Is it me or is Hi-Fi getting even more over priced ?
Originally Posted by
RothwellAudio
Yes, I agree that there's a skill in producing a good sounding circuit but it doesn't have to result in an expensive circuit. I too think that 47 Labs just made very conventional op-amp circuits taken straight from the manufacturer's application notes and then added extreme amounts of marketing nonsense to justify incredibly high prices. The early examples weren't even well constructed.
It’s easy to scoff at the simplicity, but there was more to it than nicking an application note circuit, lots of unusual design practices at the time, the choice of terminals, PCB layout and transformers for example. It was all about the shortest possible signal path, taken to the extreme, and at the time this was pretty groundbreaking, which without 47 Lab, today’s Gainclone scene wouldn’t even exist.
...very expensive yes, but didn’t stop them from selling well.
EDIT: I think this quote from Pedja Rogic is relevant, and also helps explain why such simple circuits can have such different sound:
"It takes some time to understand this simple fact about modern linear power amp chips design: the chip is not the limiting factor. It can be anything. The limit is design around it."
Mana Acoustics Racks / Bright Star IsoNodes Decoupling >> Allo DigiOne Player >> Pedja Rogic's Audial Model S DAC + Pioneer PL-71 turntable / Vista Audio phono-1 mk II / Denon PCL-5 headshell / Reson Reca >> LFD DLS >> LFD PA2M (SE) >> Royd RR3s.