Gone for me is sweet love’s star’s golden light,
Void is gaping at my feet – take me in, o ancient night!
– Heinrich Heine
It all began with a flying change. One hundred kilos of electronics are leaving (Krell, see FIDELITY No. 78), another hundred kilos are arriving. The tricky problem of “curbside to couch” was solved with a furniture dolly – plus the involvement of a helpful neighbor. After a short bout of heavy lifting, two massive flight cases were blocking the hallway. The neighbor said his goodbyes, leaving me to deal with the rest of the transport.
Inside the cases: a preamp and power amp combo, straight from the sunny Italian Riviera – though with a brief detour via the Norddeutsche HiFi Tage, where this powerhouse duo caused quite a stir. At least everyone I’d spoken to on the phone in recent weeks was absolutely smitten.
The advance praise blossomed in my head into a lush bouquet of floral enthusiasm. Time to ditch the seaworthy travel trunks and see what Jan Sieveking – importer and distributor for Riviera Audio Labs – had so trustingly left in my care. A few snap latches later, the cases were stowed away, and a rather stunning preamp/power amp combo was now occupying most of my music room.
In Riviera Audio Labs’ product hierarchy, the APL-1 preamp and AFS-32 power amp sit somewhere in the middle – which puts them roughly in the same price bracket as a used Porsche 911. And like Porsche, Riviera leaves plenty of room to go higher. But enough daydreaming – back to the midrange.
Clad in dark titanium, the vault-like behemoths still manage to bring a generous touch of elegance to my humble abode. The controls are finished in matte aluminum, tastefully reinforcing the retro charm. Despite the presence of what look like two armored cabinets, the design feels timeless – and with its rounded edges, almost gentle. Centimeter-thick aluminum has been CNC-machined into submission. The result: front panels with a stylish vertical step and milled logos, but a few grams lighter. Add anodizing, and you’ve got perfection – no matter the viewing angle. Everything is focused on the essentials, made with top-notch craftsmanship and materials.
The preamp is communicative enough for any audiophile household and skips all digital gimmicks. Two balanced and three RCA inputs mean there’s room for plenty of source gear, all via the finest quality connectors. A tape loop will please reel-to-reel owners – though I won’t be using it. Balance is adjusted not with a basic potentiometer, but via individual resistors that click into place with a satisfying clack. For those who appreciate tactile pleasures, this is where they’ll start falling in love.
The power amp also charms. A sunset-colored illuminated porthole reveals the analog VU meter, which reports output power and adds a dash of nighttime elegance. But first, there’s the matter of letting these refrigerator-sized metal masses warm up. Two days of transport in winter left the housings close to freezing, so – easy does it.
My first attempt at listening fails spectacularly despite four hours of being plugged in. The sound is still messy and undefined, as if my speakers were broken. Cue a puzzled glance at the refreshingly humorous manual, a laugh at its IKEA-esque tone, and a call to Sieveking. He quickly clears things up: these Italian beauties need to be courted. They require time. And love. And electricity. And, above all, la musica. “Just give them music. Let them play for half a day – you’ll see,” he said during our first bleary-eyed phone call.
Now, six hours into a Spotify endless playlist, the Riviera combo is slowly finding its stride. Pérotin’s Beata viscera floats softly through the apartment. The preamp is barely cracked open, the AFS-32 heat sinks just slightly warm to the touch, the VU meter still pure decoration.
Yesterday, on the Krell combo, the same track was crystal clear – like vodka. Pure. Undiluted. Full of soul. The Riviera setup delivers something different. Just as honest, but more layered. Less vodka, more single malt. Maybe even a hint of rum. Warmth, body, complex aromas, and a sweet scent – making me hungry for more. Coming right up: an older Decca pressing of Joan Sutherland’s The Art of the Prima Donna. Normally I only spin the “Casta Diva” track, but somehow the record keeps playing. And the next. And the next.
I start wondering why my eyes feel so heavy – and why it’s so dark outside. A glance at my phone: 3:30 a.m. In the bathroom mirror, Catweazle stares back: “Wild night?” No, not wild. Just the best musical experience I’ve had in thirty years. And it was “just” classical – hardly my favorite genre.
The next day I drag myself through the day, my feelings mixed, my look rumpled, while my listening room grows cozier by the minute. Class A operation at 64 watts per channel (4 ohms) is enough to heat the place – a nice bonus given today’s gas prices. Chief designer Luca Chiomenti has no love for power-saving regulations. The AFS-32 runs at full capacity, hybrid circuit of transistor, tube, and MOSFET, as long as that porthole glows like the sun over Capri.
What makes Riviera different? On the surface, nothing – and yet everything. Luca works on the principle that the human ear, in cooperation with the brain, has an evolutionarily ingrained ability to ignore certain overtones. What once helped with survival in the Stone Age is now used to make amplifiers sound more natural. Slight “imperfections” are shifted into frequencies the brain simply erases. This could explain why Riviera amps sound so effortlessly natural.
Chiomenti also has encyclopedic knowledge of components and their interactions. He favors simple circuits, but doesn’t shy away from extravagance – like crafting a single resistor from three, if listening tests say it sounds better. So the Riviera’s commanding presence comes not from the quantity but the quality of the parts inside.
He’ll reveal little else – some details stay “in the family.” But none of that diminishes the magic these devices unleash. Unlike the Krell’s ruthless neutrality, the Riviera combo is seductively beautiful. Close your eyes, and the gear, the speakers, even the room disappear. You just drift, losing track of time and space.
The review is already overdue, the magazine breathing down my neck for the photo shoot. I couldn’t care less. There’s one night left. If it goes anything like the past thirty, tomorrow it’ll be Pharaoh Ramses III answering the door for the delivery guy.
Speaking of mummies: so far, my listening nights have been genre-themed – one for classical, one for jazz, one for blues. My usual go-to – honest, hard-hitting electric guitar rock – had been forgotten. Until Sieveking and the publisher threatened to reclaim my Class A space heaters. Why Live After Death (1985) by my teenage heroes Iron Maiden? No idea. But as soon as the lead-in groove crackles, my synapses snap to attention. The right hand reaches for the volume knob – and cranks it past twelve for the first time in weeks.
“What the – ?” as my son would say. Turns out I’d been unconsciously sticking to audiophile-friendly recordings and leaving my “fun records” untouched. The Riviera setup transfers Bruce Dickinson’s energy straight into the room, with no filter. Nico McBrain drums his heart out, Steve Harris lays down a surprisingly agile groove. Goosebumps during Run to the Hills.
With the APL-1 and AFS-32, it’s like a wormhole back to the feeling of hearing these records for the very first time. At this point, I don’t care about flat frequency response. This is some of the best listening I’ve ever had. From now on, distortion is welcome – if it triggers the emotions that made me love music in the first place. Hygiene becomes optional. Sleep is overrated. Now, if you’ll excuse me – I’ve only got one night left…
Accompanying Equipment
Turntables: Acoustic Solid Vintage, Technics SL-1710 Mk2, Technics SL-1210 Mk2 | Tonearm: Acoustic Solid WTB 213 | Cartridges: Clearaudio Charisma V2, Ortofon Quintet Bronze, Ortofon Nightclub | Phono pre: Acoustic Solid Phonovorverstärker | CD-Player: Marantz CD 17 Mk II | Integrated amplifiers: Einstein The Tune, NAD C 320 | DAC: Audiolab M-DAC Mini | Power amplifier: Lehmann Black Cube Stamp | Loudspeakers: Heco BellaDonna, Audio Physic Seemon | Cables: German Highend, AudioQuest, IsoTek | Accessories: Steinmusic
Preamplifier Riviera Audio Laboratories APL-1
Concept: purely analogue stereo preamplifier | Inputs: 2 x XLR (fully balanced), 3 x RCA | Outputs: 2 x RCA and 1 x XLR (in parallel) | Special features: Tape loop (In/Out), Mute switch, dimmable front LEDs | Finishes: Mother of Pearl/Gold oder Dark Titanium | Dimensions (W/H/T): 44/14/50 cm | Weight: 20 kg | Warranty Period: 3 years | Price: around 27 000 €
Power Amplifier Riviera Audio Laboratories AFS-32
Concept: stereo power amplifier | Inputs: 1 x RCA, 1 x XLR, Ground | Outputs: 2 x 2 speaker terminals | Power output (8/4 Ω): 2 x 32 W/2 x 64 W | Input impedance: 34 kΩ (XLR), 17 kΩ (RCA) | Input sensitivity: 2,8 V (XLR and RCA) | Signal-to-noise ratio: > 102 dB | Special features: VU-Meter | Finishes: Mother of Pearl/Gold oder Dark Titanium | Dimensions (W/H/T): 44/20/50 cm | Weight: 32 kg | Warranty period: 3 years | Price: around 28 800 €
Sieveking Sound
Plantage 20
28215 Bremen
Telefon +49 421 6848930
kontakt@sieveking-sound.de