Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895
"Technical Considerations
Tube Compliment: 2-12ax7, line, and 2-12ax7, phono. Power Supply: Laminated steel R-core. Resistors: 1 percent metal film. Capacitors: Wima polyester in signal path for use in tone control circuit. Design Goal: Neutrality, i.e., input=output. Volume Control: Digital, controlled manually or via hand held remote. Line stage has 15 db of gain. The display will show a number between 0 and 100. Readings from 0 to 69 attenuate gain. 70 db is unity gain. Readings from 71 to 100 increase gain. A reading of 50 is equivalent to a position of 12:00 on an analog volume control. Tone Control: treble and bass may be attenuated or raised, maximum 12 db. at 10000 Hz, each hour signifies about 2.4 db-peak or dip. At 7:00, 10000 Hz is down about 12 db, while at 5:00, 10000 Hz is up about 12 db. At 20 Hz, each hour represents about 2.4 db of gain. At 7:00, bass is down about 12 db, while at 5:00, bass is up about 12 db. When looking at the treble adjustment curve, one observes a frequency of about 1400 Hz as up or down 2 db. When examining the bass adjustment curve the 2 db point is around 300 Hz. Both bass and treble curves are non-linear.
...
Conclusion
While it seemed that this preamp exhibited less distortion than many other components I have heard, no component is perfect. A viable company selling a product at a price point, at a specific profit margin, has implicit cost constraints for the parts selected during manufacture. The imperfection that is built into the creation of the product can be observed if sufficient time is taken during the audition process. I believe there are two very minor deficits from neutrality, namely minimal frequency response errors, typical of modern tube designs. However, they were barely noticed and, in any case, unobjectionable, given the context of listening to music in the home, where one does not expect perfection. The regions of the frequency range where I noticed the slight deviations from flat frequency response include a boost in the upper midrange/lower treble and an attenuation in the upper/bass/lower midrange. In spite of the two aforementioned deficits, this preamp is a very useful component for a reviewer, as it offers an opportunity to observe quickly and efficiently, the impact of changes in components upon the sound of a stereo system."
Full Review: audiophilia.com
