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JAVA Hi-Fi
Website:https://www.javahifi.com/
Est. year: 2016
Java Hi-Fi is a small New Zealand amplifier maker that grew out of a 2016 Kickstarter campaign for an LDR passive preamplifier. The original preamp shipped in 2017 and sold out, and the company went on to build what it presents as the first integrated amplifier using GaN FET output transistors. The name comes from the Indonesian island of Java, and the brand stays deliberately compact, with a handful of preamps, power amps and integrateds.
Range & what it's known for
Two engineering ideas define the range. Volume is handled by light dependent resistors rather than a conventional potentiometer, aiming for a very short signal path from input to output, and the power stages use gallium nitride FET Class D modules. The V2.0 LDR preamplifier and the integrated amplifier, which joins both circuits in one box, were shown at High End Munich in 2019. Models come in Single Shot and Double Shot strengths, the Double Shot being a fully balanced dual mono design with XLR connections. The Single Shot integrated is rated at 200 W into 8 ohms and 400 W into 4 ohms and adds a DAC, a phono stage and aptX Bluetooth.
Who owns it and where it's made
Ownership rests privately with the three people who started it, Martin Bell, Shane Inder and Martin Young. Every unit is designed and assembled in New Zealand and shipped worldwide. Cases are CNC-machined from laminated birch plywood and overlaid with real wood veneer in a mid-century style, and an online configurator offers more than 50 combinations of finish and colour, including walnut with copper and black on black.
The lineup in this catalog
Single Shot and Double Shot GaN FET power amplifiers at 200 W and 400 W into 8 ohms, Single Shot and Double Shot LDR preamplifiers, and integrated amplifiers including the Carbon Single Shot, the Carbon Double Shot with USB DAC, aptX Bluetooth and MM phono, and the Single Shot 400.
Who it's for
A lot of power from a slim, light box, in a furniture-style wooden case finished to the owner's taste, is what Java delivers. A Single Shot integrated makes a sensible first purchase because it covers streaming, vinyl and digital sources in one unit. Owners who later want more can move to the Double Shot versions, or split the system into a separate LDR preamp and GaN power amp from the same family.
Range & what it's known for
Two engineering ideas define the range. Volume is handled by light dependent resistors rather than a conventional potentiometer, aiming for a very short signal path from input to output, and the power stages use gallium nitride FET Class D modules. The V2.0 LDR preamplifier and the integrated amplifier, which joins both circuits in one box, were shown at High End Munich in 2019. Models come in Single Shot and Double Shot strengths, the Double Shot being a fully balanced dual mono design with XLR connections. The Single Shot integrated is rated at 200 W into 8 ohms and 400 W into 4 ohms and adds a DAC, a phono stage and aptX Bluetooth.
Who owns it and where it's made
Ownership rests privately with the three people who started it, Martin Bell, Shane Inder and Martin Young. Every unit is designed and assembled in New Zealand and shipped worldwide. Cases are CNC-machined from laminated birch plywood and overlaid with real wood veneer in a mid-century style, and an online configurator offers more than 50 combinations of finish and colour, including walnut with copper and black on black.
The lineup in this catalog
Single Shot and Double Shot GaN FET power amplifiers at 200 W and 400 W into 8 ohms, Single Shot and Double Shot LDR preamplifiers, and integrated amplifiers including the Carbon Single Shot, the Carbon Double Shot with USB DAC, aptX Bluetooth and MM phono, and the Single Shot 400.
Who it's for
A lot of power from a slim, light box, in a furniture-style wooden case finished to the owner's taste, is what Java delivers. A Single Shot integrated makes a sensible first purchase because it covers streaming, vinyl and digital sources in one unit. Owners who later want more can move to the Double Shot versions, or split the system into a separate LDR preamp and GaN power amp from the same family.
