Canor Audio, based in Slovakia, is certainly not the most famous of hi-fi brands, but has been around for longer than many will realise. And, cunningly, it sidesteps the minefield of online rage surrounding tube versus solid-state amplification by manufacturing hybrid amps, a solid-state design, and fully fledged tube products. Canor is clearly smart enough to hedge its bets.
Still, at its heart Canor considers itself ‘a tube specialist’, albeit a pragmatic one which realises that sometimes other designs can offer more bang for the buck. For example, its forthcoming Virtus A3 all-in-one, designed by hi-fi guru John Westlake, is a tube/transistor hybrid. The Virtus I2 here, however, is an all-analogue integrated amplifier that wholeheartedly embraces tubes while also claiming Class A operation [see PM’s boxout, p63].
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