Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Zellaton Statement at Avantgarde HK
















With YS Sound, Schnerzinger  and Orpheus.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Danish Audio Design XL Phono Stage & XL Power Supply












We are proud to present our XL Phono Stage and our XL Power Supply.

Many claim that they make the worlds best high-end gear. We don’t, we just do it.

For a number of years people have asked me if I would create a crazy phono stage for them, on the basis of what I know and how I create products. There’s a huge variety of phono stages on the market, so I’ve not been inspired to create another one. But then people have been pushing me to do one, and then suddenly a piece of wild high-end gear is born.

This product is constructed in a way that it can always be upgraded if the need arises, without costing a small fortune. Everything is analog and the design reflects this as well, with a different look than our other products.

The phono stage is a dual mono version with the best transformers available and the best paper in oil capacitors in the world. The power supply offers no less than 560.000 uf and it uses the fastest capacitors available anywhere.

A lot have gone into making sure these units delivers music in the fastest way possible. There is just as many components under our board as above it, with a lot of customization options for pick-ups.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Avantgarde HK Event - Schnerzinger, Zellaton, YS Sound & Orpheus























































































































































To the right - Michael Schwab of Zellaton and Schnerzinger. To the left - a happy Schnerzinger customer.


More pics and in better quality at Wizard Ultimate.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Yayuma Awareness ASP audio processor





























































The main properties of awareness line of YAYUMA audio processor:

PONA sound technology inside
Full balanced construction
Processing of audio track is made by analog section only
Analog path is controlled by 11 SPI-networked microprocessors
All components are carefully selected



Yayuma

Thursday, January 12, 2017

De Baer Saphir Turntable & Onyx Tonearm














€40000

Initially Kurt Baer worked in the furnishing industry where he designed technically innovative furniture for the Swiss furniture company De Sede. Furthermore he has been a Hi-Fi enthusiast with heart and soul for more than 40 years. Especially the analogous technology inspired him a lot. Therefore he often exchanged some components and was delighted with each sound improvement. During his studies and by doing several tests he found out that some technical details can be changed in such a way that the quality of the whole product could be improved.

To find out whether his ideas really increase the sound quality Kurt Baer constructed a turntable accordingly to his own plans. The outcome was overwhelming because the sound quality was remarkably higher. Afterwards he even designed and constructed a complete record player in his artist’s workshop. However Kurt Baer still tried to improve the sound quality by doing test with a SME tonearm.

In 2011 Kurt Baer met Dieter Albisser, the proprietor of the Jetmax precision engineering company. Dieter Albisser is a skilled precision engineer and has several years of experience in aircraft manufacturing and maintenance. In his company he produces precise items for machine engineering and develops components for the propulsion of unmanned airplanes.

Thus the combination of a man full of creative ideas and a man full of experience in construction yielded a totally innovative record player which was developed in 2013. Five prototypes were constructed which were sold out rapidly and for which Kurt Baer gained a lot of compliments. The record player was shown to the public for the first time at the High-End exhibition in 2015 in Munich. The expert audience was highly interested and therefore Kurt Baer and Dieter Albisser finally decided to bring their record player on the market. However they soon encountered a new challenge by constructing their own tonearm.

In autumn 2015 the brand De Baer was founded. Furthermore many small details of the record player were improved and five more components (including the tonearm) were constructed. Finally the record player was ready to be produced in series and therefore the precious De Baer record players are produced in batch size of 10 players by the Jetmax company. Dieter Albisser produces the components in high precision and Kurt Baer does the assembling and quality control.


De Baer

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Silbatone P-106





























































































The Silbatone P-106 is the first in a series of new hybrid single-ended tube amplifiers using exotic output like the 45 or 275A.

This patented technology enables the amp to retain the magic of a high quality tube amp, but with the dynamics and bass control of solid state!

Power output is 8 watt.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Constellation Audio Centaur II 500 Stereo Amplifier & Revelation Series















Constellation Audio has announced the introduction of the new Revelation Series of components, and their new Centaur II 500 Stereo Amplifier, at CES 2017. CEO Dr. Murali Murugasu challenged his team of designers and engineers to develop a new series of Constellation Audio components that “could deliver the essence of the Performance Series”.

The Revelation Series bridges a gap in the Constellation Audio product hierarchy. Building on the Inspiration tradition and offering improved performance, the Revelation Series is a step up from Inspiration. Its “distinctively Constellation” casework design draws upon the heritage of the Reference Series and extends the foundation first used in Inspiration.

Products in the Revelation Series include the new Pictor preamplifier (with optional DC Filter), Taurus Stereo and Taurus Mono amplifiers, and the Andromeda phono stage which will follow shortly. Constellation say that “together they represent a new benchmark for Constellation Audio, creating a line which is at once strong and balanced”.

Like all Constellation Audio amplifiers, the Revelation Series amplifiers are available in either stereo or mono configuration. Although the power is increased by only 50 Watts compared to the Inspiration Series amplifiers, they have double the transformers as the Inspiration Series amplifiers as well as an additional bank of power output capacitors.

Dr. Murali Murugasu says of the Centaur II 500, “The new Centaur II 500 Stereo is likely the ideal amplifier for those systems where power is a desire or a necessity. When coupled with a great preamplifier such as the Virgo III, the Centaur II 500 Stereo produces bass, dynamics, and musical realism that is unlike that of any other combination I have ever heard – short of the Altair II and Hercules II. All of the music is there; nothing is added, sacrificed, or compromised.”

Centaur II 500 Stereo: $55,000

Revelation Series

Andromeda Phono Stage: $18,000
Pictor Preamplifier: $18,000
Taurus Stereo: $19,500
Taurus Mono: $39,000/pr
DC Filter (for Andromeda and Pictor): $5,000

Mark Levinson № 515 Turntable















At CES 2017, Mark Levinson by HARMAN today introduced the № 515 Turntable, designed for the discriminating analog music lover. Designed and built in partnership with industry-leader VPI Industries, the № 515 Turntable is handcrafted in the USA, and is the first turntable worthy of the Mark Levinson name.

The № 515 is the perfect complement to the Pure Phono stage included in the recently released № 526 and № 523 pre-amplifiers. A premium-caliber turntable, the № 515 leverages superior technologies and craftsmanship from VPI Industries to deliver performance, features and appearance unique to Mark Levinson.

The № 515 is based on a highly damped vinyl-wrapped MDF and aluminum sandwich main chassis. The chassis is supported by machined Delrin and Aluminum Mark Levinson feet with a vibration-damping polymer core.  The 20-pound Aluminum platter rotates on an inverted bearing, which employs a hardened stainless steel shaft spinning in a phosphor bronze bushing for maximum rotational accuracy.

The powerful high torque AC synchronous motor is mounted to a separate vinyl-MDF-Aluminum sandwich chassis and housed in its own mechanically isolated enclosure. A precision-machined pulley and triple belt drive system provide smooth, quiet operation. A custom-designed, low-distortion analog oscillator and discrete, class AB power amplifier deliver pristine power to the synchronous motor for accurate 33 and 45 RPM operation.

The № 515 features a gimbal-mounted, 3D-printed tonearm with integral headshell, stainless steel counterweight, and discrete internal cartridge lead routing.  The tonearm is mounted to a rigid, machined Aluminum arm base featuring on-the-fly adjustable vertical tracking angle.  A custom designed stainless steel record weight and platter mat ensure maximum stability of playback.

“The № 515 is being released during a time of rapid growth and resurgence in turntable and vinyl record sales,” said Jim Garrett, Director of Marketing and Product Management, HARMAN. “It celebrates our 45th anniversary and provides a first-class analog source for our new 500 Series.”

“This turntable was engineered to be a perfect complement our Pure Phono stage. The warmth, fidelity and overall listening experience delivered by the № 515 absolutely must be heard to be appreciated,” said Todd Eichenbaum, Director of Engineering, HARMAN.

The № 515 turntable will be available either with or without a factory installed moving coil phono cartridge.

Pricing starts at $10,000 for the version without phono cartridge, and both versions will be available in Summer 2017.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

FM Acoustics Resolution Series FM 155-MKIIR












An unobtrusive little unit but what an exciting one!
The FM 155-MKIIR is now on demonstration at our distributors. It was launched in Munich.

Listeners were awestruck of the beauty, real-life dynamic and emotional content of music of the XS-IIIB system driven by the small FM ACOUSTICS' electronics (FM 123 - FM 155-MKIIR - two pairs of FM 108).

While conserving the exterior of the original FM 155, the inside of the
FM 155-MKIIR is completely new (and much more demanding in manufacturing).

The refinements that were recently introduced in the larger line stages have been incorporated in the new FM 155-MKIIR while keeping all original features:

Superb natural reproduction of music
Absolute transparency
Unparalleled freedom from noise & interference
Natural dynamics in highest definition
Proprietary enhanced Class A circuitry
Fully discrete circuitry using special tracer analysed and listening-selected semi-conductors
Zero overall feedback / feedforward
No more matching problems between electronics and cables
Outputs drive any type of load with perfect reproduction and stability
Neutral; no colouration
High dynamic reserves
All input & output impedances are perfectly linear over full frequency range
Precision output level control; no stepped attenuators, relay type or - inferior sounding - optical volume control
External power supply prevents stray fields
Low impedance, high stability power supply regulation
Hand-selected and individually matched components of DIN, IEC & MIL standards
The Resolution Series 155-MKIIR is the ultimate line stage/preamplifier for use with single ended sources. By using the appropriate it can be perfectly interfaced with pseudo-balanced or true-balanced equipment.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

YS Sound 24K Gold JP preamp & 772S JP stereo amp
















HK$ 1,200,000

Input: 3 inputs (balanced) A, B = pin 3+, 2-, C = pin 3-, 2+
Output: 2 outputs (balanced)
Frequency Response: 1Hz - 300kHz
Signal to Noise Ratio:  > 160 dB
Distortion: 0.001%
Dimensions: 17 "(W) X 12.5" (D) x 5 "(H)
Weight: 30kg
















HK$ 1,600,000

Output Power : > 1200W
Output Load Impedance : (1-16Ω)
Distortion : 0.002%
Nominal Voltage : 100V - 240V
Signal to Noise Ratio : >135dB
Frequency Response : 5Hz-60kHz
Dimensions : 18"(W) x 25"(D) x 12"(H)
Weight : 108kg