It’s been a year and a half since we first clapped ears on the Advance Paris X-i50 BT, part of the first tranche of the Advance Paris range we began stocking. At the time, the range was almost an Audio T exclusive, and with so many units arriving for evaluation, we didn’t initially dive too deeply into the X-i50 itself…

rega’s little io amplifier. brilliant commander for your 1st proper vinyl-source hifi

the marantz pm6007 amplifier. a safe pair of hands but not dirty enough for grime. who could have guessed?

Since then, however, we've lived with it for 18 months, typically demonstrating it against other noteworthy models in a similar price range, including the Rega iO and Marantz PM6007.

As much as we love both the award-winning iO (especially for anyone putting together a modest first-time vinyl system) and the steadfast PM6007 and its various iterations over the past 26 years (being one of the few amplifiers available at this price point to feature rotary bass and treble controls), we sometimes find that the X-i50 BT offers a sonic quality that some customers simply can't resist...

A Request That Put Things Into Perspective

A recent demo request brought the X-i50 BT sharply back into focus. The brief was for a system capable of delivering a convincing soundstage for Hip-Hop, Grime and Drill, but on a modest budget and in a sizeable kitchen-diner-family-room setup.

Righty-ho.

Although we appreciate all genres of music here at Audio T Swansea, none of us are particularly immersed in Grime or Drill. Happily, I have a partner who is exposed to the musical tastes of people under 30, and her spluttered response to my confusion was:

“You've heard of Chase & Status. I've played you their stuff, and I know you've heard of Stormzy. They're Grime artists.”

“Oh yeah... that Grime. Riiigghht...”

Building the System

My customer specifically wanted a WiiM streamer-based system, having heard they were excellent value for money. He also liked the smart styling of the WiiM Ultra and its genuinely useful touchscreen. And who could argue with that?

brilliant value for money - Acoustic Energy AE109²

He was concerned that, from his own research, a Marantz PM6007 or Denon PMA-600NE might be a little undergunned for the task at hand, so he asked for recommendations. His strict budget allowed for one of our favourite modest floorstanders, the Acoustic Energy AE109² — compact speakers that are normally quite easy to drive.

But these were not normal circumstances.

We needed an amplifier capable of pushing these speakers to deliver great slabs of sound: hard, fast and energetic, while retaining enough clarity to make rapid-fire lyrics intelligible in a large room.

My instant reaction was the Rega Brio Mk7, but this would have pushed our customer's rigid budget too far on this occasion. Advance Paris it is, then.

First Impressions

wiim’s ultra music streamer. it is very pretty and amazing value for money. a bit shouty, if we’re being honest.

I set up the WiiM Ultra, Advance Paris X-i50 BT and AE109² in our first-floor demo suite using our favoured Black Rhodium Intro interconnects and speaker cables, then let the system warm up with Deee-Lite's World Clique.

Black Rhodium Intro Speaker Cable. superb value for money, all but holographic

heavy is the head - Very much worth a listen.

Forty-five minutes later, I cued up Stormzy's 2019 album Heavy Is the Head and let rip.

Whilst the sound was clear and somewhat crisp, something just wasn't sitting right... Things were sounding a little too bright and almost bordering on hard, which was surprising because this is one of the better-mastered Grime and Hip-Hop albums I know. It sounded much more forward than I was familiar with.

For peace of mind, I tried a quick swap to the Bluesound Node streamer we know very well, and immediately it removed much of that hardness in the treble, replacing it with a more natural presentation.

Great.

Unfortunately, £549* for the Node ate too heavily into the available budget and, while this top-end emphasis was clearly a by-product of the signal path as a whole, I needed to bring the WiiM Ultra back into play as the customer's preferred product and find some way of tuning the system to give a more natural sound.

Hmmm...

The High Bias Trick

All was not lost. I still had a couple of cards to play.

Advance Paris amplifiers have a useful trick of their own: a switchable High Bias circuit. Like certain Arcam amplifiers, the X-i50 BT can deliver the first eight watts of its output in Class A before transitioning into Class AB for higher power demands.

that high bias switch is left of the speaker terminals

In practice, this means that so long as you don’t go completely bananas with the volume control, the amp operates largely in pure Class A.

This is particularly useful with speakers that appreciate a bit more current delivery. Sonically, the result is a warmer, fuller and more muscular presentation, balancing the treble with a richer midrange and weightier bass.

With smaller speakers like Acoustic Energy AE100², the High Bias circuit can occasionally overcook things slightly, which is why Advance Paris gives you the option to disengage it. But here, with the AE109², it was exactly what we needed.

With High Bias engaged, the system sounded markedly better, but there was still just a touch too much energy in the treble. I suspected this was a result of the streamer partnering with the wonderfully open and sparkly Black Rhodium cables.

the rather lovely rega brio mk7 - alas, i couldn’t persuade our client of its charms..

My first instinct was to swap the WiiM Ultra for the more affordable WiiM Pro and connect it digitally to a Rega Brio Mk7, taking advantage of Rega’s superior digital circuitry. Slightly more money, but hardly catastrophic.

Sadly, it wasn’t cost that shot down this combination, but the fact my customer had completely fallen for the Ultra’s touchscreen. So that wasn’t an option on this occasion. Well, alrighty then…

The Final Piece of the Puzzle

Given that the streamer and amplifier were set to stay, we turned our attention to the cables. Switching to Chord Company C-Line interconnects and C-ScreenX speaker cable brought a welcome sense of balance to the system.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

The room could now be filled to satisfying levels without diminishing the impact and energy of the music. What remained was a presentation that was big, fast, exciting, clear and clean.

I’m not claiming to have turned water into wine or multiplied loaves and fishes, but I do think we pulled off a minor miracle in finding the perfect combination of components.

Final Thoughts

And therein lies both the joy and the frustration of hi-fi…

You can assemble a system full of individually excellent components and still somehow end up with a sound that doesn’t quite gel. Equally, with a bit of careful matching, a bit of patience and occasionally a little inspired meddling, you can create something that far exceeds the sum of its parts.

That’s the bit the internet doesn’t tell you.

Buying boxes online based purely on reviews, specs or forum chatter might get you close, but “close” isn’t always enough. Rooms matter. Speaker positioning matters. Cable matching matters. Most importantly of all, synergy matters. One component’s strength can easily become another’s weakness if the combination isn’t carefully considered.

This is why dedicated demo facilities and experienced staff still matter enormously in 2026, perhaps more than ever. We spend all day, every day, trying different combinations of equipment, learning what works brilliantly together and what perhaps looks good on paper but falls apart once music starts flowing.

And this system really hammered that home.

The Advance Paris X-i50 BT proved itself to be far more than just “the French alternative”. It’s powerful, engaging, muscular when needed and surprisingly nuanced once properly partnered. The High Bias mode gives it genuine versatility, and for customers wanting a system with scale, drive and excitement without spending utterly terrifying sums of money, it’s become one of the most convincing amplifiers we’ve got anywhere near this price point.

In short: yes, perhaps there’s a touch of Gallic bias here.

But I stand by it.

If you’d like to hear any of the equipment featured in this blog for yourself — including the Advance Paris X-i50 BT, WiiM streamers or Acoustic Energy loudspeakers — get in touch with your local Audio T store. We’ll happily put together a system that suits both your room and your budget, and more importantly, one that actually makes you want to keep listening long into the night.

Thanks for reading.

Adrian – Audio T Swansea

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