PBN Audio
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The Sound Station Please call to confirm a time, |
By Peter B.Noerbaek
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| ULTRA AUDIO's May 1, 2008 - PBN Audio Olympia-L Preamplifier and PBN Audio Mini-Olympia Power Amplifier... - Select Components Award - |
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| PBN AUDIO PRE-AMPLIFIERS |
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| The Olympia L & Olympia LX Pre-amplifiers are available in Black, Pewter Gray and PBN Gray faceplates |
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The essential difference between these two pre-amplifiers is that the LX produces about the purest signal in the industry. To do so its power supply incorporates two heavy-duty transformers and eight filtering chokes, far and away a higher standard than most competitive products. We do this is to feed the amplifier circuit the cleanest possible DC voltage. This ensures that you experience music in its purest form. This is not to say the Olympia L, with only one transformer, produces an inferior sound. Compared to other manufacturers, high-end pre-amplifiers, the L more than holds its own in its support of PBN‚ family of ultra high-end speakers. Both pre-amps literally remove any hint of electronics between the music and the listener. Our pre-amps are built to drive the most demanding cable/amplifier loads, Noerbaek explains. Without a pre-amp the audio dynamics will suffer. "Just good enough" is not good enough! Quality audio is not so much about what you hear as it is about what you don't hear. This is when signal purity matters. Filtering out pesky shadow sounds that disturb the ears is what it's all about. Noerbaek concludes: "This is when a great pre-amp shines. The road to audio nirvana is not paved with shortcuts." |
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TECHNICAL FEATURESOLYMPIA L PRE-AMPLIFIER
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OLYMPIA LX PRE-AMPLIFIER
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PBN AUDIO PHONO PRE-AMPLIFIERS |
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For aficionados of vinyl recordings, the challenge has always been to glean from each recording every nuance buried within the grooves. This not only includes the obvious audio detail, but also the warmth and realism they are noted to possess. Incorporating the GroveMaster Turntable in your audio system should be the starting point. The next step is to employ our dedicated phono pre-amplifier and power supply. Together this unique suite of components will shape and hone the faint signal emitted by your pickup into a fully-blossomed current filled with all the delicious bluster and tonal nuances you expect. Working in unison with your cartridge, the Olympia-P or PX will convert the delicate low-output signals into the natural sounding acoustics that lay hidden within your recording. Some would consider both of these pre-amplifiers overbuilt. Their power supplies alone are larger than those of most amplifiers. These amps allow you to optimize the low noise, accuracy and high gain required for achieving the absolute best dynamic range. The Olympia-P and PX were designed because they are the right components for the job. PBN is always about doing it right, every step of the way. If you are incorporating vinyl recordings into your audio pleasure, then do it right. Use the GrooveMaster and the components that will enrich the signal. We make them all ... and we make them right! |
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TECHNICAL FEATURES |
OLYMPIA-P PRE-AMPLIFIER
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OLYMPIA-PX PRE-AMPLIFIER
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| PBN AUDIO AMPLIFIERS |
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MINI-OLYMPIA AMPLIFIERUltra Audio's reviewer described the Mini-Olympia as delivering sound quality that is "…astonishingly vivid, full and gorgeous." The reviewer went on to say: "The Mini-Olympia is a small brute of an amp." He was referring to the fact that Noerbaek packed a lot of amp into a modest-sized, extremely versatile, two-channel amplifier. If you want to enjoy a deeper listening pleasure, the PBN family of components is the one to use and the Mini-Olympia Amplifier is the component to start with. It delivers 160 watts of clean power into an eight Ohm load per channel, which almost doubles into four Ohms. Ultra-Audio's reviewer ended his article by saying: "In terms of pure clarity, I've heard nothing better." |
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TECHNICAL FEATURES |
| • Two-Channel All-FET circuit design utilizing a 1500VA transformer • 200,000 uF power supply capacitance • 160 watts of clean power @ eight Ohm load per channel • High-quality onboard regulators in voltage gain section • Output stage features: eight pairs of closely matched output devices per channel • Inputs: Balanced, RCA and 75 Ohm BNC. Outputs: two sets of WBT™ binding posts per channel • Amplifier can be bridged into “Differential Mode” to supply close to 600 Watts into an eight Ohm load • Requires a fully differential pre-amplifier if used as a mono-block • High-quality 20 Amp power cord included • Size: 19 W x 8.25” H x 15” D • Weight: 80 pounds |
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| EBSA-1 AMPLIFIER |
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Consider the EB-SA1 the culmination in a continual evolution of efficiently-sized, optimal-performance amplifiers. Dimension-for-dimension, watt-for-watt, it simply does not get any better than this! With over 130 clean watts of power and an output stage that supports six pairs of devices per channel, this is the mightiest small amplifier in today’s marketplace. In total, it’s 95 pounds of high-octane audio power just waiting to be unleashed on your system. Consider this amplifier your ultimate audio destiny … for you will hear what you’ve never heard: The holy grail of audio nirvana. |
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Groove Master Turntable
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The revival of the LP vinyl record has inspired rethinking the traditional turntable. Through the many attempts, audiophile turntables either lack eye appeal or, if beautifully styled, fail the musical fidelity mark. The Groove Master represents a new paradigm in turntable design. At last a contemporary vinyl record player looks as good as the sound it delivers. “There is some indefinably pleasing quality about vinyl that CDs can’t quite measure up to,” Noerbaek explains. “It’s the warmth…the faint tracking one hears…and, above all, that extra timbre that lends depth to the audio”. |
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After years of intensive R&D, Noerbaek was able to perfect all the attributes of his Groove Master. Its two-motor counterbalanced dual drive renders absolute 33.333rpm.
Four belts are employed for maximumtraction. The solid wood base is honed from three laminated layers of select hardwoods. Lastly, the legendary SME™
312 twelve-inch audiophile tone arm is installed.
There is also a secret detail — the tone arm support. For this Noerbaek used a similar principle found exclusively in the world’s finest violins.
“The bridge that braces the strings is what gives milliondollar violins their astounding musical depth. I use equally rare woods for the tone arm support”.
Nothing has been spared. Noerbaek explains it this way: “You simply can’t take shortcuts if you truly want to deliver the finest audio quality.
PBN is about doing it right, all the time… not just some of the time!”
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