LATEST ADDITIONS

Integrated Amplifiers
Cyrus 8xp D - £1,550
Ed Selley  |  May 28, 2010  |  0 comments
Cyrus 8xp D - £1,550 Superb amp that tries to cover too many bases Possibly the hardest-working component in hi-fi, the Cyrus case moulding has done some impressive things in its time, but surely few are quite as surprising as hosting six-analogue and five-digital inputs, plus twin pre-out, Zone 2 out (usable as a record output), MC- Bus in/out, headphone socket, PSX-R power supply socket and bi-wire loudspeaker outputs, all on a rear panel one hand-span wide. You do end up needing slim fingers to plug and unplug, but that’s hardly a big deal when kit like this is unlikely to sell to full-on system- tweakers. The digital input provision is particularly appealing. Five inputs (including one USB) is more than you get on any sensibly priced DAC and makes this amp a perfect choice for modern systems with assorted analogue and digital sources.
Continue Reading »
Integrated Amplifiers
Electrocompaniet ECI-3 - £1,750
Ed Selley  |  May 28, 2010  |  0 comments
Electrocompaniet ECI-3 An amp with big potential, but a little too bright for some Electrocompaniet has been around for a long time and while this amp certainly doesn’t date from the company’s earliest days, it’s hardly a spring chicken. Still, if they got it right first time round and all that. . .
Continue Reading »
Integrated Amplifiers
Moon i.1 - £1,450
Ed Selley  |  May 28, 2010  |  0 comments
Moon i. 1 - £1,450 Some technical flaws can’t dampen this amp’s spirit While a £1,500 integrated is pretty upmarket for Arcam and Cyrus, it’s the very start of the range for Simaudio, whose Moon products extend to distinctly high-end territory with such products as the vast and powerful Titan power amp. But then the Moon i-1 is not exactly a shrinking violet, even though its 50-watt rating is fairly modest by current standards and the unit is not at all daunting to behold. It’s certainly neat and practical, though, as we shall see.
Continue Reading »
Integrated Amplifiers
Unison Research Unico Secondo - £1,860
Ed Selley  |  May 28, 2010  |  0 comments
Unison Research Unico Secondo - £1,860 An exciting, energetic music-maker with a handy phono stage option A large and imposing amp, this one is also pretty bare-bones, though unlike most it has the option of a phono stage. One of those was provided for review (the price given includes it, a very reasonable £125 on top of the basic model). All kinds of amplifying devices are found inside the case, as the circuit uses bipolar transistors, FETs and valves. There’s very little use of surface-mount parts and most of the amplifying is done with discrete components, though there are a few op-amps dotted around and also some integrated circuits with part numbers intriguingly obliterated.
Continue Reading »
Integrated Amplifiers
XTZ Class- AP100 - £515
Ed Selley  |  Mar 22, 2010  |  0 comments
Swede love A £515 power amp with the ability to work in Class A makes the Swedish-made XTZ an attractive proposition, says Richard Black XTZ hails from Sweden and is responsible for the room acoustics measurement system we reviewed a few issues back (HFC 330). The company’s range isn’t huge, but it includes an integrated amp, a CD player, a variety of speakers and some home cinema-oriented electronics and speakers, too. There’s no preamp yet, though we’d be prepared to bet on the imminent arrival of one. Running hot The big thing with this amp is its ability to work in Class A, the ‘holy grail’ of amplifiers that avoids the dreaded crossover distortion by ensuring the output transistors are always passing current.
Continue Reading »
Awards 2010
Thorens TD 309 £1,250 (inc. arm and cartridge)
Ed Selley  |  Mar 13, 2010  |  0 comments
Thorens TD 309 £1,250 (inc. arm and cartridge) Calling on a century of expertise, this new Thorens turntable has an enviable tonal quality Few names in hi-fi can match Thorens’s track record. 107 years is a pretty good innings and the company continues to build on the reputation it built in the 1960s for audiophile LP decks. This model is a new addition to the range, its shape and general design bang up-to-date, even more so in the optional red finish.
Continue Reading »

Pages

X