On the afternoon of last Saturday, 19 September 2026, at the Richcoln Home Entertainment Centre, 5/F, Siu On Centre, 188 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, the sounds of traffic and people drifted in from the street outside. Inside, however, it felt like stepping into a vacuum-tube workshop in northern Italy — warm, unhurried, with a faint tube flavour and woody scent.

The star components stood quietly: the all-new Unison Research Unico series PRE v2 fully balanced hybrid preamplifier, and the DM v2 dual-mono power amplifier. This flagship pre/power pair featured, for the first time, the A.S.H.A. amplification technology developed in collaboration with the Department of Electronics at the University of Padua, Italy. This was not merely a model update, but a declaration that Unison Research was pushing its legendary vacuum-tube craftsmanship into another era.

The demonstration system was equally lavish. The Thorens TD 404 DD turntable, fitted with an SPU 124 MC moving-coil cartridge, handled the analogue source; the LECTOR Digidrive CD transport and external power supply provided the digital source; the SPENDOR D9.2 three-way floorstanding loudspeaker anchored the system, while a range of HMS cables connected every link like blood vessels. Analogue and digital, vinyl and CD, under the integration of A.S.H.A. technology, seemed like two sections of the same orchestra — harmonious yet distinct.

Host Andy did not give a long speech; he let the music speak. When the stylus dropped and the first note floated up, everyone fell silent at once — not a dead silence, but the focused attention of being seized by sound. What A.S.H.A. technology brought was a rare balance: the warmth and richness of vacuum tubes remained, yet there was not the slightest sluggishness; when dynamics arrived, the DM v2 dual-mono power amplifier displayed the authority expected of a flagship, with low frequencies plunging like a tide, yet never rough; the soundstage unfolded naturally from left to right and front to back, and the SPENDOR D9.2 seemed to disappear, leaving only the musical stage.

Voices had emotional warmth, strings had rosin texture, and large-dynamic orchestral works had an open sense of space. The HMS cables did not steal the show, but they let every detail flow more smoothly. When the LECTOR digital source took the stage, its signal-to-noise ratio and resolution were refreshing; returning to the Thorens vinyl, it put on another layer of golden analogue flavour. Alternating between the two proved that this Unison Research flagship pre/power amplifier is not picky — it can drink a rich Italian coffee and also appreciate an aged red wine.

The final note of the event fell. Guests left with smiles, as if they had just returned from a small Italian opera house. On this day, Unison Research, with the PRE v2 and DM v2, wrote a historic moment for Italian beautiful sound; and A.S.H.A. was precisely the inspired stroke that rewrote the script.