[Vinnie R.]

All,

Next week is RMAF and we're looking forward to the show and meeting many of you there!     Come visit us at the Marriott Tech Center, Room 543

We'll be sharing the room with Tom Hills of Hudson Audio Imports, who will be bringing a Scheu Analog Diamond turntable.  I made a custom battery power supply for the motor.  It is a really nice turntable!  

We are also planning to bring the RWA phonostage prototype!  Here are some preliminary details:

- MC / MM input with HI/LOW gain settings
- Adjustable standard load settings, plus a "custom" position for a custom installed load resistor
- Discrete, class-A, zero-feedback gain stage (similar to what we use  for the Isabellina dac's output stage), followed by the same tubed output stage as the Isabella (1 pair of 6922/6DJ8s).
- SLA battery operation with SMART module and rapid charger
- Similar enclosure as the Isabella, with sliding glass window on top for easy tube rolling.
- Product name to be determined
(perhaps "Signature Phono" or "Isabella Phono", or how about "Phonabella"  )
- Price to be determined, and we are shooting for a release date in December of this year.

For speakers, we'll have the exceptional WLM La Scala Monitors, and the WLM Diva Monitors - they will sit on custom-made Skylan Stands.

The Isabella will feature the built-in Isabellina dac, and we'll show off how good computer audio sounds via the USB output of a Macbook as transport.

For amplification, we'll have the Signature 30.2 power amp.

RWA Interconnects and speakers cables will also be used.

Our room will be professionally sound-treated by RealTraps!  aa


Other fun stuff!

Isabellina DAC drawing!

We will have a drawing for a new Isabellina dac, or $2500 credit towards the purchase of any RWA product or pair of WLM Loudspeakers:
http://www.redwineaudio.com/Products.html

We'll have cards for you to fill out your name, email address, and shipping address.  These will go into a box, and we'll pick a winner at the end of the show.  Once we return, we'll contact the winner and ship the goods  

Show Specials

For those looking to get a great price on the equipment that we'll have on demo (which is less than 1 month old, and all burned-in, and in new condition), please email me (vinnie@redwineaudio.com) privately.  

NOTE: Show specials require that you are available at the end of the show on Sunday to pay for AND pick-up up the gear.  Otherwise, it ships back with me  

Hope to see you there!

Vinnie

[jrebman]

Ah, even more reasons to stop by the RWA room

See you there!

-- Jim

[6rs]

Vinnie
Thanks for the good news, and good luck for the show!
Are there any plans to offer the phono stage as an upgrade to Isabella, or is it designed to work in a separate case only?
Thanks!

[Vinnie R.]

Vinnie
Thanks for the good news, and good luck for the show!
Are there any plans to offer the phono stage as an upgrade to Isabella, or is it designed to work in a separate case only?
Thanks!

Hi 6rs,

Thanks!

It will most likely only be a stand-alone unit, but we explore what is possible with getting it into the Isabella (space is at a premium in there!  ).

I'll post updates as they become available....

Vinnie

[Mariusz]

That  is a great news Vinnie.
I am in ..........all the way.   

But first, the wish list and "Q" :
* Does it has ability to drive carts like Denon 103R?
* Gain ....I assume is the same as the one in Isabella?
* Instead of two settings gain switch why not go for broke and have the volume control .....sort of......and enough gain to do without dedicated preamp.
At least as an option (at extra cost) for purists and hard core analog junkies.
* at extra cost - headphone amp option.
* Bella...??????? Sounds good, very good- makes sense, goes well with the whole line.
* Price....???????? Now , that is something that we all are waiting to find out but -
- if you are going to price Bella phono at or around the asking price of Isabellina....., I would say go for it and it is going to sell. Add headphone option, volume and specific loading at extra cost.
- A courtesy discount for faithful costumers.....would be very nice and appreciated.
* and finally, when we will be able to actually put our hands on one of these.

I can hardly wait.   

P.S

I will finish my two single driver designs by the end of the year ....as well as the Lenco direct drive  turntable project along with Red Devil and modify MMF7.
If you are going to release the Bella phonostage around that time, I will be most then happy to host the special analog Rave at my house.........no digital this time.

What do yo say Vinnie ?????


Best
Mariusz 

[Vinnie R.]

Hi Mariusz,

Does it has ability to drive carts like Denon 103R?

Yes

Gain ....I assume is the same as the one in Isabella?

Yes, like the Isabella there will be a low/high gain switch (for MM/MC).  The amount of gain (dBs) will
not be the same as the Isabella - it will be higher because this is a phonostage

Instead of two settings gain switch why not go for broke and have the volume control .....sort of......and enough gain to do without dedicated preamp.

The volume control would add more complexity and add to the signal path - this is not our goal here.  We rather offer low/hi gain settings for MM/MC, as well as adjustable loading.  This should work with over 95% of cartridges out there.

Also, we want to use the tube output stage in this design - it sounds too good not to use here - especially on SLA battery power! 

* at extra cost - headphone amp option.

Now that would definitely require a volume control 

if you are going to price Bella phono at or around the asking price of Isabellina....., I would say go for it and it is going to sell

While the final pricing has not yet been set, I'll be upfront and say it is going to be quite a bit more expensive than the Isabellina dac. 

A courtesy discount for faithful costumers.....would be very nice and appreciated.

Absolutely! 

and finally, when we will be able to actually put our hands on one of these.

We're aiming to have this in production towards the end of this year.  There is no formal release date - it will be out when it is ready, and it  will exceed expectations 

If you are going to release the Bella phonostage around that time, I will be most then happy to host the special analog Rave at my house.........no digital this time.

What do yo say Vinnie ?????

Count me in!!!


Thanks for post,

Vinnie

[Profbratsch]

- Product name to be determined
(perhaps "Signature Phono" or "Isabella Phono", or how about "Phonabella"  )

Vinnie,

You could call it the "Port-a-bella".  After all, once you introduce the prototype at the RMAF orders will undoubtedly mushroom. 

[Mariusz]

Thank you Vinnie for the scoop on your new phono stage.
It all looks good so far.......now , what is left is to hear what it can do.
That......"a bit more" however,  scares me ....just a bit though.

Have fun at the RMAF

Regards
Mariusz

[Vinnie R.]

All,

Just a coupling of things:

1) Regarding the upcoming RWA Phono Stage, we will not be using the name "Bella" because Response Audio uses this name for their products and we do not want to cause any confusion.  The name "Isabella" in the product name is fine, and perhaps even "Bellissima" 

2) As for the RMAF show specials, we really do not want to have to ship the speakers and electronics back home, so we'll be offering really good pricing on show demo gear (this includes the WLM speakers, stands, and RWA electronics - except for the phonostage prototype  ).  Everything is less than 1 month old and well broken-in, but in like-new condition (assuming FedEx doesn't trash it!  ), and we rarely have demo pricing on gear.

Cheers,

Vinnie

[jwes]

Hi Vinnie,

Don't know the right thread to ask this question - hope this works!

Do you know whether there is going to be a final review (or listening impressions) of the Isabella on 6moons?  The only reason I ask is that I see they've been back in operation for a while now, but the review seems to be the same as it was quite a while ago.  No big deal, just curious...

Any other professional reviews out there?  Thanks!

[Vinnie R.]

Do you know whether there is going to be a final review (or listening impressions) of the Isabella on 6moons?  The only reason I ask is that I see they've been back in operation for a while now, but the review seems to be the same as it was quite a while ago.  No big deal, just curious...

Hi jwes,

Yes, 6moons will be finishing the Isabella review soon. 

The review got delayed because Srajan of 6moons moved from Cyrus to Switzerland and his large container of audio equipment was nearly lost (but thankfully recovered!), so it was delayed a few weeks.  Of course he needed time to set-up and calibrate his listening room (and his whole house for that matter - moving is a lot of work!), and then he became busy with a few Industry trips in September (Serbia), followed by the Milan audio show in Italy.  He also had another review or two to finish up.  He mentioned to me via email that he is back in the review process, so it should be coming soon enough..

Any other professional reviews out there?  Thanks!

YES - Jeff Dorgay has been reviewing the Isabella and the review will be out in THIS MONTHS issue (October) of Tone Audio!


Hopefully you will also see some show coverage of the RWA room at RMAF - starting this Friday 


Best regards,

Vinnie

 

[jwes]

Hi Vinnie,

Well, I guess ask and you shall receive (sometimes).  Great review!  Here's the link:

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/redwine10/isabella.html

[Vinnie R.]

All,

I'm leaving tomorrow to head to RMAF and will be back on Tuesday of next week.  I'll try my best to responsd to emails in the evenings (if I'm not at the bar  )
and post pics taken with my iPhone. 

The phonostage prototype sounds awesome!  It is using the same front panel as the Isabellina dac, the top cove of the Isabella (sliding glass window for the tubes) and the back panel was all drilled out by me as a prototype.  I did not get the chance to install the adjustable loading switch - but that feature will be there in the production model     Again, this is just a prototype for all the hear and get an idea what a RWA battery powered, tubed phonostage can sounds like 

See you all there!

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

All,

It's close to midnight here on Sunday at RMAF and I just wanted to thank all of you who came to visit our room and say hello.  Like many shows, I enjoyed meeting new faces as well as seeing those who I've met before. 

I received a lot of really nice feedback from many who stopped by to listen - I'm glad everyone had a good time at the show!  I looked at the pictures of our room that I took with my iPhone (no flash) and they were really dark, so I won't bother posting them here.

The RWA phonostage prototype sounded fantastic with the Scheu Diamond turntable and feeding into the Isabella!  The WLM La Scala and Diva Monitors were a great choice for the small room that we were in (approx. 13' x 15') - very tight and controlled bass and the Real Traps really improved the sound of hotel room, which by itself is pretty aweful sounding   

Thanks to Noel Nolan of Skylan Stands for making custom stands for the two WLM monitor models. 

Also, thank you to all the members of the Press who stopped in our room.

Stephen Mejias of Stereophile was one of the first to visit our room right before the show started on Friday, and was very kind to mention us in his first RMAF 2008 blog entry:
http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2008//index2.html

Here is a pic from Stephen's blog:



There were lots of camera flashes going off and hopefully more pics will be posted online soon...

CONGRATULATIONS to Josh of Lakewood, CO - winner of the Isabellina dac give-away drawing!  He has already been contacted and sounds very excited that we'll be shipping his Isabellina this coming week 

I'll post more soon (one of our visitors recommended that I post a list of music that we played at the show - great idea and I'll hopefully get it done this coming week) - I need to get to bed.  Tomorrow is the big trip back home.

Thanks again!

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

All,

I'm finally home from RMAF and doing my best to catch up with orders, emails, voicemails, etc.

I apologize for the delay and thanks for all your patience.

Sincerely,

Vinnie

[Randy]

Vinnie,
  Sorry I missed you. I was going to drive down from up here in Wyoming to say hi, but woke Sunday a.m. to snow and icy roads, so stayed home. I am still thrilled with the 30.2 and the Sony discman and Ken's battery pack for it. Sounds great. I was going to bring the discman down to see how it sounds through the Isabella. That would have been interesting. Have you tried it? I also wanted to hear the WLM speakers. Best of luck with them and all your gear.

Randy

[Canyoneagle]

Welcome back home, Vinnie, and 'grats on the show.

Sadly, I was unable to make it this year.  I am planning to come next year, however, and look forward to finally meeting you (if you are there) and the many other AC'ers .

As I type, my iMod is spinning some gorgeous tunes thru the 30/30.2 and the MaxHemps.

Cheers,
Michael

[Zero]

Hey Vinnie -  I was great to meet ya face to face for the first time!  You had some good sound in the room!  Congrats on the success - here's to hoping we will talk again soon! 

[jrebman]

Vinnie,

An idea for the phono stage:  How about a power plug for the Scheu TT DC motors?  At least as an option for those folks who have an appropriate table?

Does the Cello have an optional DC motor too?

Once again, I was really impressed with that analog setup.

-- Jim

[Mariusz]

Vinnie............like I told you over the phone, I AM PISSED. 
You know why, don't you? 

Mariusz