Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800.2 integrated amplifier & Nu-Vista DAC As an audiophile who got his introduction to this hobby, or perhaps obsession is a better word, in the late eighties, the Musical Fidelity brand had a big impact on me. I remember hearing their Tim de Paravincini designed Class A, A1 model for the first […]
Avid Integra integrated amplifier Avid Hifi made its name with turntables, solidly engineered and superbly finished examples of the breed. Having built models to suit a wide range of pockets the Huntingdon-based company started building a range of electronics and speakers in order to be able to offer full systems to its customers around the […]
Hegel H190v streaming amplifier Having secured the very first UK review sample of the Hegel’s new H190v (v for vinyl), the immediate observation is that a moving magnet phono stage has been added and so we have an additional pair of RCA connectors alongside a ground tag on the rear panel. Other than that it’s […]
Heed Elixir integrated amplifier I can’t speak for you of course, but for me Heed is one of those brands that I have been aware for a long time, mostly from encountering them at various audio shows over the years but to which I have never paid great attention. Happily, their UK presence was boosted […]
Gold Note IS-10 streaming amplifier Having visited the Gold Note headquarters, near Florence, to see the company’s new integrated streaming amplifier being designed, built and tested, it was with a degree of excitement that I opened one of the very first units to be shipped to the UK. The IS-10 is sold as an all-in-one […]
Trilogy 921 integrated amplifier Trilogy have been making high quality audio electronics since 1990 and yet remain mysteriously under the radar. This is probably because they have always focused their energies on engineering and design rather than sales and marketing. Trilogy started out building valve or tube amplifiers but now has a range of electronics […]
Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier Roksan has been around since 1985 when it was founded by two chaps of Persian heritage, Tufan Hashemi and Touraj Moghaddam. The company name draws on their cultural background, after Roxana, daughter of King Darius. It was Touraj who set things in motion after obtaining his doctorate through Imperial College London. […]
Atoll SDA300 Signature streaming amplifier Having thoroughly enjoyed the French Atoll SDA200 Signature streaming amp, and making it one of my 2022 Products of the Year, I was excited to hear the newly-launched SDA300 Signature at the Warsaw high-end show. My patience was rewarded when a unit, in very smart matt-black milled aluminium, arrived for […]
The Ear picks the best hi-fi of 2023 2023 has been a tough year for the hi-fi industry but that has done nothing to stem the flow of first class products coming to market. In fact there are even more extraordinary audio components to choose from than there were last year, with advances made in […]
Soulnote A-2 integrated amplifier Soulnote came to my attention when speaker design guru Karl-Heinz Fink used their amplifiers to launch the Epos ES14N at the Munich High End show last year, this demonstration and the one in the Soulnote booth suggested that they know a thing or two about making an engaging sound. Both systems […]
Hegel H600 streaming amplifier & DAC We were teased with news of a “very exciting” and “earthshattering” new product from Hegel well over a year ago. Then appeared a new CD player from this burgeoning Norwegian brand, not the news I was waiting for. But that was simply because the real force majeure was delayed […]
Kleio K135 integrated amplifier You might be thinking to yourself as you land on this review: What, another UK-made integrated amplifier, aren’t we already spoiled for choice? I must confess that when approached about reviewing the Kleio K135 I agreed but with some trepidation. However, having hosted a pre-production K135 in my system for a […]