Displaying items by tag: phonostage - StereoLife Magazine

Hegel is introducing two new integrated amplifiers built around the same core platform but aimed at different types of system. The H200, described by the manufacturer as "The Connected", combines a 2 x 150 W amplifier with a digital-to-analogue converter, network player, MM phono stage and headphone output. The A200, or "The Classic", retains the same power output and key circuit solutions, but is an entirely analogue design intended for use with external sources such as streamers and DACs. Both amplifiers employ a Class AB output stage delivering 150 W per channel into 8 ohms. The H200 and A200 are designed to remain stable into loads as low as 2 ohms, while the damping factor of their output stages exceeds 4000. Both models also feature Hegel's SoundEngine2 technology, which is designed to detect and reduce distortion at the point where it occurs, before it travels further through the signal path. The basic amplifier architecture is therefore shared, with the main differences concerning connectivity, features and the role each model is intended to play within a system. Rather than creating one heavily equipped amplifier for everyone, Hegel has developed two versions - a complete network-enabled model and a more traditional integrated amplifier without a digital section.

Victrola is preparing to bring one of its more unusual recent products to Europe. First shown at CES 2026, Soundstage is neither a conventional pair of speakers nor an all-in-one record player. Instead, it is a low-profile soundbase designed to sit directly underneath a turntable and provide room-filling sound without introducing the vibration problems that normally make such an arrangement a bad idea. The concept is aimed squarely at listeners who want a compact vinyl system without separate speakers, an amplifier and the extra furniture that usually comes with them. Following its US launch, Soundstage is now heading to Europe, where sales are scheduled to begin in October.

Majority is expanding its turntable range with two affordable models aimed primarily at listeners taking their first steps into vinyl. The Stylo follows the more traditional route, combining a proper tonearm, adjustable cartridge setup and built-in phono stage with Bluetooth connectivity, while the Folio takes the all-in-one approach with integrated speakers and additional digital functions. Just as importantly, both decks move away from the usual black-box aesthetic - alongside Blackout, buyers can choose finishes such as Sol Yellow, British Racing Green, Blue Steel and Oxblood, with Folio also available in Plywood. The idea is simple - make vinyl playback easy to get into without reducing the turntable to little more than a decorative record player.

Dual is introducing the CS 718Q, a turntable developed at the company's engineering center in Germany and designed to continue the legacy of the celebrated Series 7. The new model combines direct drive with a carbon-aluminum sandwich tonearm, adjustable tonearm height, a dynamic tracking-force mechanism and a removable headshell. One important detail for prospective owners is that the CS 718Q is sold without a cartridge. Users are free to choose one according to their sonic preferences, the rest of the system and the tonearm's operating parameters.

Marantz is refreshing the entry point to its traditional hi-fi range with two full-size components - the Model 70 integrated amplifier and the matching CD 70 player. The new duo follows in the footsteps of the popular PM6007 and CD6007, but the transition involves considerably more than a change of model numbers. Both products adopt the visual language previously associated with more expensive Marantz components, while the amplifier gains HDMI ARC, two-way Bluetooth connectivity and a revised amplification section. The CD player, meanwhile, combines conventional disc playback with high-resolution files from USB storage.

Exposure Electronics has introduced the 5510 Pre-Amplifier, a new flagship model designed as the control center of a high-end separates system. In a market increasingly dominated by integrated amplifiers, streaming amplifiers and compact all-in-one components, the dedicated preamplifier remains a very specific proposition. It is aimed at listeners who want to separate signal management from power delivery and build a system in which each part has a clearly defined role. With the 5510, Exposure is returning to that classic hi-fi logic, presenting a component whose task is not to amplify loudspeakers or attract attention with extra functions, but to handle the incoming signal with accuracy, low noise and long-term flexibility before it reaches the power amplifier.

The decision has been made - we are buying a turntable. Everyone around us seems to be talking about the beauty of analog sound, so sooner or later we decide to begin our own vinyl adventure. Common sense may object a little, because what exactly is the point? Records are delicate, they have to be handled with care, and every twenty minutes or so you need to get up and turn the disc over if you want to hear the rest of the album. How does that make any sense in an age when a phone can give us access to millions of tracks, let us skip from one to another with a single tap, or simply keep playing for hours without any effort on our part? Users of streaming services could probably listen until retirement age and still not discover even a small fraction of the music available to them. So who actually needs a turntable?

iFi Audio has refreshed one of its most accessible product families with three new ZEN Air 2 devices, each designed to solve a different and very common problem in everyday music listening. The ZEN Air DAC 2 is a compact digital-to-analog converter with a headphone amplifier, aimed primarily at people who listen from a computer, play games, watch movies or work at a laptop and want a clear upgrade over a standard audio output without building a large system. The ZEN Air Phono 2 is a phono preamplifier for MM and MC cartridges, allowing a turntable to be connected to an amplifier, active speakers or another component that lacks a suitable phono input. The ZEN Air Blue 2 serves a different purpose again. It is a Bluetooth receiver that allows a traditional amplifier, stereo system or pair of active speakers to gain wireless playback from a phone, tablet or computer. Together, the three models form a simple, affordable and compact route to upgrading an existing system without replacing its core components. In other words, iFi is not offering one universal box that tries to do everything, but three specialized tools - one for headphones, one for vinyl and one for Bluetooth streaming - each aimed at one of the most familiar weak points in home audio.

Avid HiFi has introduced the Velsonic, a new reference-level phono preamplifier positioned as the flagship of the company's analog electronics lineup and its first completely new phono stage platform since 2012. Developed and manufactured at Avid's Cambridgeshire facility, the Velsonic replaces both the Pulsare II and Pellere models while carrying forward circuit concepts derived from the company's Reference Pre-Amplifier, signaling a broader refresh of its upper-tier analog architecture. Rather than pursuing a hybrid or digitally assisted topology, the Velsonic follows a strictly analog design philosophy built around a fully dual-mono signal path from input to output. Separate channel layouts are intended to maximize channel separation and reduce crosstalk, while the absence of digital control circuitry reflects Avid's long-standing preference for preserving signal purity in low-level phono applications. According to the manufacturer, particular attention has been paid to minimizing noise throughout the gain structure, an area especially critical in high-resolution MC cartridge systems.

If someone were to say that the headquarters of one of the most interesting and fastest-growing manufacturers of tube amplifiers and hi-fi components was based not in Munich, Glasgow, or Tokyo, but in a tiny village near Białystok, Poland, many audiophiles would probably raise an eyebrow. This is, after all, the heart of Podlasie - a region that Poles themselves tend to see as beautiful, picturesque, and somewhat removed from the country's main industrial centers and, at least in popular jokes, a little behind the curve of modern life. Internet memes reinforce the stereotype - people are supposedly still discovering electricity there, throwing spears at airplanes, and rolling up the asphalt from the roads at night. A quick search brings up images of R2D2 and C3PO turned into a moonshine still, a long sausage wrapped around a cable reel labeled "Podlasie Fiber Optic", and Fred Flintstone's car presented as a local taxi. And yet it is precisely here, among forests, lakes, and open countryside, that a company emerged, first with small, simple, affordable tube amplifiers, and now delivers beautifully engineered, thoughtfully designed, thoroughly modern components to music lovers in more than thirty countries worldwide.