Description of Carina Options
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Voicing 1 - This is the stock configuration of the amplifier,
and uses a specific mix of componentry types and values, including the highly acclaimed
Mundorf Supreme/Silver in Oil interstage coupling capacitors and Riken Ohm resistors.
You will find Voicing 1 to provide a well-balanced presentation, that combines classic
tube warmth and richness with very high resolution and plenty of speed and slam;
the best of both worlds. Subtle textures and nuances are clearly rendered, as are
all the little microdynamics and microdetails that make the music sound and "feel"
like music. Voicing 1 is nothing less than spectacular with most digital and vinyl
sources.
Voicing 1 avoids a major pitfall that plagues most amplifiers having a truly liquid
midrange quality, which is their tendency to make everything sound the same. They
make bad recordings sound better, but in the process also keep really good recordings
from sounding their best, basically squeezing everything into a "sound-alike
mode." With Voicing 1, good recordings will sound VERY good indeed, yet bad
recordings and source components will be palatable.
Voicing 2 - This achieves maximum resolution with slightly
less warmth and richness than Voicing 1, for those who want a highly "accurate"
sound with absolute transparency and neutrality. Regardless of its nearly unbelievable
resolution, it's still creamy and fluid, with zero harshness or glare in the mid
and high frequencies. It achieves its signature by using some different componentry
types than Voicing 1, including Audio Note tantalum film resistors and the critically
acclaimed VH Audio V-Cap TFTF Teflon/tin foil interstage coupling capacitors, widely
regarded as some of the best sounding, highest resolution caps ever made.
Voicing 2 is mercilessly revealing of your source component, preamp, interconnects, and recording. It will completely unmask and reveal everything upstream from it, good or bad, warts and all! Although the Carina in this form is most definitely still very smooth and flowing, it is rather unforgiving in that it will not make a poor digital source or bad recording sound better the way a warmer sounding, lower resolution amplifier will. On the flip side of the coin, good recordings played on a good source are downright magical sounding. If you have a hi-end digital source or a good turntable and phono stage, Voicing 2 will allow them to shine through in all their glory, without restrictions.
Bybee Purifiers - Bybee Purifiers are unique components that make a subtle but very positive effect on your sound. They have no measurable resistance or inductance, are sonically neutral and transparent, and introduce no colorations of their own.
(Signal Path) - In this option, a Bybee Slipstream Purifier is installed in each channel just before the volume control. The results are sharper focus, greater intelligibility, more air, and improved microdetail.
(Power Supply) - In this option, a Bybee Quantum Purifier is installed on each leg of the power transformer primary winding. The results are an incredibly black background, a very low noise floor, and an overall sense of refinement in the sound. If you're familiar with how much better tube audio equipment sounds late at night (when the incoming AC power is much cleaner than in the daytime during heavy usage hours), then the effects of this option can best be described as, "It gives you that late night 'bloom' 24 hour a day."
PSSS Output Transformers - PSSS stands for Partial Stranded Silver Secondary. Most all transformers are wound using copper wire, and our superb, custom Electra Print transformers are no exception. However, silver wire offers a significant advantage over copper in this particular service, in that it has 200% greater magnetic susceptibility. "Magnetic susceptibility" is a little-known term that quantifies how sensitive a given metal is to excitation by a magnetic field. Silver's extremely high magnetic susceptibility gives you the attributes of better microdetail, microdynamics, and coherency.
Because pure silver magnet wire does not exist as a stock item and must be custom made, it costs around $8000 USD for the minimum 10 lb. (4.5kg) quantity. Depending on the particular output transformers, it may cost around $1500 per pair to wind their secondary winding with silver. The PSSS uses a very finely stranded magnet wire (as fine as the hair on your head), with silver-plated copper strands. this gives you 90% of the sonic performance of pure silver at a fraction of the price.
Do note, the enhancement effect of silver is limited with output wattage into the speaker load. A silver-wound secondary works its magic at low output levels, where the output transformer's signal-resultant magnetic flux variations are low. As you turn up the volume control, the signal-resultant magnetic flux variations increase, the sonic differences between copper and silver diminish.
Therefore, solid silver or PSSS secondaries are recommended for speakers of 98dB/1W/1M or higher efficiency. PSSS is most advantageous with >100dB/1W/1M efficiency speakers, such as Oris Horns, Edgarhorns, Avantgardes, etc.
Handcrafted in America
Copyright © 2005 ~ 2008 Vaughn Audio. All Rights Reserved.