Advance Paris. The name might evoke images of WWII’s French Resistance or even the cold suspense of The Day of the Jackal. But for audiophiles, Advance Paris has a different, equally compelling meaning: it’s a 30-year-old French hi-fi company that manufactures integrated amplifiers, stereo and mono power amps, preamps, and CD/network players.
Advance debuted its Nova line at this year’s High End Munich, consisting of six new components that should arrive in retail channels by the fall. Presented by CEO Dimitri Peucelle and product manager Cédric Léon, the static display featured the A-I130 and A-I190 integrated amplifiers, the A-S160 stereo amplifier, the A-RTR rotary remote, the A-M220 mono amplifier, and the A-NTC streaming cartridge.
The A-I130 ($4300, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) is a class-AB hybrid design that marries a tube-based input stage—featuring two ECC81/12AT7s—with a solid-state output section delivering 130Wpc. It includes a dedicated headphone amplifier, MM phono stage, and onboard DSP for room correction.
The more powerful A-I190 ($5400) takes a dual-mono approach, retaining the tube-solid-state hybrid topology but pushing output to 190Wpc. It adds an ESS9017S DAC chip running in quad mode, and extends DSP functionality to control four discrete channels: left, right, sub1, and sub2.
Also running in class-AB, and offering 160Wpc into 8ohms, the A-S160 (price to be announced, as is the case for the next three products) includes RCA and XLR inputs and, like the other AP amps, features substantial VU meters.
Handsome, glowing, and compact, Advance Paris’s A-RTR is a rotary remote that controls power, standby, volume, and mute. Its large volume dial is engaging and fun to use.
The A-M220 mono amplifier, just like its stablemates, operates in class-AB mode. It delivers 220W into 8ohms and includes both RCA and XLR inputs along with a prominent VU meter.
Finally, the A-NTC streaming cartridge is positioned as the core of the Nova line. Connectivity options include Roon Ready, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, DLNA, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Napster, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, vTuner, AirPlay 2, and Chromecast. It supports both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections and is designed to integrate with the Nova A-I130 and A-I190 amps.
This handsome bevy of products—and their attractive price ranges—piqued my curiosity. I’ve requested a review sample from the Nova line. More soon.
The A-I130 ($4300, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) is a class-AB hybrid design that marries a tube-based input stage—featuring two ECC81/12AT7s—with a solid-state output section delivering 130Wpc. It includes a dedicated headphone amplifier, MM phono stage, and onboard DSP for room correction.
The A-M220 mono amplifier, just like its stablemates, operates in class-AB mode. It delivers 220W into 8ohms and includes both RCA and XLR inputs along with a prominent VU meter.
Finally, the A-NTC streaming cartridge is positioned as the core of the Nova line. Connectivity options include Roon Ready, Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, DLNA, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Napster, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, vTuner, AirPlay 2, and Chromecast. It supports both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections and is designed to integrate with the Nova A-I130 and A-I190 amps.
This handsome bevy of products—and their attractive price ranges—piqued my curiosity. I’ve requested a review sample from the Nova line. More soon.
