Integrated Amplifiers

Is it a decluttering trend, or simply the fact that most music-loving consumers would prefer their hi-fi to dominate the room audibly, but not visually? Whichever it is, we are witnessing a real outburst of compact, high-performing audio. Moreover, this is a wave Rotel is currently seen surfing with its DX series products – miniaturising hi-fi without cutting the design and engineering corners. It’s not alone: the trend may have been led by market newcomers such as Eversolo and WiiM, but other brands are now doing the ‘good things in small packages’ thing. Think, for example, of the recent arrival of the Quad 3 integrated amplifier [HFN Sep ’25]. That company has made preamps this small in its long and illustrious past, but the latest addition is its first all-in-one solution with the iconic ’60s design, and comfortably compact at just 30cm wide.

And what if you’d like an impressive-looking pre/power amp combo, complete with illuminated VU meters, but just in miniature? Look no further than TEAC’s new 507 series, which includes the UD-507 DAC, the HA-507 headphone amplifier/preamp, and the AP-507 power amplifier, rated at 70W/8ohm. Each has a footprint no larger than a sheet of A4 paper and boasts serious intent, as a price of around £1900 a unit suggests.