Valve Amplification Company Statement 450i iQ Integrated Amplifier

While the principle of “form following function” was originally associated with late 19th and early 20th century architecture and industrial design, Kevin Hayes’ and the Valve Amplification Company’s accomplishment with the Statement 450i iQ integrated amplifier under scrutiny here may be the most perfect example of that principle ever seen in the audio arts. Towering to four feet in height, at just under ten-and-a-half inches wide and some eighteen-and-a-quarter inches in depth (sans the plinth it stands on), to my sensibilities it is as remarkable to look at as it is, as you will soon learn, to listen to. It …