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Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier – Completely in Class A

The Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier from the Slovakian specialist Canor spol. s.r.o. is a tube mono power amplifier in pure Class A technology, which nevertheless offers impressive performance.

According to the Prešov-based company, the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier has also been designed to ensure the cleanest possible signal processing, free from external influences that could damage the sound.

Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier – Pure Class A

There are some controversial discussions about which amplifier concepts are the only true ones, but it is quite clear that Class A is often credited with a particularly appealing, natural performance, and this is exactly what the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier is based on.

The amplifier is purely Class A and is said to offer a particularly rich, full and detailed sound, although this amplifier concept – due to the technology – has a fundamental disadvantage, namely comparatively low power.

In the case of the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier, however, this should not be an issue, because a glance at the data sheet reveals that this mono block does not show any weaknesses in this respect and delivers a power of 55 watts to speaker systems with an impedance of 4.8 ohms in triode mode, and an impressive 110 watts to speaker systems with an impedance of 7 ohms in ultralinear mode.

Based on tube technology

This brings us to another important feature of the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier, because as we already mentioned, and as is to be expected from a specialist in tube technology, the amplifier is based on tube technology, combining four KT150s with two ECC82s and one 12AX7.

The manufacturer claims that the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier is one of the best tube amplifiers on the market in terms of extremely low harmonic distortion and other sound-damaging influences.

Several factors are said to contribute to this, first and foremost a symmetrical design to prevent interference signals in the first place. In addition, a power supply was chosen with a vacuum-impregnated transformer core and the entire transformer is encapsulated with a special anti-vibration compound.

The filter capacity here is 3,900 mF/ 550 V and a choke placed under a welded cover is to eliminate ripples in the anode voltage. The output transformers are made of MU metal especially for the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier.

In the signal path, according to the manufacturer’s promise, only high-quality polypropylene capacitors are used and the signal path conductors are made of slow-drawn, oxygen-free copper, which is also coated with pure silver.

Very solid construction

As if that were not enough, the developers of the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier rely on a virtually massive aluminium housing, which is supposed to prevent any vibrations from occurring in the first place. With dimensions of 450 mm in width, 465 mm in depth and 190 mm in height, this solution weighs in at an impressive 40 kg. Considering that this is a mono block, i.e. you need at least two of them, you should definitely give some thought to where and how you place these gems from Slovakia in your hi-fi chain.

The rear of the Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier has only one XLR connector as input and, of course, very solidly designed screw terminals for connecting a speaker system. The front presents itself very tidy, because apart from the dimmable illuminated logo of the manufacturer and three buttons, you won’t find anything here.

Prices and availability

The Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier is now available in specialist shops, where the customer can choose between black and silver versions. The manufacturer states the recommended retail price at € 13.000,-.

Getting to the point

The Canor Virtus M1 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier is a mono power amplifier that uses tube technology and operates in Class A alone. Nevertheless, it is supposed to offer enough power to be combined with various loudspeaker systems and to have them under control at all times. The developers at Canor spol. s.r.o. also offer a lot here to guarantee accurate signal processing free of sound-damaging influences.

PRODUCTCANOR VIRTUS M1 VACUUM TUBE POWER AMPLIFIER
Price€ 13.000,-
BrandCANOR AUDIO
ManufacturerCanor spol. s.r.o.
Distribution AustriaAudio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Distribution GermanyIDC Klaassen International Distribution & Consulting oHG
Distribution SwitzerlandIDC Klaassen International Distribution & Consulting oHG
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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