The Amber Amplifier
Our newest amplifier model is called Amber Amp because it contains almost entire Amber Dac inside, becoming a very unique product in our portfolio. The Amber Amp is essentially a power DAC, able to drive speakers directly with a very hefty power of 12 W Per Channel.
Amber Amp eliminates the need of three separate components: the DAC, the preamplifier and the power amplifier. This integration is the key to phenomenal sound quality: the sound is much better than the sum of identically built DAC, preamp and amp.
We also eliminate two sets of interconnects and two power cables. Not to mention shelf space and electrical bill.
How is this possible? Isn't it “just DAC and amp squeezed together in one box?”
The answer is : by all means no. The unique idea is to avoid a scenario where a naturally balanced DAC chip has its balanced differential outputs summed together after the chip, then sent by cables to the amp and then falsely balanced again in order to drive the phase-split differential amp output.
Simply speaking: what is unbalanced - cant be balanced again. It is an irreversible process similar to grinding meat. Once you grind the steak, you can’t make it a steak again. It is a burger.
The combination of push-pull triode circuit and differential native DAC signals is just begging to happen. We can eliminate three biggest evils in hi-fi circuits: amplifier phase splitter, DAC phase mixer and interconnect cables. Three birds with one stone.
The result is a cross breed between a 3K dollar DAC with 4K dollar amp that sounds better than 10K combo and cost 5K.
Summarizing: this product is almost too good to be true. It has power, authority and bass normally associated with 30 WPC amps. It has the soundstage and the space normally associated with much more sophisticated gear. It is lively, transparent and a lot of fun.
TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS
•USB input (PCM only) good till 384 kHz / 24 bit
• Analog XLR balanced inputs
•WBT speaker terminals
• 4 and 8 Ohm output taps, 400% oversized output transformers
• fully balanced differential 4x phase signals from input to output
• No SPDIF, no RCA analog, no DSD
• Volume control with switched discrete stepped resistor ladder.
• EL84 output in pure urtralinear mode and no phase splitters, auto-bias
• ECC 99 pure triode, differential tube input stage
• 12 WPC, consumption 150 W.
• Dimensions of BIG chassis type: WHD = 43cm x 13 cm x 52 cm
• Concealed tubes.
•Weight 30 kilograms
Starting at 4,000 Euro