The annual High End Munich show is a place for brands to showcase the pinnacle of what hi-fi can achieve. That takes various forms. They can either be million pound/dollar speakers with wild designs, gigantic amplifiers built like a tank, or they can be ultra-modern and deliver cutting edge technology, regardless of what form or price this takes.
High End Munich 2025 had a bit of everything this year, but there was one type of product that kept rearing its head as I covered the show: the streaming amplifier. A single box that combines amplifier, DAC, streaming, volume control and inputs – you just have to add speakers.
It’s a neat solution for those that don’t want the complication of separates and mess of wires. But these products have been around for a long while now, so what was different this year?
I think streaming amplifiers have levelled up: the sheer variety of streaming amps available today, packed with the latest streaming tech and DAC chips, and in more appealing shapes, sizes and designs that appeal to the modern hi-fi user. Not to mention there are more products with competitive specifications available across the price spectrum these days.
One common theme I saw that has elevated this new crop of streaming amps above its predecessors? A full colour touchscreen display. This shouldn’t feel revolutionary, but it does prevent these products from feeling like yet another anonymous black rectangular box. These streaming amplifiers are more inviting and engaging – literally.
As I noted when reviewing the WiiM Ultra, the touchscreen display invites you to interact with the streamer, and thus giving you a more tactile connection with your hi-fi. It’s also more accessible and quicker to use at times than firing up the app, too – always a bonus.
The new WiiM Amp Ultra, then, is the affordable streaming amplifier that heads off my list of the best streaming amp launches from Munich. Whereas WiiM’s current streaming amps – WiiM Amp and step-up WiiM Amp Pro – are discreet, minimal designs, the screen-toting Amp Ultra design makes total sense for a modern streaming amp. It will make it easier to control playback and quickly access your presets in particular, if it follows the same blueprint as the Ultra.
This model combines the Ultra’s slick streaming platform with 100 watts per channel amplification in a tidy compact box. Pricing will be announced later this year, but we have to assume it will remain affordable and competitive, as WiiM has proven so far. £400 / $400 perhaps? A bargain.
Eversolo Play is another streaming amp that will be leveraging the brand’s excellent streaming interface and touchscreen display, both of which we praised highly in our DMP-A6 streamer review.
Like the WiiM, this is a compact, desktop-friendly design that doesn’t look like a traditional hi-fi product – the colourful screen dominates the product and offers extensive scope to access all your apps and features with a tap and swipe, an experience akin to using your smartphone.
There is also a CD Edition of the Eversolo Play, which features an integrated CD-ROM drive to the design – which is hugely appealing for physical media fans, of which there remains many of us! Costing £599-£699 / $699-$799 depending on the model you get, this could be the sleeper hit of the year.
Going up the price ladder, we saw new streaming amplifiers launch from NAD, Lyngdorf and Cyrus Audio. NAD’s M33 V2 BluOS Streaming Amplifier is a feature-packed model, deubting MQA Labs' new FOQUS and QRONO technologies for a more accurate signal conversion, along with Gen 2 Purifi Eigentakt amplification modules and the popular Dirac Live Room Correction. This one is yours for a more premium £4999 / $5999 price tag, available in August.
Lyngdorf’s TDAI-2210 (£3499 / $4499) is the middle child of the Danish brand’s streaming amplifier range, with its USP being that it uses fully digital amplifiation (not Class D), with 105 watts per channel and RoomPerfect calibration to fine tune the sound to your room. Lyngdorf promises “best-in-class volume control” and the “most uncolored sound you have ever experienced”.
Possibly the most exciting model is the Cyrus 80 AMP. For two reasons: it’s the first time Cyrus has gone full-width, a historic moment in the hi-fi world on par with Naim ditching olive green from its identity. Secondly, we have loved what Cyrus has done with the 40 Series – both visually and sonically – and the step-up 80 AMP looks the business.
I only saw a display model at the show as it was just a preview, but it looks smart – the modern redesign makes even more sense in a full-width design, with the crisp and clear touchscreen display and illuminated dials and icons looking very enticing.
The 80 AMP also runs on the BluOS streaming platform but features Class A/B amplification – 150W per channel – which is a departure from the dominant Class D usage in the products in this list. The Cyrus 80 AMP is out in November with price set to be in the £3000-£4000 region.
It goes without saying that all the products here support not just various streaming methods and apps (bar a few notable omissions depending on the brand/platform), but also ample physical analogue and digital connectivity, with an HDMI ARC input pretty much standard across all new streaming amps.
What's more, these are products that have the sense of being a bit more grown up, having learned lessons from previous generations and refined what is required of a modern streaming amp.
I haven't heard any of these new streaming amplifiers yet, but I can hope – and reasonably expect – that the sonic performance has also matured across the board, even accounting for the compromises made when combining all separate hi-fi elements under one roof.
Despite having reviewed and used various streaming amplifier over the years – from the premium Naim Uniti Atom to the Cambridge Audio Evo 75 to the more recent Roksan Attessa Streaming Amplifier – this next-generation of streaming amps are the ones that have me properly excited.
I can’t wait to try them out.
MORE:
Qobuz Connect: what is it? Which products support it?
The 11 most exciting hi-fi products we saw at High End Munich 2025
Our guide to the best music streamers for every budget
7 tracks we've been enjoying in our test rooms over the past month
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
