In issue no. 86, published in June 2026, the specialist magazine Fidelity reviews the versatile Canor Virtus A3 and certifies the unit as delivering high sound quality across its phono stage, DAC and headphone amplifier alike:
“I was amazed by the composure with which the A3 created a perfectly organised soundstage. Against an absolutely silent background, individual sonic events were clearly separated from one another and presented with believable proportions. The result was an easy-to-grasp, highly three-dimensional soundstage. […] I was also able to follow the artificially generated sense of space in pop productions without any difficulty. A nostalgic excursion into the late 1960s and early 1970s turned into an evening-long pleasure with the Virtus. The amp propelled Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland into the listening room with power and definition, exactly as it should. Yet it was equally adept at handling the delicate tones of the folk-rock band America.
That the A3 is not an outright beautifier despite its pleasing sound became clear to me with Crosby, Stills & Nash: it was, and remained, a relentlessly poorly produced record, at least in the case of my re-release. Everything I had heard up to that point reached my ears via the Ortofon MC X40 in the TW 12.9 and the internal phono preamplifier. I can only attest to its outstanding sound quality. To achieve a serious improvement, you would certainly have to dig quite deeply into your pockets.
The same applies to the DAC, with my Michi Q5 serving as the source. I found the sonic differences between the various filter settings to be relatively minor. In the end, I opted for the ‘hybrid filter’. I particularly liked the A3’s ability to reproduce the fundamental tonality of instruments cleanly, without obscuring it through exaggerated handling noises or disproportionate high-frequency sparkle. This balanced presentation feels, or rather sounds, pleasantly natural. Details are by no means omitted; they are simply integrated into the overall context in the correct proportions.
In my opinion, this, together with the spatial presentation already described, accounts for the Virtus A3’s pleasing sound. Although the amplifier, thanks to its fairly powerful output stages, is capable of providing sound for parties when paired with suitable loudspeakers, I believe it will appeal especially to listeners who appreciate subtle sonic nuances and delicate tones. Its comprehensive equipment allows it to serve as the foundation of an audiophile setup reduced to just a few components. In terms of sound quality, it has hardly any competition to fear in its price range. This is particularly true because its phono stage, DAC and headphone amplifier all perform at the same high level.
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