• WHAT HI FI Sound and Vision 2004 Winner of Best Stereo Amplifier £1400-£3000. November 2004
• Hi Fi Choice: Editor’s Choice and Product of the Year for 2004
• What Hi Fi: 2 X Five Star reviews and beat all comers
• Hi Fi News: Chris Breunig bought one!
  

Summary

We have called the new amplifier the Laboratory Series because it is a development of the amplifiers we use to evaluate our loudspeakers. It is particularly important that an amplifier being used for such a purpose is immune to the effects of the speaker, has negligible distortion and sufficient dynamic range to avoid clipping on the transients in music. We want to hear the music not an inadequate amplifier!

There are six inputs with the option of a phono stage (more on that later), the tape loop is buffered and it is possible to record one source while listening to another. Volume control is by a large bead blasted aluminium knob (to provide the correct feel) and the front panel has accurate graduations to ensure its precise location. When controlled by the remote handset, a dab of the button will produce changes of a 1/2 dB!

Power output into 8 ohms is a conservatively rated 200 WPC and this almost doubles into 4 and 2 ohms. Enormous current is available ensuring that the largest and most complex speakers are driven with ease and that low frequency control and dynamics are displayed to perfection. If the amp is shorted, protection is swift as it is if the load drops to a little over 1 ohm.

The most sensitive ear applied to the most sensitive loudspeaker may just be able to hear background noise. Distortion is lost in the noise generated by most test equipment!

This is one of the finest sounding amplifiers you are going to hear, regardless of your budget!

AVI is for serious music enthusiasts and for many this means they must still be able to play irreplaceable vinyl and play it to the highest standard that technology permits. We have designed a factory fittable phono stage that is switchable (via a switch in the rear panel) to either moving coil or moving magnet cartridges. For those with the finest, we can alter the input to precisely match it. There is a modest additional charge for this service.

Specifications