Pre/Power Amplifiers

Naim Audio’s first product, the NAP 160 power amplifier, was introduced in 1971; the NAP 250 appeared in 1975. It was technically unusual in that it used a strictly regulated power supply, whereas the vast majority of power amplifiers, unlikely today, typically made do with an unregulated one. Arguably, the NAC 12 preamp was even more unusual than the NAP 250. In ultimate form it required a standalone external power supply – the SNAPS – at a time when such an arrangement was virtually unheard of.

Martin Colloms hears a power amp setting the pace for the 21st century

The development of this completely new power amplifier has been a major undertaking for Naim. Up to now, its designs have been variants on the late Julian Vereker's founding concept, which led to the first NAP 250 stereo chassis some 25 years ago. Even now, the company's biggest current model, the NAP 135, is a monoblock variant of the '250, with more generous power supplies allocated to the separated channels.

From the Premium Audio Company Technology Centre in Osaka, part of the diverse US Gentex Corporation, Onkyo returns to its specialist hi-fi roots with a new pre/power

Onkyo has carved a name for itself as a leading maker of AV receivers, but the Japanese company has never lost sight of its two-channel roots, and neither have its fans. Onkyo’s M series power amps, including the M-504 from 1987, still trade for hefty prices on the secondhand market. Aside from its sonic capabilities, that model is valued for its large VU meters, a trend not lost on Onkyo when it came to setting the aesthetic for its new M-80 power amplifier. Paired with the P-80 streaming preamplifier, the system delivers the convenience demanded in 2026.

Better known for multichannel, the A21 demonstrates that Parasound knows a thing or two about stereo too As with Canada’s Anthem electronics, San Francisco’s Parasound components are often found powering luxurious multichannel ‘home theatre’ systems. Unlike Anthem, however, Parasound does make pure audio (as well as AV) preamps to partner some of its power amps, especially its two-channel models. Designed in the US by John Curl, a veteran whose CV includes classic Mark Levinson and Vendetta designs in years gone by, Parasound’s amps are outsourced to Taiwan for manufacture – which might explain the keen pricing. This A21 power amp from the flagship Halo range suggests a lot for the money, weighing 27kg and resplendent in classy casework.

Looks like valves, smells like valves, uses transistors – Ken Kessler hears 100W of single-ended MOSFET power from the pen of Tim de Paravicini

Statement amps are nothing new to Tim de Paravicini, his original EAR 509s and 549s hardly being minor projects. Neither were the first amps to bear the Yoshino names, a pair of designs showing that single-ended topology could be applied to both valves and transistors. But the latter, while Tim was able to voice it to ape the tubes, ran just as hot as the valves, and proved just as inefficient as all single-ended designs are known to be, so why bother? Damned if I know, for Tim's latest is a huge mutha of a single-ended amp... and it's solid-state.

Bottom of the five-model XA. 5 series of mono power amplifiers, all of them true Class A designs, the XA60. 5 offers a rated output of 60W and, it’s claimed, much higher current capability than previous XA models: to the tune of a fi ve-fold improvement. So tough loudspeaker loads, of which there are still many, are grist to the XA.

The Dutch specialist broke with its all-tube tradition when it launched the EVO 300 Hybrid integrated amp. Its success has now inspired a bridgeable power amp version

Three questions sprang to mind when discussing the PrimaLuna EVO 300 Hybrid ‘poweramplifier’ with editor PM. The company has been merrily supplying all-valve products for 22 years, so the introduction of hybrid models seemed a non-sequitur, especially given that this particular amp’s £6498 price tag doesn’t preclude an all-tube design on the grounds of costs.