Canor has been manufacturing high-end audio components for almost 30 years from its home base in Prešov, Slovakia. Canor calls itself a “vacuum tube specialist”. Except for one solid-state power amplifier, all of its products (incl. DACs, CD Players, Pre, Power and Phono) are tube-based. The product under review is the Canor AI 2.10 Integrated Hybrid Amplifier, with a tube-based preamplifier section married to a solid-state power amplifier. It’s the only hybrid product they manufacture.

The AI 2.10 has a list price of USD 4000 (CAD 5395). The unit is from Canor’s “Performance Line”, third to the “Premium Line” and top “Reference Line”.

I want to thank Bryan Taylor of The Gramophone, Canor’s Canadian distributor, for kindly delivering the unit to my home in Victoria.

My Use

My reference integrated amplifier is the MBL N51 ($17,600), a long-standing mainstay at the heart of my system. I wanted to give the Canor the same component/accessory love I give the MBL. Same analog and digital front end, loudspeakers, and most importantly in this review, cables. All cabling was by Ansuz Acoustics: C2 RCA interconnects, C2 speaker cables, D2 phono cables, and D2 power cord.

Music was supplied by Pure Fidelity/Origin Live/Phasemation analog and MBL digital.

These were not the final cables used for the review; for visual purposes only (Allnic XLRs and Ansuz C2 power cable shown). Canor suggests XLR cables due to the unit’s “internally balanced” design. I was having problems with my right-channel XLR cable, so switched to the Ansuz RCAs. They did a superb job.

The unit looked fresh from the factory so I burned it in for about 30 hours before getting down to business. But for those impatient like me, the hybrid sounds very good out of the box (after an hour's warm-up. Unboxing video here). Canor adds a 45-second soft start and cool-down function for the 2.10. This will improve the life of the “pair of precisely selected 6922 tubes”. A note to Canor came back with this information regarding tube selection: when it comes to the AI 2.10, there are 2 x 6922 and we use solely the Electro-Harmonix tubes in that product (we tried also others, but got the best results with this brand).

Canor adds a small solid metal remote for use with its products. I would call the remote essential as the AI 2.10 was sensitive to small volume changes on different music choices. The volume could be dialled in early, but if played too loudly on some repertoire, coherence was diminished. With an output power of 2 x 150 W / 4 Ω (into my 6 ohm BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers), most repertoire and genres managed fulsome volumes in my fairly small listening room.

When not using the remote, the beautifully designed front plate gives a clear view of the volume knob and input buttons; hands-on, the volume knob gives a satisfying clunk as you scroll through the detents. Same ASMR gratification from the internal relays.

And even with tubes in the input stage, the Canor was silent and never got too hot when driven hard.

Features and Specifications

a tube preamplifier on the input fitted with a precise relay attenuator
a power amplifier in class D, powered by a filtered and tuned linear power supply
PCBs utilize premium CMT ™ technology (The applied CMT Technology™ in the PCB layout reduces the deviation from the ideal loss angle (towards zero). With this production method, we achieve the characteristics of even the most complex point-to-point wiring with a consistently high production quality that is hardly possible with free wiring.)
XLR inputs with a strictly symmetrical signal up to the power amplifier

Input sensitivity 400 mV / 150 W / 1 kHz

Frequency range (20 – 20 000) Hz ±0,53dB / 5 W

Input impedance 30 kΩ

Inputs 4 x RCA, 2 x XLR

Total Harmonic Distortion <0.02% / 1 kHz, 5 W

Signal-to-noise ratio > 95 dB

Power 230 V / 50 Hz / 460 VA

Dimensions (w x h x d) 435 x 120 x 405 mm

Weight 17 kg

Sound

I have access to a $13,500 tube preamplifier but use my MBL integrated as a primary component. I love how the MBL interprets sound, so brilliantly cohesive and dynamic with the sweetest timbral accuracy. At times, I add the tube pre to the MBL solid-state integrated and it brings another dimension (different not better)—this is not an option on the Canor. No pre-out, etc. So it was with some excitement and anticipation I opened the 2.10 box and plugged in the very highly regarded (if you are influenced by the many social media posts) Canor. Would I be getting the best of both worlds with a hybrid?

One of my favourite test LPs is the Mehta/LA/Decca Varèse, both sides. Side 1 for “Arcana”, a wild assault on the senses which demands gobs of power from your amp and Side 2 for “Intégrales”, a delicate, tactile percussion and wind piece that makes equally tough demands, but in timbral accuracy, imaging and soundstage. I was surprised at the Canor’s effortless ability to portray the power of “Arcana”, and just as easily the timbral beauty of “Intégrales” but with a tubey leading edge on all transients. It was very beautiful. I was expecting less power. The 2.10’s massive toroidal power supply will give you enough visceral energy and grunt for most repertoire and all but the most problematic of titles.

It was the same for Corroboree, the wonderful Australian equivalent ballet score to The Rite of Spring. The Everest recording has some of the best depth and width from an orchestral recording I’ve heard. And the Canor replicated this amazing Classic Records reissue very well. Interestingly, near the opening, there is a shriek on the violins. It’s startling and remained so on the 2.10, but now I was hearing different layers in the shriek. Very impressive.

Jazz and vocals also benefitted from the Canor’s sound design—an excellent topology benefitting from both designs with no discernable downside. I’ve heard others with this blended topology that were twice the price and half as impressive. So Grant Green’s simple and elegant guitar phrasing on the new Tone Poet vinyl I Want To Hold Your Hand had the best of tube sound, detailed and rich with an always lovely leading edge. Tubes can be hypnotic at times. Jennifer Warnes’ Impex 1STEP recut of her Famous Blue Raincoat had punch in the studio drums yet allowed all her subtlety and fragility to be heard in the middle and above the rhythm mix.

Only when I played “Colas Breugnon” from the Living Stereo LP reissue of Festival (Classic Records cut by Bernie Grundman) did some challenges become apparent. There are problems with the original tape and I’m not sure Bernie’s remaster could help it (I’ve never heard an Indianapolis original). So, a careful watch on the volume. If not played too loudly, the sound was splendid. But if I wanted to crank it a little, the orchestra got a little wobbly in the knees. The MBL’s total command over the soundstage and imaging helped Reiner and the Chicago Symphony sound more coherent in this problematic recording. Yet later, the 2.10 did a fine job in deciphering some of the thick midrange on Analogue Productions’ Scheherazade reissue (Ryan K Smith recut).

Summary

Other than the difficult Festival recording, the Canor AI 2.10 Integrated Hybrid Amplifier (USD 4000) played all sorts of repertoire with control and grace, using its very fine design to give this listener the best of both worlds, tube and solid state. With the inherent compromises prevalent in high-end audio design, it was refreshing to listen daily without being reminded of them. Other than the old-fashioned font used on the top left fascia, the Canor is a very good-looking, modernist piece, carefully and thoughtfully designed, and plays well above a $4000 high-end component. Very highly recommended.

Further information: Canor