hz – 150 kHz -3dB

T.H.D: Better than 0.06 %

Signal / noise IHF-A): Better than 90dB

Phase: Inverting

Headphone amp. Gain: 22 dB @ 100 ohms load impedance

Headphone amp. Out imp. 40 ohms

Headphone amp. T.H.D. Better than 0.05 %

Headphone amp. Freq. resp. 10 Hz – 150 kHz / -3dB

Vacuum tubes: 1 pc. 6922

Power consumption: Max.700 W

Dimensions: 435mm (w) x 135mm (H) x 370mm (D)

Shipping weight: 14 Kg.

Price

Available in the UK through Absolute Sounds UK RRP: £3,498

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The FLS 9 is High End Italian brand,Audia Flight’s, latest integrated amplifier. It shares with FLS 1 model the same fully balanced preamplifier stage boards.

The FLS 9 power channels use 12 highly selected power devices, 8 power supply circuits with extra low impedance and very low noise, high quality capacitors (120.000 uF), special printed boards with an extra thick copper layer, and a 1000 W shielded audio toroidal transformer.

Italian Design

The FLS 9 is also suitable for less efficient, impedance critical (down to 2 ohm) loudspeaker systems. The aluminium chassis, with engraved “Audia Flight” logo on top cover, and the solid aluminium milled remote control, are brushed and anodized. It possible to install two optional cards, plug and play, in separate externally accessible slots.

Options

Finish: available in silver or black

Optional Cards:

MM/MC phono board with unbalanced inputs

RCA board (2 RCA additional inputs)

DAC board. One asynchronous USB input (with Galvanic isolation) 32 bit 768KHz and DSD 5.6. Five digital inputs (one optical, one AES/EBU, two SPDIF, one for Audia Flight SACD transport). 32bit, 192KHz (with Galvanic solation). Upsampling 32bit 768KHz.

DAC streaming board (coming soon)

Technical Specifications

Output power per channel Wrms: 150/290/500 (8/4/2 ohm)

Inputs: 3 unbalanced (RCA), 2 balanced (XLR)

Outputs: 1 unbalanced (RCA), 1 balanced (XLR), 1 REC unbalanced (RCA)

Gain range: -90 dB / +10 dB

Gain resolution: 0,5 dB

Frequency response (-3 dB): 0,3 Hz ÷ 500 KHz

THD: < 0,05 %

S/N Ratio: 110 dB

Input impedance: 47 Kohm

Damping factor (on 8 ohm): > 500

Main voltage AC (50-60Hz): 100, 110 -115, 220 – 230, 240 V

Stand-by power consumption: less than 1 W

Power consumption (150 W RMS @ 8 Ohm both channels): 650 W

Dimensions and weight: 450 x 150 x 440 mm (W x H x D) – 25,5 kg

Price & Availability

RRP: from £5,950, available from Elite Audio in the UK

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Nearly 20 years have passed since the 2001 launch of the AirTight ATM-211 single-monaural power amplifier using the 211 tube. Since then, AirTight have launched 211 push-pull monaural power amplifier ATM-3211, which has become a turning point for the AirTight brand, as well as the SET ATM-300R.

Now, on the eve of the 35 years anniversary of the Japanese brand AirTight, are officially launching the new 211 tube single monaural power amplifier ATM-2211. We brought you the news in summer 2019 that the ATM-2211 was due to be released, now, finally, it is here. Because of this launch, the ATM-211 is now discontinued.

AirTight ATM-2211

AirTight told us: “This time, we decided not to use the overall Negative Feedback (NFB) from the secondary side of the output transformer, but to apply a large amount of NFB from the plate of the 211 output tube to the first stage. This is because the sound penetrating power and the energy feeling are emphasized rather than the so-called characteristic improvement. The operating point of each components of the circuit were designed more strict, and increased the output to 32W. ATM-2211 uses fixed bias method and DC ignition for the filament”.

Transformers

AirTight have used independent power transformers for high-voltage and low-voltage which used to be integral type in past model. In addition, the choke coil, which can be said to be the heart of the amplifier, is made of layers that do not use the traditional bobbin and are specially made to withstand high voltage. This choke coils are individually custom hand-made by Japanese craftsmen. For the output transformer, they installed high output type made by Hashimoto Electric Co.

Monocoque Chassis

The main chassis is AirTight`s traditional monocoque construction that controls resonance and keeps the mechanical strength of the amplifier. A thick pure copper sub-chassis is suspended from the main chassis to support the main amplification board and the power supply section on which the large block capacitor is placed. The main chassis has a structure that uses a threaded stud where the head of the screw is externally invisible. The thick front panel is machined from a solid aluminium block.

WBT Terminals

Loudspeaker terminals made by WBT of Germany are separately equipped for high (8Ω) and low (4Ω) output (16Ω can be selected as a factory set option). The input terminal is equipped with selectable RCA and XLR options. When the power is turned on, a built-in timer relay activates and plate voltage is applied with a time difference. This contributes to the protection of the output tube when the power is turned on and the longer life of the smoothing capacitors in the power supply section. As the 211 tube operates at very high voltage, AirTight have carefully selected parts to withstand high voltage and long-term use.

Specs

Valves: 1/12AX7, 1/12BH7, 1/211

Rated output: 32W(THD<5%)

Input impedance: 100kΩ(RCA/XLR)

Input: RCAx1, XLRx1(No.2 pin=HOT)

Input sensitivity: 500mV(32W)

Frequency response: 20Hz~20kHz(-1dB) @3.5W

Power consumption: 250VA

Dimensions: 400(W)x350(D)x225(H)mm

Weight: 25.5Kg

Price

MSRP for ATM-2211 is US$35,000 / Euro 32,000 per pair

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Mytek have announced the Brooklyn AMP +, a major upgrade of the Brooklyn AMP sound, designed in New York and manufactured in the USA.

Mytek told us: “Brooklyn AMP+ retains the same type of sound as the Brooklyn AMP, with dynamic and precise transients and even and extended frequency response, but with way less low level distortion and cleaner natural, analog like character with deeper, larger soundstage”.

Faster Transistors

Brooklyn AMP + features new faster transistors, cutting the so-called “switching dead time” to low nanoseconds and faster and higher, 650kHz carrier clock. They both contribute to improved low level detail and lower distortion. In addition, the output filter frequency has been increased two-fold for lighter highs and to better accommodate difficult loads.

Class D

Brooklyn AMP+ is a reference power amplifier with the signature Mytek sound. Its dual-mono design proves a well executed Class D circuits can challenge the best Class A. The amplifier is packaged in miniature 1/2 rack enclosure and it’s small enough to fit in a briefcase, yet powerful to drive the largest speaker systems. It’s designed to be used as a regular stand-alone power amplifier or to complement Brooklyn DAC for complete modern digital streaming and vinyl playback system.

Brooklyn AMP Is Discontinued

The previous model of “Brooklyn AMP” has been discontinued and replaced with this new “Brooklyn AMP+” . Existing Brooklyn AMP owners can upgrade their units to Brooklyn AMP+ specs for $500.

Specifications

POWER RATINGS AT 1% THD:

at 16 Ohm – dual mono 2 x 130 W

at 8 Ohm – dual mono 2 x 250 W

at 4 Ohm – dual mono 2 x 300 W

at 2 Ohm – dual mono 2 x 400 W

Peak – dual mono 2 x 1200 W

OUTPUT SWING: 70 Vp / 140 Vpp (unloaded)

SNR: >121 dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE -3dB: 10Hz – 30kHz

THD REGULAR USE: <0.01%

PROTECTION CIRCUITRY: Short circuit protection, DC protection, under voltage protection, temperature protection, overload protection

DAMPING FACTOR: >400

DC POWER ON TRIGGER: 12VDC minijack

WORLDWIDE POWER SUPPLY: 100-240VAC 50/60 Hz

DIMENSIONS: WxDxH=8.5×9.5×1.74”; =216x241x44mm

WEIGHT: 6lbs, 3kg

WARRANTY: 2 years

FINISH: Silver or Black Frost Matte

Price

BROOKLYN AMP+

$2495 / 2495€

BROOKLYN AMP+ & DAC+

$4295 / 4295€

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Bryston 4B amplifiers have been around in the audiophile world for over forty years. Since the first one was built in 1978, tens of thousands have been purchased for recording studios, stereo systems, home cinemas etc.

Now, USA and Canadian based owners of any previous generation 4B amp, can trade that model in for substantial credit towards Bryston’s new 4B³.

Bryston 4B Cubed

Bryston told us: “We’ll take back any working 4B up through the SST² series as long as it’s in good cosmetic condition. It doesn’t have to be perfect – nicks and dings are OK, but no major scratches on the dress panel, and no bent metal”.

Trade-in values can be from over $500 for an original 4B, up to over $2300 for a 4B SST2. Consult your Bryston dealer for more information. The Bryston 4B3 currently retails at around $6,750.

Bryston 4B3 Specifications

Dimensions Inches: 17 or 19 W x 6.3 H x 15.5 or 17.75 (with front handles) D

Weight 42 lbs | 19 kg

Frequency Response: <1Hz – 100kHz: -3dB

THD+N (20Hz-20kHz @ Rated Power, 8Ω): <0.005%

Power Output (per channel): 300W @ 8Ω | 500W @ 4Ω

Noise: RCA: -112dB, XLR: -117dB

Input Impedance: Unbalanced 7.5kΩ, Balanced 30kΩ+ / 6kΩ-

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The Clarity System from MasterSounds is an all in one loudspeaker and amplifier package costing £4,495. Paul Messenger takes a listen for Hifi Pig.

This CLARITY system, created by DJ-specialist MasterSound, is a complete ‘plug’n’play’ package that comprises a pair of CUBE 6 satellite speakers, plus a solitary SUB 8 passive subwoofer, a PM 160 stereo power amplifier and all the necessary connecting cables (unambiguously terminated in Neutrik SpeakON connectors). The three speakers have a textured black finish, while the amplifier has quite delightful casework in a Corian finish.

Priced at £4,495, it has actually been designed and built by ProAudio manufacturer called TPI. Although that name means nothing to me (any more than MasterSound does for that matter), this Leicester-based company does appear to be a well respected and resourced ProAudio operation with a solid reputation and particularly well known for their rotary DJ mixers.

DESIGN AND BUILD

Each satellite is equipped with a single 6-inch coaxial Morel drive unit and has a decent-size, cube-shaped enclosure. (I well recall querying such a shape many years ago, whereupon it was explained that the essentially unpromising shape was actually modified by the driver’s cone.) The said driver is ported via slots on both sides that are tuned to around 85Hz, which is significantly higher than most speakers.

The subwoofer is noticeably heavily built and has just one somewhat larger 8-inch driver, but this drive unit has two voice coils, and is completely hidden within the box. Its enclosure is roughly twice the volume of the satellites, and it’s also port-loaded, tuned to a rather lower (but still quite high!) 53Hz. The combined impedance stays above 6ohms through most of the audio band, just dipping down to around 4ohms at high frequencies (around 10kHz).

The power amplifier is a conventional enough dual-mono design with linear topology and exclusive TPI circuitry. It’s rated at 320W output, but whether such a value is a ‘total power’ or a ‘per channel’ figure is unfortunately not revealed. (I’d suggest that 320W output is probably a total output, though that’s purely a guess.)

SOUND QUALITY

Lacking a DJ-style desk, I placed the cuboid-shaped satellite speakers on top of 600mm stands, sited about 1m out from a wall behind, and around 2m from side walls. I thought that the included and properly terminated cables were a particular benefit, taking the speaker system well away from the tweaky end of things by avoiding any options.

Having measured the satellite speakers alone, some additional bass was added by close-to-wall siting, albeit somewhat handicapped by the significant depth of the speakers. The net result was rather ‘three-humped’ appearance, with a peak at around 700Hz-1kHz and a rather too obvious presence dip at 3-4kHz, but the system sounded good for all that.

I reckoned that the subwoofer was somewhat optional in my room (despite the fact that the room is quite large by domestic standards). Indeed, I actually preferred the sound without the subwoofer, which did add some extension to the bottom end, but at some cost in terms of overall bass evenness.

That said, the difference between the two was quite small, so choosing between them seemed essentially optional. Indeed, the relatively high port tuning frequencies would seem well suited to DJ-type program material, where dance tracks need (or at any rate benefit from) a healthy and substantial bass ‘thump’.

The system – with or without the subwoofer (preferably without) – sounds rather good, thanks in no small part I suspect to the excellent power amplification, which reproduced the top end in particular with unexpected delicacy and transparency. One consequence of a significant (c10dB) presence ‘dip’ is that this favours playing the system at high levels, as speech in particular sounds very ‘kind’ at normal levels.

I’d have liked the option to mess around with alternative components, but it wasn’t possible due to a lack of adapters. This might have been a good thing from a philosophic perspective, as it avoids any form of ‘tweakery’, but it does also make it somewhat awkward. I was, for example, unable to assess the sensitivity of the speakers, as I couldn’t plug them into my normal (calibrated) amplification.

The opportunity to meet up with someone from the DJ side of things was itself very stimulating. MasterSound’s Ryan has much going for himself, and he in turn seemed rather impressed that (by some coincidence) I’d got tickets to see his friends The Chemical Brothers at the O2 that weekend!

CONCLUSION

Used with or without the supplied subwoofer, thanks in no small part to the excellent power amplifier that’s part of the package, this is a fine sounding system. It also has cables with fixed Neutrik SpeakON connectors that sound very decent and helpfully avoid any tendency to substitute alternatives, which is particularly useful. Despite some measured unevenness, sound quality is very good indeed, albeit better played at substantial levels.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:  Neat build and presentation; Like the included cables with Neutrik SpeakON plugs/sockets.

Sound Quality: Despite the balance anomalies, which favour high-level replay, the sound quality and stereo imaging is very good indeed.

Value for Money:  Difficult to establish, as there’s nothing to compare it to…It seems pretty good value, but it’s a shame the subwoofer isn’t optional.

Pros: High-class power amplifier underpins good quality sound, with or without subwoofer.

Cons: Some balance unevenness means that this system is best played loud!

Paul Messenger

ATC loudspeaker Technology has announced the availability of the SCM150ASLT, a “luxurious marriage of world-class transducer and electronic design engineering, conceived to deliver extraordinary levels of clarity, neutrality, transient response and effortless power delivery”.

The 3-way system comprises the SCM150ASLT speaker towers incorporating the latest ATC designed and built drive unit technology, combined with an ATC P6 power amplifier.

ATC Limited Edition SCM150ASLT Active Loudspeaker System

Super Dome Drivers

SCM150ASLT drivers including the new 25mm neodymium soft dome SH25-76S super dome tweeter, the 75mm soft dome SM75-150S super dome midrange and the SB75-375SL super linear bass driver are driven directly by the six dedicated channels of the P6 dual-mono, 3-way power amplifier, housed in an elliptical billet aluminium chassis, machined and finished to complement the quality of the cabinets.

Walnut Veneer Cabinets

Manufactured by ATC’s own cabinet makers, weighing 116kg and at approximately 1.4m tall, each speaker enclosure is finished in selected European crown-cut walnut veneer with a high-gloss polyester lacquer, and detailed with a stainless steel badge, input panel and bespoke limited edition plinth, PVD treated to create an exclusive nickel-like appearance.

ATC SCM150ASLT Speaker

Deploying proprietary drivers throughout, the 3-way system uses ATC’s new SH25-76S tweeter, featuring both upper and lower suspension for greater operational precision and lower distortion; the latest evolution of ATC’s signature soft dome midrange design, the SM75-150S, and the company’s low-distortion SB75-375SL Super Linear bass driver.

Combined they deliver a response accuracy of ±2dB between 60Hz-17kHz and ±6dB from 25Hz to 22kHz across a wide horizontal dispersion and at a maximum SPL of 117dB. The rear-mounted input panel features a single LEMO aerospace-grade 10-pin connector.

ATC P6 Power Amplifier

The P6 is a high-performance Class AB dual-mono power amplifier designed and built by ATC to provide dedicated amplification and optimally matched active crossovers for the SCM150ASLT. It features a total of 6 channels: 2x (200W LF, 100W MF, 50W HF) for a combined output power of 350W/side. Generating a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 105 decibels its ultra-low noise discrete design, paired with 3-way active crossovers with phase equalisation, offers ‘clear and detailed audio reproduction’. On the rear panel, professional L/R XLR inputs (from preamplifier/digital source) are joined by aerospace-grade LEMO multi-pin loudspeaker output connectors.

Price And Availability

As is customary with ATC products the SCM150ASLT and P6 are covered by a six-year warranty.

Typical retail price (inc VAT): £46,600 pair

Available to order immediately. Product built to order, earliest shipping Wednesday, August 5th.

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After years of developing and refining their technologies, Aries Cerat has introduced their TriodeFet technology and the Ianus Series of amplifiers that implement this technology.

Stavros Danos told us: “The Ianus Series is promising to offer a fourth and final answer to the tri-lemma of Tube vs Solid State vs Hybrid battle. Our technology is neither a hybrid topology (in the usual sense of a tube-driving-solid state-stage type) nor a solid state-driving-tube kind of stage. Note: Usually a hybrid topology is implemented as either a tube voltage gain stage-driving a transistor output stage/current buffer, or in some cases, as a solid-state voltage gain driving a tube power stage”.

Aries Cerat Ianus Series Amplifiers Featuring TriodeFet Technology

“We developed an early version of this technology back in 2012, and launched our first design using the TriodeFet – the Ianus monoblock. After 7 years of rethinking how we could further refine and retune the system, we developed the second generation of the TriodeFet technology”.

Tubes And Transistors

Stavros continued:” Triodes are probably the most linear active element engineers have ever invented.  Their linearity is unmatched by any silicon-based active element. However, the triode is a high-output impedance, high voltage/low current device, making the use of impedance matching transformers mandatory when driving low impedance loads – such as our loudspeakers. In a hybrid design, a tube will usually provide voltage gain, and a transistor stage will act as a current buffer to the low impedance load (speaker).

Aries Cerat Ianus Geminae

However, the problem arises when you try to implement circuits that are designed to be only using tubes together with circuits designed to be only using transistors. For each of the voltage and current stage, regardless of being tube or solid state, the transfer curves of each active element will dictate the distortion characteristics of each stage (voltage and current). Not only in level, but also (especially so) in harmonic distribution.

So…What if we had a low voltage/high current active device, which had the linearity of a triode and at same time would be able to source enough current to drive low impedance loads directly? Enter the TriodeFet”.

What Is A TriodeFet

“The TriodeFet, can be seen as a three-terminal active element, just like a Mosfet or a triode. The real breakthrough is that its transfer curves are identical of a true high-quality triode, with the only differentiator from a true triode is that the Y-axis (current) is in scaled in Amperes and not milliamperes.

What this means, is that you can design circuits that were never before possible either by using tubes or transistors. This new active element can be used to develop simple, very linear circuits, which are stable down to very low impedances, while the TriodeFet’s inherent linearity is making the use of the problematic negative feedback redundant.

By using the Triodefet device as output active element, we can make full use of its triode like transfer curves, and transistor-like low voltage/high-current operation, and come up with very simple and straight-forward designs that have very high linearity, benefiting from the inherent linearity of the TriodeFet. This new active element can be used in very high bandwidth circuits, with high degree of linearity, without the use of global of local feedback, or use of other degeneration techniques etc”.

The Ianus Series

After Stavros and his team finalized their second Generation of TriodeFet technology, they felt it was time to re-launch the Ianus name, under a series of designs using the newest developments.

Ianus is the two-faced Roman god. It symbolizes the duality of the nature of the TriodeFet. At the same time, the two-faced god gazes in opposite directions, symbolizing the past and present. The first design to come out, is the flagship of the series, the Geminae. Its smaller brother, the Essentia will follow, in Q4 ,2020.

Geminae

This is a Class A amplifier, using a floating circlotron using TriodeFets acting as the output stage. It delivers 130W @8ohm 260W @4ohm while never leaving true Class A operation, even at very low loads. To be able to deliver all its power in Class A, it is heavily biased at 12 Ampere idle(idle current is user adjustable), and its OTL TriodeFet output stage is working as a floating circlotron. The floating circlotron is self-centring and does not need any long term adjustment or DC servos to stabilize. The AC decoupling of the stage is accomplished using custom super-spec capacitors. These special capacitors have internal resistance (ESR) less than a piece of copper wire (less than 2mohm) and were designed to be able to surge 30,000A max.

The Geminae amplifier is a two-stage design and its input stage, is a transformer-coupled small SET amplifier, with its separate tube rectified PSUs and low noise negative bias system. The input stage drives the TriodeFet stage by floating secondaries of the coupling transformer, so the floating nature of the output stage does not interfere.

The 110,000€ Geminae

The amplifier is fully adjustable on-the-fly, with a bias monitor system for all parameters of the TriodeFet system and real time adjustments, while the input stage bias system can be monitored and adjusted as well. The Geminae comes with variable gain inputs, using a TransformerVolumeContro(TVC) system. The topology does not need any servo correcting mechanisms, nor any feedback nests/loops or output monitor/relay protection system. The system is protected by real-time non-invasive protection circuits that will sense any overcurrent of the output stage and put the amplifier on stand-by. Aries Cerat says that you cannot damage the amplifier even by shorting its outputs.

The Geminae distortion harmonic distribution profile is indistinguishable from that of a SOTA SET amplifier, and though the level of distortions is much lower, and output impedance is 100 times lower than a typical SET amplifier, the distribution and profile of the harmonics are indistinguishable of that of a simple SE design. The amplifiers stand 70cm tall, 60cm deep, and weigh 200kg each.

Essentia

Essentia is a smaller mono amplifier to be launched in Q4 2020. This amplifier uses the same TriodeFet technology, but has features that make it unique in the Ianus range. The new smaller monoblocks will have very different topology, as this is a Single Ended design.

However, not only is it Single Ended, but it is also a Single Stage design. There is no driver and no input stage. Only one TriodeFet stage fed directly and used as a simple SE amplifier.

Power delivery is at the 40W mark (8ohm). Inputs include our proprietary AC link input as well (as an option) the TransformerVolumeControl (TVC) variable gain input as found on the bigger brother.  The triode-like transfer curves of the TriodeFet means that it sounds like a true SOTA SE tube amplifier, but is able can deliver more current and is maintenance-free (the internal tubes used for curve creation are rated at 10,000hours lifespan).

Price

Aries Cerat Ianus Geminae is 110,000€ and Essentia will be 39,000€

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Norma HS-IPA 1 is a modular (but in this case, fully loaded) integrated amplifier from Italy that includes a DAC, phono-stage, and headphone amplifier. The unit costs £3650 as tested and here Janine Elliot takes it for a whirl.

A front shot of the norma modular amp

To be sent a parcel from Cremona, Italy, really got my heart pounding. Coming from the bedrock of stringed violin marvels from Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati, plus the composer Monteverdi, this should hopefully be a very musical amplifier. Indeed, Enrico Rossi, CEO, chief engineer and designer aims to conjoin technical skills with musical sensitivity in the same way as those great instruments were made. Manufacturing two ranges of HiFi(REVO and HS) the HS series includes the integrated amplifier, HS-IPA1, and a separate DAC, the HS-DA1. The HS-IPA 1 is a modular amplifier allowing plug-in DAC, phono stage, and Class-A headphone amplifier, should you wish to use these facilities. Up for review here is the fully loaded HS IPA1 coming in at £3650, which is highly reasonable for a complete Class-AB package. Enrico Rossi started it all in 1987 with his first amplifier the NS 123. In 1991 Norma was bought by Opal Electronics, a company that designs and builds electronic measuring instruments, and Enrico began a long research and development program to produce his first set of products to be released in 1997. The REVO IPA-140 amplifier has received great coverage since its release and the HS-IPA 1 continues many of these designs, not least being able to add a DAC and using MOS-FETs. The HS-IPA 1 is half the price in its most basic form but is no less an amp.

CONSTRUCTION

This is a half-width unit available in silver or can be purchased in anodised black for a further £79. The unit continues Norma’s philosophy of minimalist design, though this is deceptive; there are actually 10 buttons on the front panel; six hidden within the blue Perspex LED display panel, the first being the standby switch (the main on/off button is at the rear, something I never like!). There is also no wiring, rather there are direct connections to the various levels of printed circuit boards using metal rods. The whole circuitry is based on the shortest signal path. The unit is modular, allowing you to choose the “extras” you want, though they cannot be retrofitted by yourself. Fully laden the back is full of good quality gold plated socketry, though no balanced connections as in the IPA 140. The unit up for review had the addition of the DAC, phono-stage and headphone amp making it exceptionally good value. The basic amp comes in at a very reasonable £2595, so adding these three additions for a further 1.5k all built into a single unit is excellent in terms of both value and space-saving. The amplifier is a Class AB MOSFET design (3 per channel, as against a total of 12 MOSFETs in the IPA-140) offering 75W into 8Ω (150W 4Ω) and delivering 24A continuous current meaning that it is capable of peaks of 100V providing ample headroom. The power supply section is derived directly from the REVO IPA 140 employing 10 special filter capacitors with the custom-designed 300W toroidal transformer on its side at the front behind the blue display panel, with three secondary windings, one for each section of the amplifier. That display is large making it ideal for me sitting 6 feet away from the unit without my glasses. The choice of MOSFET accounts for the unit’s warmth and analogue sound, something I particularly like in this review. The unit comes with 4 RCA analogue inputs, the second is the phono input (if installed) and the fourth RCA input can work as a line output for subwoofer or part of a multi-speaker AV setup. The phono-stage works for both MM and MC, with dipswitches to allow you to alter set up for your own particular cartridge, though the otherwise excellent instruction manual does not indicate how to alter the dipswitches.  The Class-A headphone amplifier can be adjusted between 16Ω, 32-60Ω, and 200-600Ω with the use of jumpers, this time well explained in the A4 size manual. With no jumpers connected the unit is connected directly to the loudspeaker’s power output, if your headphones need to be connected across such a high load (I remember my aged PWB electrostatic headphones that took all the power from the loudspeaker terminals!). This headphone amp should work with most, even inefficient planars. All’s good except that the ¼” headphone socket has to be at the rear of the unit which will take a bit of searching to plug in. Luckily, once connected you don’t need to remove the plug in order to get the speakers working again; simply press the HEAD button on the front panel (the instruction manual doesn’t make that clear, so I worked that one out) to cycle between the two replay systems. Luckily most decent headphones have long leads. For digital replay, the dedicated PCB provides a choice of 2 Toslink, 2 S/PDif, and a USB input. The Burr Brown DSD1794 chip allows FLACs up to 24bit/192kHz and DSD64 though the latter is DoP (DSD over PCM).

Around the back of the amp showing connection options

A number of important operations can be selected or changed from the front panel or via the remote control. That remote control, RC-43, is particularly nice; made from a solid billet of aluminium and with lots of very long but small buttons making it equally suitable as a back scratcher if you didn’t use it for your hi-fi. It is operated by 3 CR2032 watch batteries, rather than the more common AA/AAA cells. Lots of features can be recalled via the remote, such as system changes and features for example selecting ‘Line In 4’ as a Line Out socket and altering brightness of the screen, but being a universal remote some buttons don’t function. The front panel is particularly good; large LEDs with sound level indicated in dBs and showing sample rates for the digital inputs rather than simply having rows of tiny blue LEDs that you have to go right up to the unit to inspect, as in so many DACs. On switch on the LED even counts down the 10 seconds as the amplifier reaches a state of readiness. Cool.  There are also a significant number of fuses on the circuit boards showing some excellent care for design, plus some spares in a jiffy bag stapled to the instruction book, in case any need replacing. That build quality is exemplary.

SOUND QUALITY

I began by listening to the amplifier without its “add-ons” to hear it in its natural state and using the Graham Audio LS5/9s loudspeakers. STS’s 40 Year Anniversary 15ips celebration tape, recorded on RTM LPR35 tape, has a wide variety of music and gave me a good chance to test the quality, an album I have been regularly playing of late. What was very noticeable was the precision and transparency in the performance, with particularly good bass and mid-frequency definition, and no loss at the higher frequencies. The Dutch Swing College Band played a number credited to His Majesty King Bhumibol. The brass and woodwinds were clear and well-spaced out in the sound-stage, with precise and natural percussion. This is a very relaxed and smooth number but no less detailed and responsive. Turning to guitars the Gypsy Kings played a more animated number ‘Gitaria’. The guitars were placed back behind my speakers, contrasting other music I played which had them in front, showing good detail to placement front and back. The room reverb and audience responses were also very natural. Turning to “India with Jazz”, a mix of western and eastern instruments this was highly infectious music; the tabla and sitar contrasting well with the guitar and piano. I particularly noted the precise initial transients from the tabla. This track just wasn’t quite as exciting as I remember it, but no less enjoyable. Next to classical music from George Handel, Chandos Anthem No. 7 played by Solo Deo Gloria, this beautifully performed and sounding very controlled and transparent.

Inside the amp show a well laid-out multilevel construction

Using digital inputs was largely via S/PDif from my DAP and USB from my computer using Foobar2000 and streaming using Qobuz. The Norma allowed me to play up to 192Hz and DSD64 (DoP). Performances from all sources were clear and accurate. Handel organ concertos (24/88.2 Academy of Ancient Music) gave an excellent warmth in the lower frequencies, just lacking some of the excitement that I know the organ could give, though this did improve after the unit was warmed up. This is an excellent performance and recording. Next up was ‘Vivaldi in Venice’ from Chasing the Dragon, a well-used album in my reviews and equally well performed and engineered. The mechanics of the woodwind instruments very apparent showing great detail in retrieval of the music. The performance was forward sounding, highly musical and engrossing, almost valve-like at times. There is a love-hate relationship with MOSFETs over BJT designs, but the former seems to be having a revival these days, not least because they have high input impedance, making them easy to bias. Playing Genesis ‘Selling England by the Pound’ had grandiose detail, particularly in the bass and mid frequencies giving the MOSFETs something to enjoy. Only the cymbals just were not as bright as they could have been. The digital stage of the Norma is, however, very good and adding that to the basic package is a sound investment.

Turning to the phono-stage was where the real fun began. Using my Pre Audio turntable and AT33sa cartridge I set the load impedance to 100Ω which gave the cartridge extra top-end and a clarity I love. There are three moving coil settings on the phono-stage; 100, 510, and 1,000 ohms plus 47 kohm for MM cartridges. There are also seven gain settings with a spare position for customization from the manufacturer, all operated from 4 microswitches. Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers ‘Moanin’ was first on the platter. Reminds me of evenings I spent cycling over to a gentleman’s house playing jazz records and cassette tapes when I was a child. He was mad on jazz and got me my first interests in it, though probably the process of visiting a single man as a child wouldn’t be kosha in today’s suspicious climate. The title track has a repeating 4-chord ostinato over which the trumpet (Lee Morgan) performs his melodies and Art Blakey, on drums, plays a similarly simple motif. The Norma relished the music and the phono stage was just right, and better than I would expect for a plugin. With the name ‘Norma’ I either had to wear a pair of jeans or play some Elton John. I decided on the latter but rather than “Candle in the Wind” I decided on my favourite album ‘Here and There’ recorded in London and New York. “Funeral for a Friend” is a particularly ethereal track and excellently performed on the Norma with its tight bass end and musical mid-band. The performance was fluid with a clear piano central and drums spanning the complete soundstage. “Take me to the Pilot” was powerfully portrayed with a good transient speed. Turning to blues/rock and John Mayall’s ‘A Special Life’ this didn’t have as much life until I turned the wick up; the amplifier does work better at higher level. Listening took me back to my own background of playing gigs in pubs and clubs as part of a band. In this album, Rick plays keys, harmonica, guitar organ and vocals. Clever guy. Rock worked well, giving a full-bodied engaging sound. Changing discs to Eagles excellently engineered  ‘Long Road out of Eden’ the vocal harmonies and guitars were very open and spacious showing the extremes that Enrico has gone to make this amplifier as musical and pleasant to listen to over long listening sessions. This was like good old-fashioned audio as it should sound in the 21^st century, if you hear what I mean. The bass was controlled and the cymbals pin-sharp and timing spot on.

For the classical listening I turned to Tippet’s four symphonies (London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis). The first symphony is the easiest to digest though has enough brutal force to challenge any MOSFET. It might not be the most tonal music but there are some engaging musical lines between string and brass. Most importantly there was no fatigue listening to these, the amplifier being controlled, engaging and most importantly – musical. The HS-IPA 1 was excellent with all types of music I played. Similarly, the headphone amplifier was accurate and engaging, with enough in reserve for my inefficient 300Ω Sennheiser HD650 cans.

CONCLUSION

For a complete package of amplifier, DAC, adjustable MM/MC phono-stage, and class A headphone amp this is both an excellent value and excellent achieving package from a relatively unknown marque that should warrant some serious listening to in today’s highly over-stocked market. £3650 is particularly good value. Just wish you didn’t have to pay extra for one in black.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality: Excellent construction, particularly inside.

Sound Quality: full-bodied tight bass, good speed and transparency.

Value for Money: £3650 for the silver “package” including DAC/phono-stage and headphone amp is excellent value.

Pros:

Excellent phono-stage

Excellent bass and mid frequencies

Transparency

Cons:

Some may find sound a little too restrained.

Price: £3650

Janine Elliot

Review Equipment:

Pre-Audio/ AT AT33sa (turntable), Ferrograph Logic 7 (reel to reel), Azur PC/Fiio DAP/Qobuz (digital sources) Graham Audio LS5/9 plus Townshend Super Tweeter (speakers); Sennheiser HD 650 and Audio Technica ATH-W1000 (headphones) Tellurium Q, Ecosse (cables), Townshend Seismic stand.

SPECIFICATIONS

· User-configurable output connections (subwoofer, tape, etc.)
· Extreme low noise, high resolution and high speed.
· Wide band ( >1 MHz ) schematic topology.
· 2 x 24 A continuous output current (100 A peak per channel)
· 2 x 75 W RMS / 8 Ohm – 150 W RMS / 4 Ohm
· High filtering capacity with numerous low impedance capacitors.
· Regulated power supply for both Gain and Driver stages.
· Toroidal transformer specially designed for audio applications.
· Multi-function display.
· Remote control of all functions.
· Dimensions (HxWxD): 118x214x370 mm, weight: 12 Kg.

  HEADPHONE OUTPUT (OPTIONAL) :
· 6,3 mm Jack connection.
· User-selectable output sensitivity.
· High-current, high-voltage output.
· Drives dynamic and orthodynamic headphones (16-600 Ohm)​

  DIGITAL INPUT BOARD (OPTIONAL) :
· 5 digital inputs, USB, 2 x SPDIF RCA, 2 x SPDIF OPTICAL.
· USB input and SPDIF full bandwidth, up to 24 Bit / 192 KHz.
· High Resolution Digital-to-Analog converter, DSD-compatible.

  PHONO INPUT STAGE (OPTIONAL) :
· High quality, low noise phono section.
· Compatible with MM/MC cartridges.
· User-selectable Gain and Input Impedance values

Naim Audio has created a 1300 Watt ‘sound experience’ for the Pininfarina Battista, the world’s first pure-electric luxury hypercar.

The bespoke Naim Audio system features ten speakers engineered into the cabin of the rare Italian pure-electric hypercar. The new Battista prototypes are now being prepared for final testing and development programme commencing in August

Pininfarina, Cambiano, Italy

Every Battista pure-electric hypercar will be hand-crafted by Pininfarina in Cambiano near Turin in Italy, with deliveries to clients worldwide beginning early in 2021. No more than 150 of these luxury cars will be created, each specified with a bespoke in-car sound system by British brand Naim Audio.

Automobili Pininfarina’s engineers and designers have integrated new Naim Audio speakers and associated electronics into the interior of Battista

Rene Wollmann, Automobili Pininfarina Director of Sportscars said: “Our clients are eagerly anticipating the unprecedented 1,900 PS driving performance of Battista, and now we will provide an equally thrilling 1,300 Watt in-car sound experience for their pleasure. We will also harness the sound of Battista’s four e-motors, which will provide a unique and exciting soundtrack when this hypercar accelerates at speeds up to 350 km/h. Electrification creates an entirely new dimension and opportunity for sound tuning throughout Battista.”

Naim Audio has drawn on the expertise of its fellow VerVent Audio brand, Focal, to optimise all speakers for their unique environment

Automobili Pininfarina’s engineers and designers have integrated new Naim Audio speakers and associated electronics into the interior of Battista. The newly developed Battista audio system delivers 1300 Watt of power through 10 speakers arranged inside the cabin of Automobili Pininfarina’s first pure-electric car. The new system features a Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer located between driver and passenger seats, with super-tweeters amplifying higher frequencies situated behind the seats and in the panels of Battista’s butterfly doors.

Naim Audio have tuned the hypercar’s amplification and built-in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) system to deliver in-car audio, with an immersive listening experience

Focal & Naim

Naim Audio has drawn on the expertise of its fellow VerVent Audio brand, Focal, to optimise all speakers for their unique environment, while Naim Audio have tuned the hypercar’s amplification and built-in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) system to deliver in-car audio, with an immersive listening experience. Tuning is optimised for both driver and passenger: a symmetrical speaker layout creates an auditorium-like studio effect.

Charlie Henderson, Naim Audio Managing Director, said: “I am thrilled that our first EV hypercar audio system has been created specifically for the groundbreaking Battista by Automobili Pininfarina. In the electric vehicle era, audio becomes more important than ever. At cruising speeds, the nature of Battista will be serene and peaceful and in this scenario, sound quality will be critical. We see this as a fantastic opportunity to create an all-new sound experience that is as revolutionary as Battista itself. Using the finest components from audiophile-grade automotive speakers, alongside our expertise in DSP and audio tuning, Battista will offer an exceptional sonic experience.”

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