In many ways, the Advance Paris approach is a full-facilities, fully-loaded parallel to the WiiM ultra-minimalist, ultra-modern approach. It takes traditional audio values like Class A/B amplification and high-bias operation and cleverly combines them with myriad facilities and sensibly engineered external options, while also leveraging the advantages of large-scale, Far-Eastern manufacturing. It’s a potent combination, as the A10 so ably demonstrates. It does almost everything you need and does very little wrong; it plays nice with budget partners but also grows with a system; it delivers more music than you could reasonably expect. No wonder it sets the bar for entry-level hi-fi performance.
Price and availability
Advance Paris A10 Classic Amplifier – €1,790
Manufacturer:
www.advanceparis.com
* Confused? For those not fortunate enough to have been born within the sound of Bow bells, Cockney Rhyming Slang is a London patois that replaces common words with associative rhymes. One common example might be using the word ‘apples’ instead of stairs, as in “She’s up the apples.” She’s upstairs – apples and pears = stairs. Only the first word in the rhyming pair is used. Of course it gets more complicated when you lay it over existing slang terminology, so “Comin’ to the battle?” actually translates as, “Would you care to visit the public house?” – battle cruiser = boozer = pub(lic house). Naturally, numbers are fair game. “Got a lady” means “Would you have a five-pound note?” Lady Godiva = fiver = £5. But in many cases the linkage is either obscure or lost. A monkey equals £500, a pony is £25, so three monkies and a dozen ponies adds up to £1,800. Technically, we’re talking Euros here, but hey, who’s counting? Just be warned, if a London cabbie utters the immortal words, “It’ll cost you a monkey”, I’d advise you to politely decline.
