Unitra Expands Into UK and Ireland

"Headquartered in Warsaw, Unitra's team is dedicated to creating products that sound as good as they look and are built to last the test of time."

That's quite the opening gambit from a press release for a company that most people outside of Poland would never have heard of. Indeed, if we hadn't been to High End Munich and been wowed by the vast array of offerings Unitra had on its stand, we might also be part of the "Who?" group.

Unitra's history dates back to 1961, when the Union of the Electronic and Communications Industry (Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Elektronicznego i Teletechnicznego) was established. At the peak of its development, Unitra comprised 28 manufacturing companies, several technology sales centres, design and engineering offices and an industrial modernisation company, employing 100,000 people.

Unitra is one of the few pre-1989 brands that have survived the political transformation and continued to operate in the new environment. Over the years, the trademark owner, Unitra Towarzystwo Przemysłowo-Handlowe S.A. (Unitra S.A.), had undertaken many business and cultural initiatives related to the brand but had not designed any audio equipment.

This changed in 2021, when – at the initiative of Daniel Kostrzewa and Adrian Krupowicz – a deal was signed between Unitra S.A. and Michał Kiciński, a well-known investor in innovative technology projects, leading to the establishment of Unitra Sp. z o.o. The company was granted exclusive rights to use the Unitra trademark and tasked with creating a new audio product lineup that would stay true to Unitra's 20th-century traditions while following today's principles in designing sustainable and repairable high-performance electronics.

Today, Unitra is at pains to point out that its products are designed to take music lovers back to a time before technology highjacked the simple pleasure of listening to music.

UK distributor of specialist HiFi and AV products, The Audio Business, is now the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the Polish HiFi brand. The Audio Business is responsible for all sales of Unitra products, including integrated amplifiers such as the WSH-805 (above) 80W / 8 ohms integrated dual mono amplifier with switchable Class A / Class AB circuitry, RCA + XLR inputs headphone output, switchable MM/MC phono stage (£4,499) and WSH-605 (below) 70W / 8 ohms integrated stereo amplifier with on-board ESS Sabre DAC, headphone output, MM input (£2,999).

There are direct-drive turntables such as the GSH-801 featuring a natural wooden plinth (walnut or black ash), an outboard linear PSU, Unitra's NB1 direct drive mechanism, and U10 tonearm fitted with an Ortofon 2M Black MM cartridge (£4,699).

However, if you prefer your discs digital, the CSH-801 CD player might be of interest. It supports CD-Audio/WAV/MP3, boasts a 32-bit ESS Sabre DAC and E Ink backlit display and offers coaxial/optical/RCA outputs (£1,999).

The company also offers a 2-way standmount (ZGB-401 - £1,999) and a 3-way floorstanding (ZGZ-801 - £4,999) loudspeaker.

To complete the source-to-speaker one-stop-shop, the Unitra range includes two speaker cables – the KG40 with 4mm multi-strand OFC copper conductors covered in a natural yarn at £609 for a terminated 4m pair and the KG25, with 2.5mm OFC copper conductors covered in a natural yarn at £249 for a terminated 4m pair.

Finally, Unitra also supplies two unique vinyl test records renowned by industry professionals to challenge far more expensive turntable combinations. The LP-01, which is the perfect set-up disk for retailers or enthusiasts wanting to set up turntables perfectly, is available at £59, whilst the LP-02, available for £129, is designed for laboratory testing conditions.

Alan Porter, Partner of The Audio Business, told StereoNET:

We are thrilled to be representing Unitra and its stunning range of products to the UK market. As soon as we first saw the products, we wanted them, as they fit our company policy of only representing products that we would want to own ourselves! Not only are the products built to an extremely high standard, the sound quality is wonderfully uncomplicated, just delivering music honestly and effortlessly. Combined with the backing of some of the most passionate people we have ever met throughout our experience in audio, we look forward to working closely with the team to develop the UK market.

Unitra products will become available in the UK during July 2025, where we might have more details to share.

For more information visit Unitra