Encel Brains Amplifier ... a clever little chap
For $809 this is excellent value. In fact there is not another heart and soul amplifier that combines such convenient and contemporary features at such a sensible price.
Encel, a Melbourne company, have toiled for months and months to perfect the design and construction of this unit on which they have collaborated with one of the worlds greatest amplifier manufacturers, Rotel.
You will buy this amp and simply be happy! The only hard part will be deciding which gen z colour option to go with.
Available in charcoal or white, the Brains amplifier has a moving magnet phono stage for connecting a turntable, optical and coaxial options for digital sources such as a CD player or TV, and an aptX HD Bluetooth receiver to enable streaming from mobile devices. A pair of line-level auxiliary inputs also allows for the connection of analogue components, while a dedicated 3.5mm headphone output is included for listening in private.
Encel have a pair of loudspeakers to match. They have also closely collaborated on these with an established major speaker manufacturer. They are surprisingly good and again are available in an unusual range of colours .... for $1300 odd you can exploit the audio synergy of the two together to make for a reallly cohesive stereo system. With good kit like this that you can hook up to a record player, via bluetooth, or even a television, you really should never buy a soundbar or plastic wireless loudspeakers.

Encel Brains Amplifier ... a clever little chap
This amplifier incepted and designed by the Encel team is a really excellent piece of kit ...
Unlocking Spectacular Sound
Without a conductor, an orchestra is a room of unguided elements, struggling to find cohesion with one another. All of them individually brilliant, but without a guide to give them direction, to make the collective into one breathtaking whole. A good quality turntable and speakers both have the capacity to render music with majesty and emotion, though without an amplifier to process the turntable’s signal and provide the speakers with an electrical current infused with all that information, they both lie dormant.
An amplifier is the processing centre and the drive behind a great hi-fi system. It takes an input signal, imparts just the right amount of clean power, then pushes it out to the speakers, causing their drivers to vibrate and fill your room with wonderful music. If a turntable or CD player’s signal were played directly through your speakers you’d barely hear a thing. A quality amplifier significantly boosts the precious information from these source components without degrading or distorting it. In essence, an amplifier is the Brains that brings everything to life and paints all the rich, vivid detail.
The Flexible Core of Any System
Brains is an integrated amplifier equipped with an impressive range of inputs, the perfect focal point around which to build your sound system. You could be diving into vinyl for the first time, streaming music from your phone, digging out your old CD collection, or hooking up your TV for stirring cinematic sound. It has all those bases covered, and is housed in a beautifully minimalist chassis that slides comfortably into any room’s unique aesthetic. You can also enjoy some one-on-one time with your music with the headphone output, excellent for late night listening.
Part of the Family
Brains is made from durable materials, chosen for their sturdy, robust qualities. With so many modern audio products designed to be upgraded or replaced within a few years, its beautiful, timeless looks and longevity are a breath of fresh air. Every aspect of the componentry is repairable, meaning it’ll continue bringing joyful sound into your life for as long as it’s loved, a wonderful family heirloom to deliver music for generations ahead.
Total Control of Your Sound
Simple bass and treble controls allow you to shape your sound as you like, enriching music, films and games with low-end thunder or adding a touch of extra sparkle and clarity. Tone controls give the benefit of allowing you to adapt your sound to your specific listening conditions. Smaller speakers in a large room? Give the bass dial a generous spin. Music sounding a little flat in a smaller carpeted space? Get that treble singing. Brains hands you full control of your sound.
Input selection and volume can be adjusted from afar with the remote control, which is bundled free of charge at launch.
Designed in Melbourne to Last a Lifetime
Brains boasts a high-current, low-noise transformer, engineered to eliminate unwanted physical vibrations and electrical interference. Think of it as the bridge between the power from the wall socket and the delicate internal circuitry of an amplifier. It’s absolutely essential that this circuitry is fed with clean power, free of electronic noise, and that’s precisely what the transformer does. Under the hood you’ll also find Class A/B amplification. Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones use what’s called Class D amplification. It’s more efficient, and certainly fits into smaller spaces, but the organic, faithful, vividly rendered sound of Class A/B can’t be imitated or replaced. The resulting sound that’s created by these elements is nothing short of breathtaking.
The main chassis is custom-engineered from steel with special tooling for the solid aluminium front panel, and finished with a fine sand-blast to accentuate its elegant lines. Volume is controlled entirely in the analog domain, eliminating the introduction of digital artefacts.
Brains is available in black or white finishes with inverted shading for the control dials and input selectors. Design work was undertaken in Melbourne, with dozens of iterations experimented with and refined before arriving at the finished product. Every aspect of the engineering and hardware have been chosen with beautiful, natural sound at front of mind. Encel has been bringing wonderful sound to Australian living rooms for over 60 years, and here that legacy continues boldly.
Brains is covered by a three year manufacturer’s warranty.
Key Features:
- 40w/channel into 8ohms of Class A/B amplification
- Onboard phono preamplifier
- 3 x analogue line level inputs
- Bluetooth, coaxial, and optical inputs
- Remote control included at launch
- Signal sense for coaxial and optical inputs
- 12v trigger out
- Bass, treble, and balance controls
- 3.5mm headphone output
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We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. Items can be returned or exchanged within 30 days of delivery.