Vive la France! - The phrase has its roots in Bastille Day, a French national holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution. Is this the beginning of a French Hi-Fi Revolution?

Chez Advance Paris, nous créons des expériences audio qui transcendent l’ordinaire, un mélange harmonieux de technologie et d’art. That’s the great thing about the French language, even the marketing spiel sounds like a work of Joubert or Jean-Paul Sartre. And for those of you that aren’t bilingual, that is “At Advance Paris, we create audio experiences that transcend the ordinary, a harmonious blend of technology and art.”

Comment vous appelez-vous? L'Advance Paris Playstream A5, monsieur

(What is your name? The Advance Paris Playstream A5, Sir.)

Hi-Fi Manufacturers call them "streaming amplifiers” or “all in one systems". Audio T has a menu area called Hi-Fi Systems & Radios. In any case, Advance Paris calls it the Playstream, a Connected Integrated amp - “The nerve centre of your system”.

The build quality is exceptionally good. With a good weight and feel to the control dial and buttons, solid clunks of switches and the haptic touch of the input select ribbon at the bottom a real treat. Blue VU meters will divide opinion, like UV under lights or a Max Power aftermarket body kit. For some, this will be welcome relief from the sometimes bland black box world of minimalist function.

Caractéristiques

(Features)

The Playstream range consists of 3 models - A1, A5 and A7 all equipped with network compatibility to stream your music from a phone, tablet or computer using the digital connections or the onboard advance stream module that uses the Advance Paris app. The A5 is the middle of the three with 2 x 80W in 8ohms, 4 digital inputs - COAX and 3 optical inputs, USBA, Bluetooth, A phono stage with both MM and MC, DAB/FM tuner, 5 analogue inputs, Rec Out, Pre Out to use a separate power amp and Amp In, to use a separate preamp and use the A5 as a power amp. Unusually, there are also 2 dedicated RCA sub outs. The A7 adds another set of speaker outputs, HDMI ARC input and ups the wattage to 115W.

Écoute à la musique

(Listen to music)

Setting up was a breeze, with the Advance Paris app providing straightforward basic settings. Delving into the menus, there are settings for tone controls, Bass, Treble and Balance, Loudness Gain and a Bypass option to turn this amp section off. Round the back of the amp is a High Bias switch. In the “on” setting it allows for more of the Class A amplification as opposed to discrete. The setting gives the amp a very slightly warming character, but also seems to push detail and transparency levels a lot more. The drawback is the amp does run a little warmer and consumes a little more juice.

I settled on a very un-Hi-Fi world/audiophile controversial setting of Loudness ON, Bass +02, Treble +02 in High Bias ON mode, Bypass OFF. For speakers we used the Dynaudio Evoke 10 and Acoustic Energy AE500. Both were driven extremely well.

The turntable test was done with the Rega Planar 2 fitted with the new ND3 cartridge. Playing Oscar Peterson Trio’s Night Train; The trio consisting of Peterson at the piano, Ray Brown on the bass and Ed Thigpen on the drums was a real treat. Properly engaging with great transients and groove.

The Audio T Bristol Qobuz playlist got a bit of a hammering trying to decide what to listen to and what would push the A5 to an uncomfortable genre. No such luck - the A5 kept on being engaging and putting a little smile on your face.

Comparaison

(Comparison - That one was pretty obvious!)

What was really need was an unfair test - a tag team to take down this young upstart - to see what we had been missing. In the red corner was the Naim Uniti Atom and the Rega Elex MK4 with a Wiim Pro Plus, COAX to the Elex digital input. This was the surprise - not only did the A5 not crumble in the corner, tapping out, but put up such a fight that I was left a little speechless. I did a blind test with a colleague - moving between the Naim, Rega and A5 - and he preferred the A5. The look of horror on my colleague’s face as the vanguards of Hi-Fi crumbled was devastating (just sorry, I don’t have a picture).

Finale

(I’m not even going to bother on this one…)

“Advance Paris est plus qu’une marque, nous sommes les gardiens des rêves musicaux” - “Advance Paris is more than a brand, we are the guardians of musical dreams”.

Whether you are an experienced audiophile or just starting out on a sonic adventure, Advance Paris offers a load of features and performance for the price. And, as always, the proof is in the pudding - book a demonstration and hear for yourself.

Merci de lire ce que nous écrivons

(Thank you for reading what we write)

Justin - Audio T Bristol

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

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