Mastersound Compact 845

INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER

- KEN MICALLEF

Back in the '50s, Cesare Sanavio, then a new electronics graduate with a specialty in output transformers for tube amplifiers, began his career in radio and television, traveling to various locations outside his native Italy to apply his expertise. Eventually he settled in Paraguay and started designing tubed sound systems for public installations, teaching his son Luciano the art. A few years later, Sanavio and his family returned to Italy. There, he worked as a consultant to several hi-fi companies. Finally, in 1994, drawing on decades of accumulated knowledge of tube-amplifier design and manufacturing, and a particular focus on output transformers of the highest quality, Cesare Sanavio and his two sons, Luciano and Lorenzo, formed Mastersound.

When Cesare Sanavio died, Lorenzo and Luciano continued operations. In 2015, the company re-formed, with some new international business connections and a new CEO, Antonio Ferro. The company's new headquarters is in Arcugnano, a small town in the province of Vicenza. It employs six people, four in production and two in the office. Luciano is now the company's lead designer and production manager, a role previously held by Lorenzo, who has retired from such duties but remains a co-owner of the business.

Today, Mastersound's stated goal is to produce tube amplifiers of the highest quality available on the market. To this end, the company hand-builds each amplifier in its own laboratory, "one by one, with extreme care," their "Made in Italy" webpage asserts, "using the best components" and manufacturing techniques. Mastersound output transformers are hand-wound on a mechanical winding machine in a secret, closely guarded process the company claims makes them "unique in the world."

SPECIFICATIONS