Breathing life into vintage sound: A Qlearsoul HiCore H2 amplifier review.

The Qlearsoul HiCore H2 features a premium CNC aluminum chassis with a stylish brush-metal faceplate. Picture: Qlearsoul

    I remember the days when hi-fi setups meant big and heavy amplifiers that took up half a sideboard. Those days of bulky, cumbersome gear feel like a distant memory now, although they still exist. The HiCore H2 is a much more modern approach to audio in a small, precision-machined amplifier that uses an external power supply to keep its footprint tiny.

To see how well this cute little amplifier could perform, I dug out my old B&W DM503 floorstanding speakers (4Ω). Even though they are 30 years old, the HiCore H2 had no problem powering them. It brought them back to life, giving them a second lease on life while adding the modern convenience of Bluetooth streaming.