I’m tempted to point out that I’ve been very impressed by a number of hybrid integrated amps of late. Nealy enough to be tempted into saying I really like hybrid integrated amplifiers.
But I won’t say that because implementation is infinitely more important than topology. At least that’s what my ears and years tell me. They also tell me that the Unison Unico 90 is one helluva integrated amplifier with its combined strengths of stiff power, agility, and heart.
The Unico 90 got to play with the Barn resident DeVore O/96 (review), the recently reviewed Audiovector QR 7 SE floorstanders (review), and the recently reviewed Piega Gen2 411 standmounts (review). Three very different speakers in approach and implementation yet the Unico 90 worked well with all three. In fact, it was my amp of choice for the Audiovectors and Piegas because it lit them up from bottom to top making them sound their richest boldest bestest and with my beloved O/96s the combo sang sweetly. But…
The Unico 90 also allowed the source to shine through which leads me to believe it, the Unico 90, has very little character of its own. Otherwise, different sounding DACs would not sound all that different, something I’ve experienced with amps that put their own sonic fingerprint on the sound to a much greater degree. But the sound of the system changed when I moved from the review LTA Aero DAC (more info), more on that in its own review, to the Barn resident totaldac d1-unity (review). Dramatically different, another plus to add to the Unico 90’s growing list.
“Dual Mono, Zero Feedback, 2-Stage Valve-MOSFET Integrated Amplifier” That’s what is says right on the Unico 90’s faceplate. Dual mono means each channel gets its own set of identical discrete components, no sharing. Zero feedback is self explanatory but I’ll add that I once heard the use of feedback in an amplifier and its impact on sound quality as being akin to driving with the brakes on. Kinda perfect, no? The “Valves” in use consist of ECC83s and ECC81s directly driving the Class AB MOSFET output stage. Output power is rated at 100 Watts into 8 Ohms and 160W into 4 but it sure sounded like a helluva lot more than that in use in Barn.
You’re looking at a total of 6 inputs (3x RCA, 2x XLR, 1x RCA ‘Bypass’ input for bypassing the preamp stage) and 2 pair of speaker binding posts per side. There’s also a single-ended RCA Sub Out and Monitor Out.
The simple front panel houses an input selector knob, an equally sized volume control, and in between corresponding LEDs and IR receiver dead center for the included remote. The power switch hides around the right side. Overall, I like the look of the Unico 90 with its chunky dimensions and soft curved details on the aluminum faceplate. The included remote can control other Unison devices so the only buttons relevant here are power and volume up / down.
It’s also worth noting that Unico lineup includes 4 other integrated amplifiers, with prices starting at $1999 for the Unico Primo. Regular readers with good memories will recall Unison’s “Valve” line of tube-based and their Simply 845 which I reviewed and very much enjoyed around this same time last year.
I’ll share something stupidly obvious that’s still worth sharing—the Unico needs a bit of time to warm up, to sound right. Even though its soft start circuitry lets the tubes get cozy before you can play music, I think everything settled in thermal equilibrium after about 30 minutes. All to say, if you plug and play a cold Unico, you’re missing out.
To complete the Unison picture, I visited their factory in March post-Munich High End, a trip hosted by Fidelity Imports who represents Unison, and a number of other brands, in the US.
Tara Jane O’Neil’s self titled album from 2017, her 6th full length, is filled with slow simple delicate songs as much in love with lyrics as sounds.
From the liner notes:
At the invitation and by the design of Mark Greenberg (The Coctails, eleventh dreamday), half of this record was recorded mostly live at Wilco’s Loft Studio in Chicago with a band that included James Elkington, Gerald Dowd, Nick Macri, and Greenberg himself. Another half was made in TJO’s home studio in California with Devin Hoff, Wilder Zoby, Walt McClements and string supervisor Jim James. This album also features the voices of Chris Cohen, Carolyn Pennypacker-Riggs and Joan Shelley. Tara Jane O’Neil plays guitar, bass, keyboards and percussion.
Tagged as country/folk, I kinda prefer roots music, this record flows with a breezy style that can transport one’s attention out of the present like a long walk through a landscape largely untouched by us. We called that “the woods” when I was a kid where I spent most of my free time building forts that the older kids would destroy when I wasn’t incessantly scribbling. Here, with the DeVore O/96 and Auralic ARIES G.1.1 (review)/totaldac d1-unity combo in play the Unico 90’s ability to reproduce subtle nuance with voices both human and instrument sounding out true all coming through with a refined ease had me relaxed and deep in this slow groove for the duration.
I also want to highlight the Unico 90’s superb control that shown through every speaker pairing because I attribute ‘refined ease’ to its ability to always feel like there was an endless power reserve on tap and at the ready. Nice.
Jonnine Standish of HTRK recently released her fourth solo album, Southside Girl, containing songs inspired by “An apartment by the suburban seaside. A pact with the ocean, popping candy, night trains, the lethargic limbo of summertime from Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve.” Southside Girl dives even deeper into sounds that surround us in life with chiming bells, bugs, and other sounds captured in the field on her 6-track recorder all mixed into her lovely and fragile remembrances of things past. Listening in to these quirky songs requires a refined sense of scale because sounds of all shapes, sizes, and origin define the framework within which Standish shares her magical realism.
And the Unico 90 did a fine job here as well, sounding capable of reproducing the tiniest bits with precision and of equal importance the speed needed to not gloss over the most intricate of details. It’s worth the reminder that the rest of the system—source, cables, speakers—have to be up to this task as well and the totaldac/AudioQuest/DeVore certainly are. Another point worth making is the Unico costs less than the totaldac, the combined cost of the AQ cables in play, and the O/96 yet it proved it could play at their level. Nice. (full system and Barn details)
The most interesting and handy comparison for the Unison integrated was offered by the Barn resident Leben CS600X integrated amp ($8995), even though the price difference is not insignificant. In this A/B context and paired with the same associated gear, the Leben had the upper hand when it came to richness where tone colors were painted with more saturation, not overblown imo, while also offering the Unico 90’s sense of refinement and control, a neat trick for a 28 (or so) Watt integrated that uses a quad of Genelec Gold Lion KT77s, my tubes of choice, in the output stage. Or to say the same thing from the opposite direction, the Unison hybrid integrated sounded, by comparison, a bit less rich.
There are a few more important things to say on comparative differences and they all have to do with associated gear. As I mentioned up front and in that review, the Unico was my favorite amplification partner for the Audiovector QR 7 SE—“One of the things the Audiovector/Unison combo achieved was full-range grip and drive with seemingly plenty of power in reserve.” Here the Unico 90 made the Audiovector sound like better speakers as compared to the Leben/Audiovector combo and I would attribute this preference for the Unico 90 to be, in part, an issue of power and control which brought out the full range sound of the Audiovector making music sound and feel that much more exciting.
All to say system context is always a crucial element in any review. Which gets me to the LTA Aero DAC that imparted a bit of hardness and thinness from the upper midrange (on up) to the Unison/DeVore system that one could assume was the voice of the amp or the speakers coming through. Switching in the more costly totaldac illustrated, immediately and obviously, that the Aero DAC was responsible. Misattribution in hifi is all too common.
Arvo Pärt’s Für Alina, released on the ever-fascinating Mississippi Records, pares down these Pärt compositions to piano, violin, and cello. How such simple music can have so much emotive power is something I don’t think about, why ruin a good thing?, but listening through its 45 minutes of resounding soul stirring beauty is something I’m going to relish sparingly. And the Unison Unico 90 did a lovely job of eliciting the emotion to be found here with each instrument ringing out in natural space well beyond the confines of speaker and Barn which is a result, at least in part, of a very quiet amplifier. Again, the Leben can bring out even more color and emotion according to my preferences when paired with the O/96 but that comes at a price. Compared to other integrated amplifiers on my Favorite List around the Unison’s price, I would certainly consider it a very worthy contender along with the Audio Research I/50, Cambridge Audio Edge A, or Enleum AMP-23R in terms of overall sonic goods. Very worthy.
Ghost Dubs Damaged is Stuttgart producer Michael Fiedler’s debut album, released last week on Kevin Martin’s (The Bug) Pressure label. As you might expect from the band name, title, and label, Damaged reaches into the nether regions of deep bass as intimidating foundation for the skeletal crackling fractured frame. This is where the Unico 90 sounded and felt like its 100 Watt power rating was a bit shy because it didn’t blink, didn’t even sound remotely threatened by this slow wave of sonic crush. Even at Barn rattling levels. Nice.
While the recently reviewed Piegas were no match for this much sound pressure in Barn, I once again found the Unico to be their favorite partner “for performance and price”, with the combo getting the most out of all the music I sent their way. As was the case with Audiovector, I felt I was hearing the best from these speakers when paired with the Unico 90, all things considered.
I Don’t Know Who Needs to Hear This… is Sarah Beth Tomberlin’s, as Tomberin, latest record, released on Saddle Creek in April 2022.
From the liner notes:
“The theme of the record,” she explains, “is to examine, hold space, make an altar for the feelings.” Hold space: Tomberlin’s songs do it literally, making it heard space. Her full-length debut, At Weddings, was widely praised for the sparsity and delicacy of its instrumentation, especially in contrast with the emotional heft of her lyrics.
Here, the space feels larger and holier, built to echo. Pedal steel. Old acoustic guitars, freshly plucked. A drifting synthesizer. Chill, brushy percussion. Ambient, expansive clarinet and saxophone. Aleatory piano trills, a lot of piddling with the occasional splash. The looseness and wideness of the arrangements conveys a tender regard for their parts, as though each arpeggio, loop, scratch is a found shell or feather in the hand.
All of these sounds rang out in Barn with life-like clarity and voice powered by the Unico 90’s deft touch. Listening through I Don’t Know… with eyes closed offered the kind of windowless view into these crafty songs I crave with the Unico 90/O/96 pairing orchestrating the ride.
The Unison Unico 90 is one helluva integrated amplifier with its combined strengths of stiff power, agility, and heart which brought music into physical emotive form in Barn. During its 6 week+ stay the Unico 90 got to play with a number of speakers in a number of systems and it always proved to be an essential ingredient in superb-level music making. Very highly recommended with a cherry on top.
Unison Research Unico 90 Integrated Amplifier
Price: $5499 in Black or Silver
Company Website: Unison Research
US Importer Website: Fidelity Imports
Specifications
Output Power: 100+100 W RMS su 8Ω / 160+160 W RMS su 4Ω
Frequency Response: -1dB @ 12Hz e 45kHz -3 dB
Input Impedance: 21Kohm // 300pF
Input Sensitivity: 860mV RMS
Input Stage: Pure A class, double triode totem pole ECC83 and parallel totem pole ECC81 This single stage due to the particular circuitry is able to amplify the input signal and drive directly the power stage.
Output Stage: Class AB thermostable, complementary Hexfet (3 pairs for channel)
Number of Stages: 2, This amplifier due to the particular circuitry is realized by only two stages: input stage and output stage, and use only local feedback
Input: 6 line (3 unbalanced, 2 balanced, 1 “bypass” unbalanced)
Line Outputs: 1 tape, 1 sub (volume controlled)
Output Connectors: 4 + 4 bi-wiring
Global Feedback Factor: 0 dB
THD: < 0.15% @ 1kHz, 1 W | < 0.5% @ 1kHz, 10 W
Output Resistance: <0.4 ohm, resistive on all audio frequencies
Power Consumption: 550 W (at max power on 8 ohm)
Dimensions: 43.5cm x 44 cm x 18 cm h
Net Weight: 20 kg
