In case you are not familiar with the name Unison Research, it is an Italian company in business for some 20 years or so at Treviso, a municipality just to the north of Venice, with a well earned reputation for producing some excellent hifi components. Dominic Marsh has a play with their Triode 25 valve […]
The Conrad-Johnson design team say they are particularly excited with the introduction of two new Classic amplifiers, the Classic Sixty-Two (CL62) and Classic One-Twenty (CL120).
The iTube2 is a tubed output stage; tube preamp; tube buffer and an impedance-matching device. Put the iTube2 before a solid-state preamp with another iTube2 after it to create the effect of tubing the whole audio chain. Or simply use the iTube2 as a preamp by itself. The iTube2 with trickle-down technology from the flagship ‘Pro’ series has been redesigned with new parts and new […]
Janine Elliot charts the rise and fall and rise again of the Thermionic Tube/valve in this fascinating and informative article.
The Lab12 pre 1 just arrived at Hifi Pig Towers and here it is being unboxed. We’ll be reviewing this valve preamplifier and you can WIN this very unit worth £1200 by visiting Hifi Pig’s stand at The Indulgence Show that takes place the 14th to 16th October at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith, London. […]
Now in its 81st year, Quad has been making valve amplifiers for home use since the late 1940s. The company’s latest model, the VA-One, brings the concept bang up to date; a compact integrated amplifier that fuses Quad’s traditional valve-based audio expertise with modern digital audio streaming. With a footprint measuring just 18x33cm, the […]
At £885 the Minute EL-34 valve certainly looks to offer good value for money with its separate power supply. Add another £150 and you get a full compliment of cryo’d valves. Ian Ringstead takes a listen.
The MQ-300 is a new generation of vacuum tube stereo amplifiers from LUXMAN that “uses the most thoroughly selected parts and circuits to maximise the performance and tonal quality of the latest direct heated triode – the TA-300B”. Following in the design footsteps of the MB-300 released 31 years ago, the MQ-300 combines traditional design […]
Introducing Billie, the stereo amplifier that combines the precision of digital with the warmth of analogue sound in a Nordic minimalist aesthetic. An objet d’art designed with attention to detail inside and out, Billie brings back the transcendent ritual of listening, say the company launching it on Kickstarter. “Our goal is to go beyond soundbars […]
Audio Hungary are a relatively new name to Hifi Pig and we first met them at this year’s High End show in Munich where they had their wares on display. This, the Qualiton A20i, is their entry level integrated amplifier. It is very compact, runs 2 x 20 Watts of Class A power and is […]
Eunice Kron heads up KR Audio Electronics located in Prauge, Czech Republic, a manufacturer of hand-crafted, high quality tubes (all glass is hand blown) and audio equipment. Hifi Pig goes Behind The Brands with her.
Tubes/valves hold a real fascination for audiophiles with many many using them and swearing by them. Here’s a selection of tubes we found at this year’s High End in Munich. Of course there were lots of rooms using tubes and most of the pictures you see here were taken on stands where we weren’t able to listen […]
Aries Cerat have announced the completion of the Diana Series of amplification with the introduction of two new models, the Diana Forte amplifier and the Diana Mezzo, Class A pre-amplifier. Diana Forte Stereo Power Amplifier The Diana Forte’s circuits are based on the Diana Integrated amplifier output and driver stages. The Output stage is scaled […]
The new KR VA 200 monoblocks with the KR 842vhd tube application from KR Audio will be presented at the Melia Hotel in Milan for the Milano Hi-End show, Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, 2016 in the Turchese room by Mr. Luigi Bocca of LAB Audio Technology Amministrazione as a world debut before the official presentation at the Munich […]
The Silver Luna integrated valve amplifier from Polish company Fezz Audio uses EL34 tubes and costs £725 in Poland (and 1700,00 Eur for PRESTIGE export version) , which is something of a budget price for tube amp. Dominic Marsh takes a listen.
The PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated Amplifier at £2,998 is billed as a fit an forget valve amplifier that avoids many of the headaches traditionally associated with valve amp ownership. Ian Ringstead takes one for a spin.