Our Story and Philosophy

It’s been twenty-five years since the idea of the first Audio Analogue product was born.

Those who have followed us since the beginning surely remember the first Puccini integrated amplifier. It was a little gem that with only 40W, and despite still being in prototype form, had attracted the interest of the public at CES in Las Vegas in January 1996. Despite this, maybe not everybody knows that the very first Audio Analogue product was a DAC called Vivaldi, which was produced in only twenty-five units.

Vivaldi was a great product for the time but our first concrete placement on the market came after the first production of Puccini which started in mid-1996.

In the following years the catalogue expanded with the introduction of the Puccini SE (1997), a more powerful version of the first Puccini with double power stages and power supply, the first version of the Bellini preamplifier and the Donizetti power-amp (1998).

The first Paganini CD player came in 1999, followed by the first Maestro CD in 2000.

Moreover, in 1999 Puccini, Puccini SE and Bellini had been renovated and improved in the circuitry with the addition of discrete stages and the remote control, while the Donizetti stereo is replaced by the new mono version that reaches a power of 100W.

2001 is a very important year for Audio Analogue. The first products with actual high-end orientation were introduced and, specifically, we are talking about the Maestro Integrated Amp: a very powerful amplifier (150W), very heavy and very muscular that still retained the well known musicality of Audio Analogue products. After a few months it was combined with the new Maestro CD, one of the first players with 24bit/96Khz conversion and DAC function.

In 2002 we started working on those models which gave birth to a brand new production that included both entry-level and real high-end products. In 2003 we had three lines: Primo line, Composers line and Maestro line.

All of them were a turning-point regarding both design and project philosophy: modern and clean lines, valuable finishes and materials made the new products elegant and perfectly adaptable to any location.

In detail, the products introduced on the market were: Aria, pre-phono with Virtual Battery power supply system, Cinecittà pre-processor, Cinecittà 6CH multichannel amp, Maestro Line Preamp, Maestro Monoblock power amps, Maestro CD 192/24, Maestro Settanta integrated amplifier, Puccini Settanta integrated amplifier, Paganini 192/24 CD player, Primo Settanta  integrated amplifier and Primo CD player.

In 2004 and 2005 we introduced the new Bellini VB Pre-Amplifier, Donizetti Cento power amp and, for some new models, we also started to mix the modern technology of op-amps to the typical warmth and musical sounds of the valves.

These new models were: Primo Tuner, Primo Cento integrated amplifier, Primo CD VT CD player, Rossini CD player and Verdi Settanta Integrated Amplifier. In addition, we introduced a unique all-in-one equipment: the Enigma. We can define it "unique" because despite being very small, it was incredibly versatile and surprisingly well-performing.

In 2006, we decided to further expand our range to high-end introducing the Class A and the Maestro Duecento integrated amplifiers, both available in the power-amp version too. The Class A was a massive unit with 50W in pure class A and, even nowadays, it is still considered one of the most refined amps ever introduced in the high-end worldwide scenario. The Maestro Duecento was, instead, the even more brutal successor of the mythic Maestro 150W integrated. A real "monster" in terms of power, capable of supplying over 800W on 2Ohms impedance and drive any kind of speakers in a magnificent way.

At the end of 2008, we introduced a very important and interesting product: Verdi Cento hybrid integrated amplifier. This product was probably the best integrated amplifier of its price range available on the market at the time; its value for money was amazing.

In 2009, we began to renovate our already existing products by introducing, for many of them, the new version rev2.0 and, for some others, the upgrade to the SE version. In the same year, we also started the production of the new line called Armonia which included the Crescendo amplifier and CD player: entry-level products with a very high quality-price ratio.

In 2010 and 2011, the process of renewal of already existing products continued. In 2012 we gave birth to some new products: the Fortissimo Amplifier, a very versatile 100W integrated which also included MM/MC phono stage and internal DAC, the Fortissimo CD, a player that also had DAC functions and the Vivace DAC. All of this products were introduced into (and completed) the Armonia line.

Between 2013 and 2014 we decided to reduce the size of the catalog to concentrate our attention on a smaller number of more specific products and in 2014 appeared for the first time the Airtech brand on Audio Analogue products.

Thanks to the experience achieved in the development of exceptional cables, but also thanks to the years of study on Audiograde materials and components carried out by Airtech, we created a new version of all models of the Armonia line, this time signed by Airtech. The improvements concerned the aesthetic of the products but also the components and, obviously, the sound performance.

2015 was the year of the big breakthrough: Audio Analogue decided to change.

After twenty years of activity, constant maturation and worldwide affirmation, we felt the need to define even more strongly the identity of the brand, more and more oriented towards the quality of design of the products and a manufacturing purely Made in Italy.

The first big step in this direction was the introduction of the Puccini Anniversary which was born to celebrate the first twenty years of activity and, for this exact reason, chosen as a model that soon made Audio Analogue even more famous in the world.

The Puccini Anniversary was a commemorative product, an integrated amplifier with really high technological and musical qualities, the starting point for all the new products introduced from that moment and currently in production.

2021 was the year of ABsolute: 50W in pure class A or 150W in class AB, a powerful, refined, solid and elegant amplifier able to better drive any speaker. This absolutely relevant amplifier guaranteed us, once again, a place in the world of high-end, especially because ABsolute is not only a single product but also a new line of products that will include other models of even higher level.

What is the aim of a high-fidelity product?

The main function of a high-fidelity product is to manage an audio signal and re-propose it at its best, but what does it mean to re-propose it in the best way?

Music is a wonderful world that accompanies us through the phases of our life: it gives us emotions, makes us cry or laugh, it creates memories and, above all, it helps us to live. It is the most abstract artistic form but, at the same time, the easiest and most immediate to understand. To re-propose a musical event means making it as enjoyable as possible to listen, trying to maintain and convey the emotions enclosed in the execution.

The basic concept that we keep in our minds during the processes of designing and developing our products and the target we set daily at work is to get the highest fidelity compared to the actual event. Above all, the aspect that interests us more is to get the '"high musicality" and so the pleasure of listening over time.

This is the reason why the latest refinements to our products are always those made "by ear" which basically means taking long listening sessions and then trying to adjust the key points in the architecture of the single product to get the desired results.