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

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

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.

Silbatone L-106

$8350

Simaudio Moon 888 mono power amplifiers

$118,888


Info

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.

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.

Weiss 501/502 Dac

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

Happy New Year 2017

TAD-ME1

$12500


DESIGN CONCEPT

Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. (TAD) will introduce the compact bookshelf-type speaker system Micro Evolution One TAD-ME1-K, further perfecting TAD’s sound concepts of high-dimensional sound imaging and soundfield immersion.

Inheriting the design concept of TAD’s Evolution series, the TAD-ME1-K is equipped with a new 16-cm woofer and 9-cm CST1 Driver to achieve even more outstanding sound quality throughout an entire room and extremely sharp imaging. It also incorporates TAD’s Bi-Directional ADS2 port, enabling the reproduction of natural, deep bass sound despite its compact size.

TAD will expand the product lineup of its Evolution series to respond further to customers’ needs.

1 CST: Coherent Source Transducer

2 ADS: Aero-Dynamic Slot


MAIN FEATURES

1) Newly Developed 9-cm CST Driver for a Stable Localization and Natural Soundfield

TAD’s original CST Driver was designed to align the midrange and tweeter sound source positions to make the midrange diaphragm work as part of the tweeter waveguide. This design homologizes the phase and directional characteristics of midrange and tweeter sounds at the crossover, achieving natural attenuation characteristics and ideal directional patterns over the entire frequency range.

The product is equipped with the exclusively developed 9-cm CST, an optimal pairing with a 16-cm woofer.

The crossover frequency has been set at 420 Hz for the midrange and woofer and 2.5 kHz for the midrange and tweeter.

For the tweeter diaphragm, TAD has consistently used beryllium for its highly rigid and extremely lightweight properties, as well as high internal loss. Its shape was configured with HSDOM3, an optimization technique undertaken by computer analysis, to achieve an optimum balance between a divided vibration and a piston motion. All these properties deliver ultrahigh frequency characteristics up to 60 kHz.

A magnesium midrange diaphragm is used for its high internal loss and the lightest properties among practical metals to eliminate coloration inherent in the material and reproduce pure midrange sounds with low distortion.

The new compact CST excels in both phase and directional characteristics over a wide band from 420 Hz to 60 kHz, providing a stable localization and natural soundfield.

3 HSDOM: Harmonized Synthetic Diaphragm Optimum Method


2) 16-cm MACC4 Diaphragm Woofer for Improved Linearity and Optimized Driving Force

For ideal characteristics, TAD developed a new woofer diaphragm laminated with woven and non-woven fabrics of aramid fibers. A voice coil uses a highly rigid titanium bobbin, resulting in the accurate response of the diaphragm. This provides high radiation characteristics that ensure power linearity, contributing to the reproduction of clear bass sound and faithful low midrange sound with no coloration.

The woofer also uses LDMC5 and a foaming polycarbonate-based urethane edge that increase the linearity of the drive and support systems. Coupled with an optimized bass-reflex enclosure, the driving force strengthened by a large ferrite magnet reproduces clear, deep bass sounds without distortion.

4 MACC: Multi-layered Aramid Composite Cone

5 LDMC: Linear Drive Magnetic Circuit


3) Bi-Directional ADS Port for Natural, Deep Bass Sounds

A slit-shaped port is located on both sides of the enclosure, which was proven in the TAD-CE1 speakers of the Evolution series. The parts leading to the forward-and-backward openings are horn-shaped to drive the port smoothly and efficiently. This design reduces port noise at high amplitude and prevents the leakage of low-dimensional internal standing waves from the port, which would have a major impact on the woofer bandwidth, to achieve a responsive, clear low midrange sound. The bi-directional (forward-backward and left-right) layout of the port openings offsets vibration force to the enclosure, reproducing deep, powerful bass sounds.


4) SILENT6 Enclosure to Reduce Unwanted Cabinet Resonance

For high strength and low resonance, TAD uses the SILENT enclosure that combines a highly rigid birch plywood frame with an MDF (medium density fiberboard) outer panel with high internal loss. A 4 mm thick steel panel covers the left and right sides of the cabinet to further prevent unwanted resonance. TAD also analyzed internal standing waves in the enclosure to select and effectively place optimal acoustic materials, contributing to the elimination of internal standing waves, which would adversely influence the sound imaging and soundfield.

6 SILENT: Structurally Inert Laminated Enclosure Technology


5) Sharp, Beautiful Piano Black Finish

A minimal baffle is used to minimize sound refraction, while the enclosure is finished in a refined piano black coating. Skilled artisans devote time and pay careful attention to the details in the process of spray coating, primary coat polishing, and final polishing.

A steel panel that makes up the Bi-Directional ADS port on the sides is adorned with a new design featuring fine-grained coating.


6) Mounted Isolated Network Filter to Minimize Interference

The design isolates the network filter assay for CST (tweeter/midrange) and the woofer to minimize interference. The CST filter uses a PP film capacitor, a noninductive resistor, an air-core coil, and other carefully selected parts, while the 16-cm woofer filter uses a low-loss core coil with excellent magnetic properties, as well as a low-loss electrolytic capacitor, a noninductive wire-wound resistor, an air-core coil, and other carefully selected parts, to reduce resistance caused by series insertion as much as possible. All these devices result in the reproduction of undistorted, clear sound and a fluent soundfield.

Each constant was determined to optimize the acoustic output, energy, impedance, and other characteristics, providing slope characteristics that optimize the response and phase characteristics.


Main specifications: TAD-ME1-K Speaker

Type: 3-way, bass reflex, bookshelf type
Speaker Structure: 3-way system
Woofer: 16-cm cone type
Midrange/Tweeter: Coaxial 9-cm corn type/2.5-cm dome type
Reproduction Frequency Band: 36 Hz-60 kHz
Crossover Frequency: 420 Hz, 2.5 kHz
Output Sound Pressure Level: 85 dB (2.83 V-1 m)
Maximum Input: 150 W
Nominal Impedance: 4 Ω
Unit Polarity: Low range (+), middle range (+), high range (+)
External Dimensions: 251 mm (W) x 411 mm (H) x 402 mm (D)
Weight: 20 kg

Accessories: Short cable x 2, cleaning cloth, nonslip pad x 4

Lansche Audio No 7.1 & No 5.2

Pilium Audio Ares Preamplifier & Achilles Stereo Amplifier

.

Vos Loudspeakers Precision Sound Array

$135,000


Info

Schiit Audio Freya balanced preamplifier

$699

New Audio Frontiers Stradivari Phono

The circuitry has been implemented through three stages, all triode. The first two, between which has been inserted the network R.I.A.A. equalization, are used for the amplification of the signal coming from a cartridge of the type MM, while the third performs a lowering of the output impedance in order to be able to drive without no difficulty line stages which have a low input impedance and / or high capacity due to interconnecting cables also rather long.

For the use of pick-ups of type MC, further amplification has been delegated to two transformers STEP-UP, one for each channel, with the mu-metal core and windings in silver rather than to a further stage of the active type in order to reduce noise and maintain high quality sound. In the front was inserted a potentiometer in order to be able to adjust the load of MC pick up.

Within the device has several peculiarities. It was adopted the choice of using the solution of 2 frames in order to minimize any problems of uptake of electrical noise coming from the power supply.  In the latter the straightening of the anode voltage is implemented through a dual triode vacuum type EZ 81 and level out by two cells with PI Greek inductive, one per channel. The power supply of all the filaments of the tubes tubes of the signal is, contrariwise, stabilized.

Another special feature is that of having chosen to realize a printed circuit where the path of the tracks is identical in both channels to make sure that even the smallest and unavoidable parasitism capacitive are identical between them. The components have been chosen at the highest level which includes and especially stand out  the capacitors MICA SILVER used in RIAA EQ, high stability, low loss and minimum tolerance.



TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Sensitivity input impedance
Phono MM 47 KOhm / MC

Inputs phono
2 RCA

Output phono
1 RCA

Gain
70 dB

Frequency response
20 – 50K within 0,5 dB

Signal / noise ratio
90 dB

Dimensions
29 x 15 x 40 cm. (W x H x D)

Dimensions separate power supply unit
29 x 15 x 40 cm. (W x H x D)

Net weight
25 kg. Couple