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 […]
SPL Phonos MM/MC phono stage German company SPL is one of a small coterie of brands that produce components for both audio enthusiasts and professional studios. There aren’t many other electronics companies whose products are used extensively in both worlds, this is more common with loudspeakers where the demands are not so different but if […]
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 […]
Benchmark DAC3 HGC DAC/pre and AHB2 stereo power amp I suppose it’s having grown-up with it, as it were, in my early BBC days but I just love the look, feel and operation of professional audio equipment. When the chance presented itself to try some Benchmark electronics from the US, I just could not resist. […]
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 […]
Naim NSS 333 streamer, NAC 332 preamplifier, NAP 350 power amplifiers Apparently the NAC 332 is the first Naim preamplifier to have an onboard power supply. In a day and age when finding any preamplifier without its own power supply is unlikely this is hardly shocking but it’s clearly a change of approach for Salisbury’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 […]
Bricasti Design M19 SACD/CD transport, M1 Series II DAC, M20 preamplifier and M25 power amplifier Bricasti products reveal their heritage in the casework design, a style that comes from company founders Brian Zolner and Casey Dowdell whose backgrounds were with Lexicon and who work closely with former Madrigal Labs engineers. The latter manufactured Mark Levinson […]
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 […]