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Unison Research Unico Due
Unico Due is the latest amplifier from Unison Research. Unico Due benefits from Unison Research’s decades of experience in design and production technology. It maintains all the best qualities that made its predecessor a runaway success and introduces new and enhanced features.
The electronic circuitry of the Unico Due has been completely redesigned. While maintaining the qualities that made the Unico range such a legend in the audio industry, key improvements have been made that are nothing short of ground-breaking. Firstly, the power supply circuits have been enhanced thanks to a substantial increase in filter capacitance size and to a new high quality shielded and encapsulated power transformer. The new power distribution system of the audio power output stage combines space optimization and superior circuit solutions.
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Professional Reviews 89/100
Nicely Roasted
Sound Quality
90/100
Build Quality
87/100
Features Connectivity
91/100
Value for Money
85/100
The Unico Due blends valve warmth with muscular hybrid control, delivering rich low end, sweet treble and finely resolved detail without fatigue. HiFi News highlights its convincing live ambience and delineated imaging, while the high-resolution USB DAC and flexible phono stage make this a deeply capable hub for vinyl, computer audio and long, immersive listening sessions.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Rich, relaxed yet nuanced presentation with a weighty low end and smooth, sweet treble.
Retains ambience and clearly delineates performers, combining refined detail with a convincing sense of live performance.
Versatile all-in-one functionality, including high-resolution USB DAC capability, phono stage and broad analogue connectivity.
&
Cons
Softer transient attack makes it less convincing for listeners who prioritise aggressive, hard-driving rock dynamics.
The control scheme can be unintuitive, with monitor, balance and AV-bypass functions easy to activate or unset accidentally.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 90/100
Reviews portray the Unico Due as a warmly voiced yet detailed hybrid amplifier, prioritising tonal richness, ease and musical coherence without obscuring fine information. It has convincing scale and image separation, while its softer leading-edge attack makes it less suited to listeners seeking the most forceful, incisive presentation.
Transparency Resolution
91/100
Hi-Fi News found that the Due does not smooth over detail, instead combining its warmth with a richly nuanced and refined presentation. AVComfort similarly describes the transistor section as notably neutral and transparent, allowing the valve character to come through clearly.
Tonal Balance Musicality
94/100
The dominant impression is of richness, ease and a smooth, sweet treble, with a substantial low end and plenty of body. Reviewers found its valve influence particularly appealing with vocals and light jazz, and praised an involving, coherent character that puts musical enjoyment first.
Dynamics
88/100
AVComfort praises the amplifier's rhythmic grip and the way it develops bass, while Hi-Fi News heard a big, gutsy sound. However, the latter also notes that it does not fully deliver the attack demanded by energetic rock material, tempering its sense of transient punch.
Soundstage Imaging
89/100
Hi-Fi News says the sweet treble retains ambience and a convincing sense of live performance rather than flattening the presentation. It also found chamber performers finely delineated, suggesting secure image focus and satisfying separation, though there is little direct discussion of ultimate stage width or depth.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
87/100
The available review evidence points to carefully selected parts, including Mundorf capacitors and gold-plated input, speaker and valve-holder contacts. Reviewers say little about chassis rigidity, internal layout or long-term reliability, but the specified component quality is encouraging.
Features Connectivity
91/100
The Unico Due is unusually versatile for a valve-hybrid integrated, with three RCA line inputs, a USB DAC supporting high-resolution PCM and DSD, tape connections, a stereo subwoofer output and remote control. Its MM/MC phono stage and programmable AV input add meaningful system flexibility, although digital connectivity is limited to USB rather than including optical or coaxial inputs.
Value for Money
85/100
At roughly 2,800-3,999 in its listed market range, the Due combines substantial power, USB DAC functionality and an MM/MC phono stage in one component. The reviews call its sound and partnering qualities attractive, but do not directly compare its value with similarly priced integrated-amplifier peers.
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Authorized dealers for Unison Research Unico Due
- Absoulute Audio plus Video — in-store — Aiken, South Carolina, United States (website)
- Holt Hill — online and in-store — Andover, Massachusetts, United States (website)
- The Music Room — online and in-store — Erie, Colorado, United States (website)
- Acoustic Technologies — online and in-store — Montréal, Québec, Canada (website)
- Altitudo Audio — online and in-store — Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (website)
- Analog Matters — online and in-store — Ormond Beach, Florida, United States (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Assai Audio — in-store — Centro, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (website)
- Atelier 13 Audio — in-store — Forest Hills, Tennessee, United States (website)
- Audio Centrum — Hungary (website)
and 72 more verified dealers