Tube amplifiers are no longer what they used to be. And that’s a good thing. Tube amplifiers in the past: built like something out of a hobby store, operational reliability as good as hell, performance subterranean. Tube amplifiers today: built like a fortress, highly reliable and durable thanks to microprocessor …
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Until now, Audio Group Denmark (AGD), with its brands Børresen (loudspeakers), Aavik (electronics), and Ansuz (cables/accessories), has focused entirely on exploring hi-fidelity frontiers, resulting in products that, in terms of price, only appealed to a particularly solvent target audience or extreme hobbyists. But now the Danes have added the AXXESS …
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The Octave V70 Class A attempts a special balancing act: it wants to be an integrated amplifier that combines the precision of the transistor with the tonal beauty of the tube and the Class A circuit. It has succeeded quite well… The tube specialist Octave has created its own league …
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The loudspeaker specialist German Physiks from Maintal in Hesse was not previously known for its amplifiers. How could you? There were none until recently. But now the manufacturer of extravagant sound transducers has developed equally extravagant amplifier electronics. Normally we at LowBeats stay away from such sinfully expensive stuff. But …
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Can an integrated amplifier for 20,000 euros excite many HIFi fans? You would think: no. But wrong. The Westend Audio Monaco is currently enjoying an astonishing triumph. Its secret: amazingly precise tube sound plus an individual, perfect surface finish. LowBeats tested the dream amplifier – and probably won’t be giving …
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