Intro
Contents
AVID HiFi is a British company founded by Conrad Mas. Mas built his first turntable at the age of sixteen and continued to refine that design over the following years. Founded in 1995, their turntables (Ingenium, Diva and Sequel) in particular have earned an excellent reputation, but AVID also makes speakers, phono stages, elements and amplifiers. Today we have their newest and most budget-friendly integrated amplifier on the shelf. The AVID Hifi Accent.
This rather modest device is not an instant showstopper but “looks can be deceiving”. Indeed, the AVID Accent hides a lot of special assets. Let’s discover them!
Construction and appearance
Unobtrusive; especially in black, but still with some distinct design cues. For example, the company’s name is perforated in contrasting black on top of the amplifier. The word “Accent,” the call sign so to speak, is also clearly visible. As if that were not enough, a large letter A was cut out of the front. That letter is even more prominent in the silver version and looks very cool as far as we are concerned.
The dials are also different from what we are used to. They have small, wavy notches and are a pleasure to use. The volume knob is slightly larger than the button for inputs, and between those knobs is a 6.35 mm headphone jack that runs on a separate circuit. We don’t see that very often. This circuit is derived from their more expensive amplifiers and should basically be able to drive any pair of headphones. Finally, another switch for mono and one for mute.
Vinyl
On the back only single-ended connections. Four regular rca inputs and one for a turntable. Not just any one because the phono stage in the AVID Accent is a modified version of their separate Pellar. That one recently left an excellent impression in our multitest. You can choose between MM or MC and adjust the gain. The speaker connectors are very stylish and feature the manufacturer’s brand name. So everywhere we find little “accents” by which this amplifier tries to distinguish itself from the competition. In any case, the AVID Accent is built like a tank, let that be clear.
Inside the AVID Accent is a large toroidal transformer that helps to feed the power stage that delivers 2×70 watts of Class A/B into 8 Ohms. Because of the huge power supply, this amplifier weighs nearly 15 kg, and you’ll feel it when you have to lug it back and forth often. The fate of every reviewer, but you won’t hear us complain.
Now 2 times 70 watts doesn’t seem like much but in practice we don’t notice any of this. This is an extremely stable amplifier that drives our speakers effortlessly. An amplifier with balls and one that never sounds bare or cold. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. An extra asset is the beautiful remote control that comes standard. The competition can learn something from this. With that remote control you can adjust the volume and there is also a mute function. That is all it takes. All in all, a fine package of connections and options, although a balanced input would have been nice.
