Arcam and Cyrus crash the stereo amplifier category at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2025

We have to admit, we didn’t see this coming. If at the start of 2025 you had told us that stereo amplifiers was going to be one of the most vibrant categories at this year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards, we wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are, with three new winners and only a solitary survivor from last year’s list.

Arcam’s revised Radia amplifiers dominate the core of this category with both the new A5+ and A15+ setting sky-high standards for their price.

The company’s engineers haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel here. Instead, they’ve mostly done the electronic equivalent of a bit of housekeeping, tweaking the power supply arrangement on both products and tidying up certain parts of the audio circuitry to reduce noise levels and improve transparency.

These aren’t massive changes by any reckoning, but they do notably lift the performance of these units. We can talk about both these ‘+’ amplifiers together because the sonic improvements over previous models are consistent.

Simply put, the new generation sounds cleaner, crisper and more precise. Their dynamic expression is improved too, and it is all done without diluting the balance and unfussy nature that made the originals so easy to recommend.

Both the A5+ and A15+ remain well equipped, with good-sounding digital inputs, a capable phono stage and handy two-way Bluetooth connectivity. If you are looking for truly complete middle-market integrated amplifiers, this pair take some beating.

Move up the price points, and our premium winner is a welcome return to form for the Cyrus Audio brand. It’s been quite some while since we could wholeheartedly recommend a Cyrus product over all comers, so the excellence of the new 40 AMP was something of a surprise when we reviewed it earlier in the year.

This compact integrated design embodies everything we want from a modern Cyrus product. It is beautifully made, lovely to use and sounds great. While it retains the company’s trademark half-width proportions, the 40 Series casework is all new and looks fresh.

Cyrus hasn’t skimped on the features either, including a talented phono stage, impressive digital circuitry and a ready-made upgrade path. When it comes to performance, the 40 AMP has nothing to fear from its rivals thanks to a blend of clarity, agility and resolution few alternatives come close to.

Our budget winner, the Rotel A8, is the only amplifier to survive from last year’s winners list. It remains an excellent product for the money, sacrificing frills for a sensible feature list and solid build.

Obviously, it sounds great too, delivering plenty of insight and drive for the money. If you are looking for a no-nonsense but sonically capable budget integrated amp, this is the one we recommend.

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