Java Hi-Fi Double Shot

REVIEW
Kevin Fiske
Jul 08, 2025

It’s a DAC, it’s a phono stage, it’s a pre-amp, it’s a power amp. And all in one chassis. So far, so normal for the world of integrated amplifiers. What makes the Java Hi-Fi Double Shot different is its striking minimalist visual aesthetic. Additionally, the Auckland-based company pays attention to fit and finish. This is a high-end designer product intended to slot seamlessly into a duplex Manhattan apartment. It aims to share the space with the owners’ collection of iconic American furniture and Jackson Pollock originals.

Eyeball appeal

The amplifier’s quasi-organic form factor is available in a range of natural wood finishes and colours. However, the review sample came in premium carbon fibre, which designer Martin Bell says is 9mm thick. It was chosen for its anti-RFI properties, as well as its visual appeal. It looks piano black from some angles, but it reveals the carbon mat structure from others. Beneath the gloss gel coat, Java Hi-Fi’s logo is printed in pearly silver. Heatsinks for the gain stages inside are mounted on the sides of the chassis. They look somewhat like the gill flaps of a basking shark. Overall, it exudes quality in a subdued, high-class manner.

That vibe continues on the front panel. Rather than the typical disjointed scattering of switches and lights found in the sector, we find just two large, chromed knobs, apart from a 6.3mm headphone socket. One knob is located on the left, and the other is on the right, giving it symmetry.

Pleasing weight

If we place a questioning fingertip on either one, we find that it rotates freely, with a pleasing weight. The left knob allows sources to be selected, while the right one adjusts volume. Segments around the perimeter of each knob light up to show source and volume status. Importantly, both functions are also controllable via the supplied hand-held remote.

On the back things get rather more industry-standard. There are four sets of XLR line inputs, a pair of RCAs, and a grounding post for phono input. Additionally, it includes XLR pairs for fixed and variable out, a stubby Bluetooth (aptX) antenna, and of course, two pairs of speaker binding posts. The Double Shot is also designed to work with digital audio. However, it limits the inputs to just a single USB-B input. This is understandable, as the rear panel is densely packed with XLR sockets. But more digital options would be nice.

Light-dependent

Inside is Java Hi-Fi’s design of an active line stage using light-dependent resistors. Bell has combined this with OEM boards from several different suppliers. The power amplifier modules are GaN FET-based Class D units by Elegant Audio Solutions, a well-regarded pioneering specialist in the field. There are two, which are configured for fully balanced operation. They allow the Java Hi-Fi Double Shot to deliver 400 Watts per channel into eight Ohms. The DAC module uses dual Burr-Brown PCM1794As ASICS and supports up to 24-bit 192kHz PCM and DSD. The phono stage is built around an LCR network using Japanese resistors and German capacitors. However, it is Moving Magnet only.

Paired with the household’s PMC MB2se speakers, the Double Shot produced a sound that I consider would have most buyers in Java’s target market segment purring with delight. Readers harbouring any lingering doubt about full-range Class D amplification need to take a listen to the current crop of amplifiers. This includes the Double Shot, to hear how far things have come.

The Jury does not rest

The jury’s still out on whether or not GaN sounds superior to MOSFETs in switching amplifiers, but pioneering engineers like Skip Taylor of Elegant Audio Solutions are working hard to drive it to the point where it becomes the default technology in high-end audio. We should nod towards Bell too for making what some might regard as taking the bold option and choosing to use switching GaN in his aspirational products.

In the Double Shot, he pulls it off, though. Some might suggest that the amplifier offers almost a tube-like level of liquidity and sonic saturation. However, having lived with a review sample for a while, I can report that this would be an overreaction. Perhaps it’s brought on by relief at the discovery that it doesn’t exhibit the dry and somewhat colourless sound once associated with Class D.

As an amplifier of external line sources, the Double Shot achieves a level of transparency up there with some better alternative integrated amplifiers on the market. This is irrespective of their underlying technology. Some of this may result from Bell’s implementation of light-dependent resistor attenuation. It’s attractive as it reduces the number of noise-prone contacts in the signal path. LDR is not more commonly seen because it requires an ultra-quiet power supply. If not, the noise advantage might be thrown away.

Up to the mark

The quality of the power supply specified by Bell is evidently up to the mark here. In addition to strong transparency, it allows the Java Hi-Fi Double Shot to deliver all four musical pillars to a satisfying and broadly competitive degree of competence. There’s the required grunt and speed to support the GaN modules in driving big transients with a satisfying snap. The combination has underlying power and some pleasing richness. It doesn’t lean out and get flatter dynamically through the midrange like Class D of yore. There’s enough tonal and textural detail at the top end to render cymbals as quite believable wooden stick-on-alloy events.

Selecting the in-built phono stage and then a little later the DAC only firmed up the sense of all-round solid competence and balance. It may contain an assemblage of functional modules from different sources. However, the Double Shot has them all flying in formation just as if they were all from the same designer and manufacturer.

It struck me that the moving magnet-only phono stage might be seen as a misstep in the primary intended market for the Double Shot. It wins points for being very quiet and linear. But in my mind at least, Mr and Ms Loft Dweller have a tricked-out vintage LP12 hung with a moving coil cartridge. They’ll not be thrilled to learn that they must buy a step-up transformer for it to work with the Double Shot.

However, in some regions, MM/MC phono stages are viewed as heresy and a step-up transformer is a mandatory part of the deal. So maybe I’m being a bit too Brit-fi here!

Visually arresting

How to sum up this visually arresting integrated amplifier? In the review system, the Java Double Shot did not make a case for being regarded performance-wise as a sonic outlier. It is neither hugely better nor worse than the small number of alternative GaN-based amplifiers already on the market. It compares similarly to most of the larger number of MOSFET Class D amplifiers available. In a way, that’s reassuring, indicative perhaps of the relative maturity of a sector that is, as Skip Taylor and other GaN pioneers intend, getting to the point where the once remarkable is now unremarkable.

With his Double Shot integrated amplifier Java’s Martin Bell is demonstrating both a marketeer’s nose for a relatively under-served market sector and an engineer’s ability to put together a satisfyingly well-rounded sonic performer. The Java Hi-Fi Double Shot can go head-to-head with Class A or B alternatives that have strong established audiophile credentials. And it looks beautiful too.

Technical specifications

Type: Integrated amplifier
Analogue inputs: 4 x pairs of XLR line-level inputs, MM phono stage (RCA inputs)
Analogue outputs: 2 x pairs of XLR outputs (fixed and variable), headphone socket
Digital inputs: USB, Bluetooth aptX
DAC Sampling Rates: PCM up to 24 bit, 192kHz, DSD
MM Input Impedance: 47K Ohm.
MM Input Capacitance: 200pF load.
MM Gain: 45dB signal gain (at 1KHz).
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR): 124dB (A-weighted).
Residual Noise: 1.6uV (A-weighted).
Dynamic Range (DNR): 122dB.
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise (THD+N): -110dB or 0.0003%.
Output Voltage: 2.5Vrms (+10.2dBu)
Finish options: Seven casework finishes, with black, silver or bronze front panel options
Dimensions (WxHxD): 44 x 13 x 41.5cm
Weight: 11.6kg
Price: £14,995, $12,995, €13,500