Tune 3 & Tune 4

Reviewer: Simone Ragionieri
Source: Generic 5G router into Taiko Audio network switch both powered by a Zayin Audio Suprareg; Taiko Olympus XDMI Server; LampizatOr Horizon 360 DAC
Headphone amplifier: Riviera Audio Labs AIC-10
Headphones: Spirit Torino Valkyria, Raal 1995 Immanis
Loudspeakers: Diesis Audio Aura SE
Cables: complete Faber's Cables La Potenza loom
Power delivery: Faber's Cables La Potenza power distributor and ground box, Furutech NCF AC wall plugs on a dedicated spur
Room size: 5 x 4.5 x 2.7m
Room treatments: Eight ceiling diffusers, floor-to-ceiling acoustic curtains on sidewalls, Vicoustic VicTotem Ultra VMT in front corners
Review component retail: €27K preamp, €30K amp 

"Dear Simone, thank you for communicating with us. The sonic character of our electronics is determined by their circuit simplicity of a pure single-stage class A tube preamp with headphone output, streaming function and optionally embedded high-performance DAC and MM/MC phono modules; and a unique two-stage hybrid power-amp design which combines the warmth of class A tube voltage gain with the precision of a Mosfet transimpedance current stage. No feedback, no interstage transformers, no cathode follower, just pure signal amplification that dives deep into class A…" – Epaminondas Gaveras

"Dear Epaminondas, thank you for the information you shared. I'm intrigued by hybrid designs, a type of amplifier I have used in my own system for many years which I have also focused on in my recent reviews. Among your product portfolio my first choice for a potential review would be the combination of Tune 3 and Tune 4. The Tune 6 could also interest me assuming it can drive an active sub via line-level out in parallel to my speakers…" – Simone

"Dear Simone, thank you very much for your kind message and for the time spent exploring our work. I truly appreciate your interest and thoughtful comments, especially from someone with long-standing experience with hybrid designs. We would be happy to move forward with a review of the Tune 3 + Tune 4 pre/power combination. At the moment no review samples are available so a dedicated set would need to be produced. The estimated lead time is approximately three months after which we can allocate the units for the review duration you require. Something that might be relevant to your setup: the Tune 3 preamplifier has two distinct pre-outs. One directly taps into the tube circuit while the other is a hybrid output designed to drive long cable runs, active speakers or subwoofers…" – Epaminondas

By June 27th so four months past these initial exchanges, Simone's email header read "hARt in the house" whilst his attachment was this photo at left. The timing proved perfect. Simone's prior commitments of SPEC RSA-EX1000 and Acustica Applicata Ferrero L9 had just published a week ago. There would be no downtime waiting for his next assignment to commence. Or as he put it, "absolutely perfect and a different proposition altogether which keep things fresh and interesting". As his photo shows, hARt even considered his décor by closely matching his favoured wood species with their own hot-swappable cheeks in solid wood. Anyone who thinks such niceties irrelevant probably still lives in the man-cave era of hifi. Then real attempts at cosmetic style were frowned upon as sell-outs to lifestyle whilst real audiophiles soldiered on with ugly kit and were irrationally proud of it. hARt even give us control over the logo colour in 15 different tints so they better harmonize with other displays we already own. As to Greece being a real audiophile destination, extend from hARt Labs to Ideon, Lab12, Matter Audio, Metaxas & Sins, Pilium, TruLife Audio, Tsakiridis Devices, Tune Audio and Ypsilon for more scenic highlights. From tube gear to massive solid state, from electrostatic to dynamic to horn speakers, this country has a bit of everything for the globe-trotting golden-eared connoisseur. Here the publisher's foreword ends and Simone takes over the actual review. – Ed.

… to be continued…