Sugden Audio Masterclass IA-4 integrated amplifier Sugden are survivors. There aren’t very many independent British electronics brands that have been around since the ark and Sugden go back further than Linn, Naim and Rega, all of the older brands have been bought up by international operations. Last year Sugden encountered a major set-back when MD […]
Circle Labs A200 integrated amplifier Circle Labs will be a new name to many, yet this Polish manufacturer has been producing high-end audio products since the latter part of the twentieth century. The two guys behind Circle Labs, Krzysztof Wilczyński and Krzystof Lichoń, took the company, whose core business is in the design and manufacture […]
Musical Fidelity A1 integrated amplifier “Have you fried an egg on it yet?” asked an industry friend upon spying the new Musical Fidelity A1 amplifier. Well you could. Mine reached just short of 73°C, more than the 70°C needed to cook an egg properly. Even for Class A that’s hot. The original A1 was based […]
Luxman L-509Z integrated amplifier My first introduction to the venerable Japanese audio brand Luxman was way back in 1981, when I could finally afford my first ‘proper’ hi-fi system. A very good salesman at a shop in Tottenham Court Road, London, the name of which has long since disappeared from my over-crowded memory bank, recommended […]
Enleum HPA-23RM headphone amplifier Brands seldom hit the big time with their first product but Enleum’s AMP-23R integrated amplifier that Kevin Fiske reviewed in 2021 immediately earned the respect of hi-fi and head-fi enthusiasts alike and is no less revered three years on. Such an achievement is rarely the result of happenstance and the apparent […]
Daniel Hertz Maria 350 integrated amplifier Mark Levinson has sold his name more than once so in the last few decades has created other brands for his creations, Cello and Red Rose come to mind, and now we have Daniel Hertz which is apparently a family name. The Daniel Hertz Maria 350 integrated amplifier is […]
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 […]