Bladelius
Amplifiers
Preamplifiers
Best Known For
Amplifiers
/
Used Products
7
 Available
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Brand Popularity
412
 of 900+
Products Listed
10
Review Count
7
Founding Year
1997
Headquarters
Sweden
Bladelius
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

What's unique about the brand

Bladelius is a Swedish amplifier maker, founded in 1997 by designer Mike Bladelius. He had worked at Threshold, where he headed the design office and led development of the T2 preamplifier and T-200 amplifier. Amplifiers are the center of its work, though it has also made disc and file players. The current range covers the Ask Integrated, Ask Pre, Oden, Loke and Thor V. The Ask Integrated uses a balanced DC-servo design and can be ordered with a built-in streamer and DAC, so a single box handles digital and analog sources.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

From Julian's interview with
.

Products overview

Every Bladelius amplifier follows the same Swedish design idea of a short signal path with current feedback. The range climbs from the Brage, a Class A integrated with 2×45W that suits most speakers in a modest system. The Ask Integrated adds a built-in streamer and DAC option and 2x220 W, so one box plays digital sources and drives harder speakers. The Oden has twin toroidal transformers and 400 W at 8 ohms, which gives large rooms and hungry speakers headroom.

  • Start here. If you are building a first serious system, the Brage is the entry point in the range, with a balanced input for a source that has one.
  • Sweet spot. The Ask Integrated suits an owner who wants streaming and analog sources in one box, with far more power than the Brage for harder speakers.
  • All in. The Oden extends the Ask Integrated's recipe within the same price bracket, adding twin transformers and 400 W at 8 ohms, so big speakers in a large room get more control.
Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi Writer

What reviewers are saying

We read all the reviews, and here's what stands out:

Quotes we liked:

Want to report corrections? Please contact us. We'd love to hear from you. Note that much of the data and summaries on ExtremeHiFi are researched after thousands of hours of loving labor. We archive our site's data and its pages on Archive.org and monitor for those repurposing the data. We also fingerprint data to know when text and numbers came from us.

Used

Bladelius

Every month, we find the brand's used items for sale across the web and offline hifi stores.  We have the largest database of used hifi products. Search it here.

Similar

Amplifiers

brands

Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
5
 Available
Brand Popularity
395
 of 900+
Headquarters
Sweden

About the brand

Moonriver Audio is a Swedish amplifier maker that designs and hand-assembles every unit in Sweden. The styling echoes 1970s Sansui amplifiers, with walnut side panels and direct access to every function, and the company uses solid state, integrated circuit or tube designs as each application requires. Owners can add or upgrade modules such as a phono stage or DAC as their system grows. The 404 integrated has a phono stage, a USB DAC and a tape monitor loop built in. The 404 Reference keeps the same controls and adds improved power supplies.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

  • The Moonriver Audio idea is a pleasant, easy to use, user oriented, highly sophisticated sounding and very flexible line of products that would give to an ordinary, speaker or amplifier the sense of real life performance.
  • The endless support for our products. 
  • All products are made with removable bottom covers and various guides, instructions and information inside the units in order to guide the service technician in the future to repair it without service manuals or schematics. Moonriver Audio units are made to last at least 50 years.
  • No standby function - only a breaker switch. This will help the unit to last many decades. Standby circuits are prone to fail.

What's your approach to customer support?

When customers contact us directly, they will get direct support from us. We don't forward customers' emails to our distributors for technical or other information regarding the Moonriver brand. We have a very clear customer support policy in Moonriver Audio: All products have 3 years warranty and after this period we offer a flat rate, very affordable repair including the spare parts with a fixed price, no matter what the problem is. This repair service for all of our products lasts as the company exists. There are no obsolete products in the Moonriver Audio line. All of our products will always have support for ever.

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

  • Manos Hatzidakis - Odos Oneiron (from the album "Stin Romaiki Agora")
  • Dusty Springfield - Son Of A Preacher Man (Dusty In Memphis)
  • Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (In The Wee Small Hours)
  • Stephan Micus - Flying Horses (Towards The Wind)
  • Yello - Friday Smile (Touch Yello)
  • Biosphere - Ōi-1, Fujiko (N-Plants)
  • Om - Gethsemane (Advaitic Songs)
  • John Coltrane & Don Cherry - Focus On Sanity (The Avant-Garde)
  • The World Spins - Julee Cruise (Floating Into The Night)
  • Havin' Myself A Time - Carol Kidd (Nice Work)
  • Anna von Hausswolff - Red Sun (Ceremony)
  • Keola Beamer & George Winston - Kalena Kai (The Descendants: OST)
  • Destroying Angels - Bohren & Der Club Of Gore (Black Earth)
  • Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Charles Mingus (Mingus Ah Um)

What other products pair best with yours?

Moonriver Audio products are designed and voiced to match with any speaker or amplifier, no matter the origin, the sound school or the type. It sounds great with electrodynamic, panel or horn speakers. Personally, I prefer big, very sensitive speakers with 12 inch or bigger drivers.

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
108
 Available
Brand Popularity
41
 of 900+
Headquarters
Canada

About the brand

Every MOON component is designed and hand-assembled in Boucherville, Quebec. The Canadian company has built high-end electronics since 1980 and has stayed independent throughout. Its amplifiers use MDCA, the MOON Distortion-Cancelling Amplifier circuit, with MHP hybrid power supplies, and MiND 2 adds network streaming. Each product is tuned by ear. Reviewers hear high resolution with a smooth, musical presentation, and the curved side cheeks make the casework easy to spot. The 641 integrated amplifier is the entry point to the North Collection, and the 110LP v2 is on our Best Phono Preamps list.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
151
 Available
Brand Popularity
29
 of 900+
Headquarters
Japan

About the brand

LUXMAN still fits tone controls to its flagship amplifiers, using a circuit that goes back to the SQ-5A of 1961. The Japanese company started its business in 1925, the year radio broadcasting began in Japan, and builds amplifiers, tube models among them, alongside analog and digital players. Reviewers hear a musical, natural sound. The larger power amplifiers use LUXMAN's own circuits, ODNF in the M-700u and M-900u and LIFES in the M-10X. The M-200 can be bridged to mono for more power, and the L-590AXII is on our All Class A Amplifiers list.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
97
 Available
Brand Popularity
59
 of 900+
Headquarters
Norway

About the brand

Hegel is a Norwegian amplifier maker founded by Bent Holter, who named it after a band he played in. Its core technology is SoundEngine, a patented circuit Holter began developing as a student in Trondheim to reduce distortion in real time. Reviewers credit Hegel with firm bass control from high damping factors. The integrated amplifiers are the center of the range, many with Hegel's own DAC stages and streaming built in. The H95 has software that can be upgraded over time, and the H190v adds a phono stage and headphone output.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
208
 Available
Brand Popularity
50
 of 900+
Headquarters
Canada

About the brand

Bryston builds amplifiers for recording studios and broadcast facilities as well as homes, and backs its analog products with a 20-year warranty. The Canadian company, founded in 1973, runs every amplifier through 100 hours of continuous testing before it ships. Every wire is cut and bent by hand and every connection is hand soldered. Reviewers point to discrete Class A circuits and very low noise. The BDA-3.14 combines the BDA-3 DAC with a streamer in one box, and the BHA-1 is on our All Class A Amplifiers list.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page
Known For
Amplifiers
/
Average Price
$5,001-$10,000
Used Products
63
 Available
Brand Popularity
96
 of 900+
Headquarters
United States

About the brand

Bel Canto Design is an American electronics maker, founded in 1991 and named for the Italian phrase for beautiful singing. John Stronczer started the company in Minneapolis, where the whole range is still built. Its designs combine analog and digital techniques to carry the signal intact to the loudspeaker. The Black platform is the flagship, and the E1X series is built on the same technology. Its integrated amplifiers can include a built-in DAC and DSP bass management, so a single box handles both conversion and amplification.

Our interview with the brand

What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?

What's your approach to customer support?

What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?

What other products pair best with yours?

Website author headshot
Julian Shapiro
ExtremeHiFi
Brand Page

Search hifi products

Explore our database of 10,000+ new and 25,000+ used hifi products.