Look what I have found ...

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Looking at the way we're hijacking each others thread ... UNINTENTIONALLY ( what else can you expect from a bunch of ICE mad loonies ), here's a place where we can post everything from new stuff, new development, ICE gears of all kinds and just chat ICE in general.Here's one for WJ ..... look what I've stumbled across, man ... http://cgi.ebay.com/Blade-Audio-SE4-4-Brax...1QQcmdZViewItemCheers,

 

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Adire Audio Tumult .... Monster Sub !!!!

The Tumult. Since its inception it has been the pinnacle of subwoofers. And the latest incarnation continues that heritage. Simply put, nothing compares to the Tumult. Available in 12", 15", and 18" sizes with dual 4 and dual 2 Ohm voice coil options. The highest performance, world-class sound quality with our patent-pending XBL2 TM motor, amazing build quality. The ultimate subwoofer.

Take the idea of the Brahma - one of the greatest car audio woofers available today - but build a driver for the more extreme. Add a bit more Xmax, more power handling, and other changes needed for use in home. What do you get? Tumult. Tumult is simply the most displacement you can buy, period. Capable of a LINEAR 34mm of one-way excursion, this 15" driver features a low Fs, mid-value Qes, and small Vas. With input from hundreds of dedicated DIYers about their desire for applications for this beast, Tumult excels in IB, sealed box, Linkwitz Transform, and other high-quality installations. With over 5 LITERS of linear displacement, one does not need to turn to vented or PR systems to get high SPL bass (of course, if you choose to use a vented or PR based design, you simply get astounding levels of output).

Best of all, Tumult uses Adire's patent-pending XBL2 motor technology. This new motor design yields the flattest BL curve of any motor design. And a flatter BL curve means lower distortion, and reduced dynamics compression. Truer to the signal - better sound. And contrary to what some claim, it doesn't sacrifice ANY BL or motor strength; in fact, the Tumult has more motor strength than just about any car or home audio driver available today.

Each Tumult subwoofer features a cast 12 spoke aluminum basket. Dual stacked magnet slugs. All steel cut from ultra-low carbon 1008 grade (not 1012 or 12L14 like most other manufacturers use). Custom wound 3" diameter 4 layer copper voice coil using an aluminum former. Treated thick paper cone with matching dustcap. Heavy foam surround. Rubber mounting gasket. And legendary Adire engineering throughout.

 

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One of the finest car audio drivers in the market today ... courtesy of E. Skaaning himself ...... a work of a genius

Audiotechnology is a family owned company founded by Ejvind and Per Skaaning with production facilities situated in Stilling, Denmark. For the uninitiated, Ejvind Skaaning was the founder of both the world famous Danish speaker companies. He founded Scan-Speak in 1969 & founded Dynaudio in 1976 where he stayed till 1987. Both gentlemen are very highly respected figures within the European and Danish audio fraternity.

The C-Quenze mid unit

C-Quenze drivers are based on the same technology as the Flexunits, but use a solid die cast basket instead of the modular basket used in Flexunits. This precludes customized basket dimensions – only inhouse C-Quenze cones or cones with a similar height can be used.

The best part of energy during development was put into refinement of the performance in the midrange area. All the materials used, were specially picked to obtain the trustworthiest midrange reproduction. The drivers are extremely fast and move without any dynamic compression due to the mechanical construction. Where needed, they are still able to make adjustments regarding the T/S parameters as well as the physical parameters – FX. Voice coil winding length, magnetic gap height and magnet sizes.

The features such as: SD system, Kapton voice coil former and under hung motor structure are still available in the C-Quenze drivers. Hexacoil voice coil winding technique is used. The high ventilation factor through the centre pole piece, under the rear suspension and the perforation to the voice coil, are naturally kept intact, enabling the moving system to accelerate without any compression. Frequency response curves in the C-Quenze drivers have been improved, compared to the Flexunits.

Part no. - C-Quenze 18 H 52 17 06 SD

Resonance frequency - fs: 40 Hz
Equivalent volume - Vas: 28,5 liter
Qms 1,8
Qes 0,39
Qts 0,32

Nominal impedance - Zn 8/4 W
DC resistance - re: 5,6 W
Effective cone area - Sd: 137 cm2
Compliance – Cms: 1,09 mm/N
Mechanical resistance – Rms: 2,04 kg/s
Moving mass – mms: 14,6 g
Inductance 1 KHz – Le: 0,13mH
Force factor – Bl: 7,3
Winding height – Hc: 17 mm
Air gap height – Hg: 6 mm
Nominal power – Pn: 150 W
Acceleration factor: 499
Efficiency – SPL: 89 dB

Price : USD 511.00 a piece from Madisound.

Cheers,

 

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Saw a post on an old flame on Ebay ... the exquisite hybrid tube amp from the wonderful folks at US Amps (prior to the buy out) who happens to be one of best super high-end amp manufacturers based Florida, US. Their old school products were the stuff of legends and lovingly put together using only the best components available with cutting edge technology and sold in limited markets. The pursuit for numbers .... both in terms of financial returns and sales figures have sadly taken precedent these days and there may never be one like this baby ...
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US Amps TU-4360 Hybrid Tube Amplifier.

Conventional amplifiers use the same component(s) to amplify voltage and current from a "line" or preamp level to an audible "speaker" level. This includes the introduction of part of the signal slightly out of "time alignment" for the purpose of retarding high frequency response, thus stabilizing the overall circuit. These "Negative Feedback" loops can be local (contained to one critical part of the circuit), or global (pertaining to the audio output as a whole).

The introduction of negative feedback is detrimental to sound quality as it introduces a certain "harshness" into the character of the sound. This is particularly true in fast-switching transistor circuits that already contend with the emphases of odd-order harmonics that are a product of their design. Tube circuits generally fare somewhat better in the presence of negative feedback. The higher voltage and slower operating speed of a tube naturally emphasizes pleasing even-order harmonics.

Traditional tube amplifiers produce high voltage which is excellent for transience, attack, transparency, and staging, but are severely limited by the amount of current available to drive speakers. The final stage of a traditional tube amplifier is an "output transformer" which transforms some of the voltage energy into current. The resultant signal is better suited to drive an audio loudspeaker, but a great deal of the original tube dynamics and frequency response are lost forever.

With our VTCSD (Vacuum Tube Current Sync Drive) input signal is fed DIRECTLY into the tube. There are no solid state gain stages or processors in the signal path. The original high voltage tube signal is joined by a null-gain current "following" circuit that is pulled to the voltage rails by an opposing pair of "current syncs", providing a sort of "amplifier power steering" to deliver speaker-driving power without taxing the character of the original tube voltage content.

Specs

TU-4360 - Four Channel Class A Amplifier
Direct Tube Input / No Onboard X-Overs
Oversized MOSFET Power Supply
Total Power Output: 360 Watts RMS
THD at Rated Power: 100dBA
Frequency Response: 15Hz-50KHz +/-0dB
Fuse Rating: 40 Amps
Dimensions: (Including Terminals)

62mm / 2.44in High
229mm / 9.0in Wide
368mm / 14.50in Long

Weight: 3.63kg / 8.00lb
Two Ohm Stable
75 Watts x 4 into 4 Ohms
90 Watts x 4 into 2 Ohms

And just how does this baby look like naked ??? See the attached pic ...

Cheers,

VaN.

P/S - BTW, I'm bidding for her .... keeping my fingers crossed.