Did we notice a few eyebrows raised during one of the reviews earlier in this issue, when we talked about a $3000 amplifier being ‘midrange’? For some, that might seem a little high for midrange. But such categories are a matter of perspective, and we already had this amplifier, the $23,000+ Bladelius Ask, warming through on the test bench. So let’s see what such extra funds bring, and hear the music it delivers.
It’s unlikely you will have heard of Michael (Mike) Bladelius, and yet he is one of the most renowned of audio equipment designers. For most of the time he has been designing equipment for other brands such as Threshold, Classé Audio and Mark Levinson. His name only entered the spotlight in 1997 when he and his son Alexander established the Bladelius Design Group in Sweden, and registered the brands Bladelius and AB-Tech (the latter with the son’s initials in the name). Bladelius quickly gained a reputation for its amplifiers, but has also won plaudits for disc players and its Embla preamplifier which comes with a full digital section — USB inputs, a built-in DAC (and ADC), a CD transport and even a built-in bit-perfect ripper.
This ‘Ask’ takes that formula and adds a power amplification section, creating a fully-fledged integrated amplifier with
