Munich 2025

What more delightful way to end the third day of High End Munich than having a cup of tea and a short chat with Jean-Christophe Calmettes, owner of Jadis Electronics? He had some interesting news to share about the French company's two forthcoming integrated amplifiers, the Aria class-AB ($5200, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) and the Ode 30W pure class-A (available fourth quarter 2025, price TBD).

Calmettes said that innovation with tube circuits is difficult, but that his team was equal to the task of making the new designs more attractive, modern, and user-friendly. For the Aria, a push-pull pentode design, that included supplying a remote control—and leaving bias control to a technician. The class-A Ode, on the other hand, offers auto-bias.

"My goal is to find a way for young people to enjoy and learn what a system can do," Calmettes said. "More modern designs, and more compact designs, including integrateds, may reach them."

More than young people, I might add: for anyone who's downsizing, for example, these integrateds look ideal.