High End 2018 • Hot Product

For those intrigued by the musical excellence of the recently reviewed Engström Lars monoblocks and Monica line stage but dismayed by a price tag that’s well into six figures, help (or should that be hope?) is at hand. The Arne is the latest Engström product. Like the Lars it employs push-pull 300B tubes, is transformer coupled and fully balanced, with two sets of balanced and two sets of single-ended inputs. It uses a standard IR remote control and a stereo chassis to keep costs down, and although it is configured as an integrated amp with a volume control, we can see many users opting to employ it as a stereo power amp instead -- exactly the way Engström was using it in Munich. Design and price both remain to be finalized, but the current thinking suggests around €30,000 -- still steep but positively affordable compared to other Engström products. With even a modicum of the magic that makes the Lars so special, the Arne might just be destined to upset the high-quality, low-power amp market in a serious way.