Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!

Darren Myers is a Development Engineer at PS Audio. He started his career designing products for Bowers & Wilkins and Classé Audio. His favorite activities include listening to music, attending concerts, DIY audio, and hiking. He lives in the Boulder area with his wife Amanda and his dog Bode.

For those unaware of Darren's work, he has designed the following components: 

-S300 Stereo Amplifier

-M700 Monoblocks

-M1200 Monoblocks

-Stellar Phono Preamp 

Zoom Login information: 

Darren Meyers of PS Audio Q&A: Wed. May 6 @ 7:00pm (8:00pm Colorado Time) 60 to 90min. max.
Topic: Darren Meyers Q&A
Time: May 6, 2020 07:00 PM Arizona

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John Curl is one of the most respected circuit designers of all time and the creative genius behind Parasound’s high end audio and home theater amplifiers. Since the mid 1970s he has left a trail of landmark hardware across the industry ... the classic Mark Levinson JC-2, the SOTA head amplifier, and his own Vendetta preamplifier. Each of the 200 or so Vendettas is a hand-built work of art that is treasured by its owners.

Curl's first job as an audio engineer was at Ampex where he worked on the design of tape recorders. Later he was involved in that company's pioneering research on video tape recorders. From there Curl moved into the rock and roll business, designing and building the sound systems for The Grateful Dead's road shows. As an independent consultant, Curl has worked dozens of projects both in pro audio and home audio; making master recorders, studio boards, microphone preamps, power amplifiers and many other products.

In 1989 John Curl was introduced to Parasound's founder, Richard Schram and since then, Curl has designed all of Parasound's high-power amplifiers and consulted on the design of the low-level circuits of many of its other components.

Curl earned the respect of everyone at Parasound by being somewhat conservative and uncompromising in his approach to circuit topology and component selection. He insists on using only the finest parts and balanced circuits. He avoids the use of capacitors and inductors in the circuit path. On the other hand, he has learned to avoid the excesses of design that can turn a great design into an overly-expensive design exercise. Curl and Parasound are dedicated to delivering products that offer very high value at a reasonable prices.

"He wouldn't last a week in a mass market receiver factory," says Schram. "The accountants would probably reject every part he picked because it cost too much. At the same time, he knows how to make a very, very good product at what we consider to be a reasonable price."

PS Audio is manufacturing and selling my DSD DAC as the PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream DAC.

I've designed and built my high end DAC and it sounds pretty darn good.

Jason Stoddard; Co-founder of Schiit Audio (Thurs. 4/23 @ 7:00pm)

Schiit got started in 2010 when two audio industry veterans decided it was time to shake things up a bit. The two audiophiles are Jason Stoddard, formerly of Sumo, and Mike Moffat, formerly of Theta. Together, they have designed dozens of audio and A/V products, from the Andromeda III to the Cobalt 307 to the DS Pre and Angstrom 200.

1. How did you come to be attracted to the audio world?

Parents enjoyed music. Experimented in his youth by building his own diy gear.

1st pair of speakers were of cardboard enclosures.

 RJ-At UC Davis, had a circle of friends with far higher quality equipment than his. This got the ball rolling. Roomed with 3 other guys and they were able to combine all sets to play as one.

2. What do you see as Audio's biggest achievement in the past 40 years?

Overall he felt it had to be the introduction of the CD.

3. Where do you believe the biggest need exists for improvement in the HiFi world?i.e. Recommend a goal that would most please you.

Not able to answer. He did state that he is pleased with the trend by speaker manufacturers toward building more efficient speakers.

4. How would you describe why listening to music is important in your life?
    Not asked

5. Tell us about the "Best System you ever heard"?

     Could not answer. (Sworn to secrecy by the Royal Family)?

6. When you had built a new product to be included in your company's line,did you make all the voicing decisions or was it done more by committee?

   He relied on others mostly. Former partner now deceased, Joe Sammut had a great ear

   and taught listening skills to other employees. They employ about 7 matched speakers

   in different locations so comparisons on any new products are accurate.

6. A. Can you recall the funniest incident situation you have been a part of in this business?

   Not asked although he did relate other funny tidbits

7. Who in this industry do you most admire, living or not?

   Not inclined to answer this one as well. Practical fellow he is.

8. What accomplishment are you most proud of in the audio industry?

  Matching components to their best use.

9. What do you think is this industry's biggest "Dirty Little Secret"?i.e. What bothers you about the practice , direction or ? of the industry?

   Not asked

10. What do you perceive as the greatest challenge facing the audio world today?
  RJ- He did discuss the trend toward higher efficiency in speakers which, in turn, makes building better amps easier (lower power easier than higher power). Along with that, he talked about lower power amps requiring less/fewer feedback loops, which reinforces his tendency toward simplicity in design.

11. Have you spent any time studying the human ear and its functionality in order to assist   you in your audio work?

  Yes he has. Read Dr. Diana Deutch - primarily known for the illusions of music and speech that  she discovered.  Knows Dr. Steven Dear. Studied relationship between hearing and perception.

12. Talk about the passion you must have to be successful in your field?

  Not asked but touched on in other responses

13. How did your past life experiences prepare you for your current endeavors?

  Not asked

14. What will be the next product you plan to release?

  Asked. Response was a smiling nod toward the opposite end of his desk where a pile of gear lie.    Not sharing at this time. He did explain that some recent successes from First Watt are being incorporated into the Pass line.

15. Have you ever pursued inquiries with the defense department to see what new technologies they may have developed which bear on the Audio world?

  Not asked

Members:

From Keith McDonald

1. What are the advantages/disadvantages of the McIntosh “autofomer”? (This circuit supposedly maintains uniform power output into different loads, rather than changing with the load.) Do Pass designs incorporate such a feature, and why or why not?

A challenge to recall with any precision but I recall Nelson saying that when McIntosh changed from tubes to transistors the autoformers were required to make transistor sound more acceptable. They are a circuit that provides consistent power into 4-, 8- and 16 ohm loads,

but it had its own sonic signature.

 From Peter Eichen  
1. How has your philosophy changed over the years with respect to power amp design/circuit design/parts section?  

Per his philosophy, circuit improvements have the biggest effects so that's primarily what he experiments with to improve the amps sound.

We also asked about the XA25 and the INT25 successes and why he felt it was so. He said simplified topography was part of it. I was surprised to learn that these are not his largest

selling items. That honor goes the First Watt SIT3. Soon to be out of production as Nelson's unobtainiam supply of special parts is about used up for this product. Also one of his parts suppliers had the nerve to close its doors. So the SIT3 may be one to add to your collection

if you are so inclined.

Mr. Pass shared a funny joke too. I was too busy reading ahead to recall it though.

A drunk lost his keys...

RJ-The joke was also an anecdote. It goes something like this... “a cop found a drunk stumbling under around under a streetlight and looking at the ground. The cop asked the drunk what he was doing. “Looking for my keys” the drunk replied. “Where do you think they are?” the cop asked. “Oh, they’re up the street, but the light is better here”. The analogy for Nelson is the streetlight is our know tests and measurements and the keys are the reasons we hear what we do. At least, that’s how I interpreted it.

Nelson Pass was very kind and generous to share his evening with us.

Thank you so much on behalf of the Arizona Audio/Video Club.

Stay well.

You are a National Treasure!