The British online magazine darko.audio published an extraordinary, immensely charming, and worthwhile review of the all-in-one integrated amplifier Canor Virtus A3 in November 2025:
“Now replace PCM with transistors and DSD with tubes. Hello overlap. This corresponds to general perception and assumptions based on real, though not exclusive, evidence. When directly-heated power triodes drive speakers through output transformers with half a mile of winding and no feedback, we might hear looser, more flowery bass and perhaps even premature treble roll-off. The resulting sound might be perceived as warm, dark, and moist. Some call it more musical, others more organic. Dennis Had from Cary Audio called it Deep Triode. These comments aren’t set in stone. They merely establish commonly accepted parameters without accounting for nuances or exceptions.
To communicate intelligently, we must first speak the same language. In this case, we can quickly and confidently describe the core performance of the A3. Without conversion issues from PCM to DSD, it produces DSD’s spatial effects without sweetening or rounding off treble; the classic tube effect of lively microdynamics with enhanced tonal color, but without blurry transients; and the classic transistor effect of excellent bass control, dynamic generosity, and extremely low noise.
That’s it. The end.
Summed up in a few sentences, as with the A3 – which fits its extensive feature set and hardware into an unusually deep chassis – this might not sound particularly impressive. But for a transistor fan who has owned Art Audio and Ancient Audio SET, Octave Push/Pull amps, and tested a broad array of glow bugs, the appeal lies in what’s no longer there. It extracts a slightly richer sound and better atmospheric rendering with more moisture from small, affordable, hidden tubes, resulting in a subtle enhancement of ‘reverb.’
et it avoids the usual side effects such as soft edges and overly thick, murky textures. It skips the energetic sense of restraint, like wading through water or deep, loose sand. It avoids flowery bass and sticky warmth. Here, microdosing is key.
If you roughly view a hybrid as a half-and-half solution – like we’re genetically half from our mother, half from our father – the A3 further halves its tube half. To my mind and ears, the half it eliminates is simply not a tube thing. It’s typical coupling capacitors. […]
Here’s the interesting question: which aspects of classic tube sound does the A3 retain, and which does it omit? In my view, it leaves out everything that made me give up tubes entirely and adds only the elements I enjoy. With a voltage gain of 34.5 dB and 100/150 watts into 8/4 ohms, the Canor A3 is a true driver for normal speakers down to 82 and 83 dB in my upstairs and office setups. Yet even paired with 10 dB more efficient speakers in the main system, there was no audible noise from the tweeter or midrange.
In summary, the A3 delivers a finely tuned tube sound with the drive, control, and excellent noise floor of a transistor amplifier. To replicate this special tube essence using separates, one would need a directly-coupled tube preamp like my Vinnie Rossi LS1, which cost three times as much back in the day – plus a suitable power amp. Even with 23 years of HiFi experience, I find it hard to duplicate the A3 with separates. Given the integration of MM/MC phono, DAC, and headphone amp, I consider it categorically impossible to reach this quality any other way.
That’s it. The end. This time for real.”
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