AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => Owner's Circles => Virtue Audio Owners => Topic started by: virtue on 4 Sep 2014, 06:55 pm
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Guys,
I'm late to this party - only 2 more days of pre-order madness.
Placed my own order just now for a raw, magical, "prototype" in-line Maraschino which I can use with any pre-amp. $750 for his $2,000+ NCore killer.
God bless Tommy O'Brien who proves every day that high-quality independent amplifier designers - working nights and weekends - can create world-beating equipment. I wish for half of that guy's grey matter.
Pile on here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/378044010/in-line-maraschino
There are just a few of these left. I've seen and heard these boards in person - nothing like it. Hope Virtue can do some business with DAC in the future. Love Tommy.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
Standard 48V In-Line Maraschino Amplifier (PAIR)
(2) 48 Volt Power Supply
(2) Maraschino In-Line Amplifier Module (Dayton Gold Posts)
(2) RCA-to-XLR Adapter
(2) AC Line Cord (120VAC version)
Standard 60V In-Line Maraschino Amplifier (PAIR)
(2) 60 Volt Power Supply
(2) Standard DC cable
(2) Maraschino In-Line Amplifier Module (Dayton Gold Posts)
(2) RCA-to-XLR Adapter
(2) AC Line Cord (120VAC version)
KING 60V In-Line Maraschino Amplifier (PAIR)
(2) 60 Volt Power Supply
(2) Ultra Low Impedance DC_SNAKE cable
(2) Maraschino In-Line Amplifier Module (WBT GOLD Posts)
(2) RCA-to-XLR Adapter
(2) AC Line Cord (120VAC version)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=104841)
Seth
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$750 for his $2,000+ NCore killer.
:lol: Doubtful.
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:lol: Doubtful.
Why the pessimism? Reading the info on Kickstarter, it sounds like these Hanging Maraschinos are just the next version of the current Maraschinos, in an even smaller, more efficient, and less expensive overall form factor.
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I think they are the same, folks. Huge buying opportunity.
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Thanks, Seth! To receive compliments from someone who has produced such wonderful designs is truly an honor.
As for the non-believers, especially fans of nCore, you owe it to yourself to listen to the Maraschino (Desktop or In-Line versions). It really is that good. The speaker guys don't like hearing this, but many have decided they don't need new speakers after switching to the Maraschino for their amplification solution.
I've heard the Maraschino (48V prototype version, before various improvements, and BEFORE the 60V power supplies were even designed), beat the $12k/pr merrill audio Veritas Amplifiers! Of course, "beat" is an opinion, and therefore subjective.
A few things that give the Maraschino it's unique "flavor":
1. True balanced, DC coupled input on floating GND. This gives you response down to 0 Hz (!) and NO PHASE SHIFT in the bass. The signal doesn't go though any caps or transformers. The GND of the amp locks to the preamp (or D/A) to eliminate hum (usually caused by GND loops), even in stubborn cases.
2. The "hanging" version enables you to practically eliminate the speaker cables altogether. Think of the money that can save, plus it can increase effective dampling factor by 10x or more.
3. As with all of our amplifiers, our design is NOT based on some pre-fabricated module. We design our circuits. Several decades of experience is necessary to pull that off, and we have that.
4. Although our "bench specs" are outstanding, we tweak our circuits for sonic performance, not for numbers on a datasheet when driving a resistor. Speakers aren't resistors.
Anyway, I could go on and on..... Thanks for reading this :)
-Tommy O
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Tommy, you are a hero!
$750 is down-right "cheap and cheerful" for this level of quality and punch.
Maybe you can tell us a bit more about the sonics. Why should we care about phase shift, floating, ground, etc. Tell us a bit more about how you design them. Give some color!
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Thanks for the tips! :thumb:
Looks like a nice deal! Too bad the 750$ units sold out. Would have been nice to try the amp together with my m901+tubebuffer as pre :) Will think about it if it's worth paying 1000$ and waiting til December to receive it. Hmm :scratch: :)
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Only 26 hrs left!
Hope to add comments today as Seth suggested, but we are super busy at the moment......
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Thanks for the tips! :thumb:
Looks like a nice deal! Too bad the 750$ units sold out. Would have been nice to try the amp together with my m901+tubebuffer as pre :) Will think about it if it's worth paying 1000$ and waiting til December to receive it. Hmm :scratch: :)
Put in $750 for the $30 level (just edit the amount), and I'll send you a demo set. Same hardware. Thanks.
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As we enter our last day of this campaign, we cannot say enough to express our gratitude to our backers!
For the last day only, we added a "procrastinator's special" 60V Desktop Maraschino reward at $2750 (regularly $3800).
The link again for your convenience:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/378044010/in-line-maraschino
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Put in $750 for the $30 level (just edit the amount), and I'll send you a demo set. Same hardware. Thanks.
Thanks a bunch :D
Just became a backer. Looking forward to trying the amps out! :thumb:
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Thanks a bunch :D
Just became a backer. Looking forward to trying the amps out! :thumb:
Great! Thanks.
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Only 4 hours left !
:D