EXCLUSIVE: New Halcro First Look
A little over two years ago StereoNET announced exclusively that Aussie iconic brand, Halcro, would be returning to market after many year's absence. You can read that article here. Well, we're pleased to say progress has been made and we now have a little more information.
Longwood Audio, the Adelaide based company that now owns the Halcro brand have been busy researching and developing products for the past two years true to Halcro's original design principles and expertise.
There's still some way to go given their understanding that to do any justice to the brand, the quality, performance and styling of the new products need to not only be equal to the Halcro of yesteryear, but surpass it. In the meantime, here is what we do know.
To improve upon the flagship DM series amplifier which was regarded by many worldwide as a 'near-perfect' amplifier already, means meticulous design improvements, right down to the very finest details. Progress is reported to be on track, and improvement has indeed been found.
The DM series will be replaced with a new reference line that will offer more products than previously available. While this line will become more affordable than the previous DM offering, Longwood Audio says it will offer higher performance than before.
The range will include new flagship stereo and mono amplifiers, a completely new dual monoblock amplifier with an outboard and upgradeable power supply. There will also be a preamplifier, phono amplifier and later, an integrated amplifier.
In a first for the brand, Halcro will also move into loudspeakers. Voiced specifically to suit Halcro amplifiers and perfectly matched, there will be a large, reference level electrostatic speaker that will be the flagship in the Halcro range. Utilising unique electrostatic technology discovered in Europe, the new speaker is designed, manufactured and assembled at Halcro's new headquarters in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
Longwood Audio's Mike Kirkham also told StereoNET that there are a further two loudspeakers in development that will be offered at more affordable pricing.
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We wait anxiously for the relaunch of Halcro worldwide and we've been reliably informed when the time is right, the launch will be nothing less than spectacular. Needless to say, StereoNET will be reviewing Halcro's first products off the production line as soon as they're ready.
A new website has been built in readiness for the Halcro launch, expected in 2017.
For more information, visit Halcro.
Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
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