Dear friends: There are somethings that belongs to this thread and that help to understand the Essential 3150 quality performance:
- the Essential was not designed thinking in any one of you ( with all my respect to any one of you ), it is designed thinking in us ( Jose and I ), we designed for us wanting to have a better ( non compromise ) quality music/sound reproduction, over any other single electronics out there, that could bring out in our audio system what is really on the recording and to be nearer ( not so far away ) to the live event. This whole target was a huge challenge and was our motivation to build the Essential and to be here after almost 12 years of work about.
- We make an " in deep " electronic research theories for the Essential design/lay-out to find the right way where ( through the electronic design ) we could achieve our whole Essential targets. We use not only our know-how and skills about but the whole know-how that already exist out there. I want to tell you that from the Essential design we already start with three patented electronic design process. The Essential is a unique Phonolinepreamp.
- we check/test several parts: bipolars, Fets, resistors, caps, etc, etc, to find not only which was the best way to integrate those single parts on the whole Essential design but which parts had/have the most neutral " sound " performance. We don't choose and we was not looking for the " higher price " ( marketing ) parts but for the best neutral ones.
- we design ( for the most part José ) with out any commercial compromomise our compromise is only with the MUSIC. That's why the Essential is an active high gain ( no step up transformers that degrade the signal quality ) Phonolinepreamp integrated unit ( no additional interconnect cables and connectors that degradedd the signal quality ).
- we design with non signature sound in mind: warm/smooth/clear/etc, etc., we don't manipulated the Essential design to a signature kind of sound: tube/sound/hybrid " sound " ) and you can hear it because the SS Essential design has not the typical SS sound.
- now, the Essential design is not unique only because we say so. I'm not a " specification lover " but I take the " numbers " where they really counts.
Here are only some Essential critical specs:
inverse RIAA eq deviation: 0.015db from 20 to 20kHz !!!!. This one help to the Essential to be " truer to the recording " fact like no any single ( commercial or not at any price ) phonolinepreamp out there.
flat frequency response from: 0.01Hz to 1mHz.
overall distortion: 0.0002%
common mode rejection: -150db!!!
- other Essential considerations: our design is a Non-feedback, direct coupled, pure class A , true balanced input to output, dual mono design and fully regulated input to output. This dual mono design only share the chasis but both channels are totally independent from each other even in the external power supply that is so important to the performance on our phonolinepreamp.
The signal through the Essential not even not pass through any caps but even not pass through any single piece of wire because all parts ( including connectors ) are soldered directly to the 4 layers circuit boards. Btw, we use a 4 layer boards in the Essential design because is the only right way to design true segmented ground plane.
- the Essential design is a current mode one : The advantages of this extraordinarily simple technique are:
1) The volume control attenuates the audio signal and the stage noise at the same time, resulting in outstanding signal-to-noise ratios and dynamic range.
2) For every volume position, there is only one resistor defining the quality of the amplified signal (even a high-quality stepped attenuator has two resistors per position). This is one of our " unique design approach ".
As high-quality resistors are within the most sonically transparent devices available, the output signal is an exact replica of the input, only differing by an amplifying factor. The result is a phonopreamplifier combining the purity and transparency of a passive preamplifier with the speed, dynamics and drive of an active preamplifier. Btw, almost all the preamplifiers out there change its frequency response every time you move the volume: the Essential don't, the Essential frequency response is always the same it does not matters of the volume pot position!!!
Well, with the Essential ( all of us ) we have not only a " truer to the recording " Phonolinepreamp but a very critical/critic tool that for the better or worst tell you if everything is ok in your audio system or if there is/are some issues about.
When we own the Essential and we are hearing it we have to think seriously if our audio system today set-up is really right on target. The Essential could help you to make this because its almost inexistent noise/distortions/colorations.
The Essential " leaves " the music/sound flows freely with all music/sound feelings and emotions.
Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.