Albarry's

[trio leo]

I have always been a fan of Albarry products and I still use a pair of the original M408's.

The current review in HiFi+ has a lot of positive things to say about the AP11 Pre-amp and the M608 Mono-bloc power amps, in fact the reviewer was so impressed he now uses the amps in preference to his Accuphase(another brand I have a great deal of respect for).

It's about time this iconic brand got the recognition it deserves and to have a product designed and hand built in the UK is a refreshing change,unlike so many "British" products now farmed out to China.

I have heard the AP11/M608 combo and I think they are fast, dynamic, articulate and musically involving and I believe, for the money unbeatable.

I have had the new M1108's at home and they are so good I didn't want to give them back, they are stunning and worthy of the title Flagship IMO.

Last weekend I heard them on a better system than mine and everyone there agreed they are remarkable amplifiers, whilst the M608's are superb amps the M1108's just did more of ....EVERYTHING!!!!

To be fair it is horses for courses the M1108's are almost twice the price of the M608's and the M1108's may be a little overpowering in some systems.

Not forgetting the super little MCA11 battery powered MC step up amplifier, I received one of these for Christmas and it brought my cartridges to life, for the quality it is excellent value at £500.

I really hope that some of you will take the chance to hear Albarry's, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Enjoy your music

regards Al

[DSJR]

We know already, but like much top end gear made in the UK, the stuff is priced for rich export clients

Lovely stuff, especially the power amps. The pricing on the home market will deprive so many of the pleasure of ownership and using the stuff

[jandl100]

We know already, but like much top end gear made in the UK, the stuff is priced for rich export clients

Lovely stuff, especially the power amps. The pricing on the home market will deprive so many of the pleasure of ownership and using the stuff

"Elsewhere on the interweb" it has been suggested that Albarry would have been better off to sell direct in the UK rather than have a dealers' margin plonked on top - that does seem to have helped make them uncompetitive in the current UK economic climate.

Shame. Nice kit.

Small British firms with interesting kit (I am thinking of Papworth, but I'm sure there are others) don't bother much with the UK market place - they export most of their stock and are happy to do so.

[sq225917]

It's the same story for me with Trilogy, great stuff but twice the piece it should be tO dent the uk market.

[hifi_dave]

I don't agree. When you compare what you actually get in terms of components, build, performance and sound, they are still very competitive.

I regularly flip through Hi-Fi News and Hi-Fi World and see products at 2, 3 and 4 times the price of Albarry and it doesn't compare, except maybe, in having wonderful casework, packaging and marketing BS.

The M608s are £2557 inc VAT and compare very favourably with many similarly priced products in our market. IMO

[DSJR]

You know as well as I do Dave, that so much imported bling is just that - bought with the eyes yet with very little inside to justify the retail cost - intellectual property in the design be damned...

We'll have to give tha 608's another go "next time"

[Marco]

I've not heard the M608s, but I wouldn't consider £2557 expensive today for high-quality monoblock amplifiers. Like Dave says, just look at what some others charge for similar (or sometimes lesser) products!

As for selling direct, sure, but sometimes to maximise on sales, it's more advantageous for a manufacturer to take advantage of a dealer's well-established customer base, and his rapport with those customers

Marco.

[hifi_dave]

I won't mention names but a trawl through the last year's worth of Hi-Fi News and Hi-Fi World reveals a heap of products, some British, some imported, which are far higher priced than Albarry. Often, pics are shown of the internals and I'm staggered at just how little there is inside some of these megabuck products.

Now, I'm not a designer or engineer but I do have some inkling of the cost of parts and the prices really don't stack up. All I can think of is that we are asked to pay for wonderful metalwork, marketing and packaging - none of which has any bearing on the sound. Also, imported products are going through the hands of a distributor, which also adds considerably to the cost.

Do the same check on Albarry and the products appear to be good value and don't forget that £426.16 of that price is VAT.

[hifi_dave]

Did I mention these ?

[basnas]

Hi
How is the Croft Series 7R compared to the M608.

best jan