|
The Matisse ATOM Linestage is culmination of many years' research and
development. Our aim has been to produce equipment which not only
sounds excellent but is also inherently reliable. Early on in our
research we found that simple elegant circuit designs sound best.
They have an immediate and natural quality, in short more like listening
to real music and less like listening to electronics. Simple designs
have other benefits: Since there are fewer components, we have been able
to select the very best quality available, many of which have not been
previously used outside of military and aerospace applications. Top
quality components not only sound better, but since they are manufactured
to a higher standard offer far better long-term stability and reliability.
In many instances the components are manufactured for Matissse exclusively
to our specification.
If you would like to find out more about the Matisse design philosophy,
read the Technical Discussion. But what really counts is how it sounds,
and for that, all you need to do is connect it to your system.
|
|
| TECHNICAL | The ATOM Line Stage incorporates many features of the other Matisse
Preamplifiers. When we started the development program we built a
number of different prototypes. It would seem that the simpler the
circuit, the more we were able to hear improvements arising from build
quality. We therefore decided to adopt the simplest circuit which
met our technical aims, and to concentrate our research effort on component
quality and combination.
Our search for simplicity led us as it did many others to the vacuum tube. The vacuum tube is inherently more linear than solid state devices, and it is possible to build high gain circuits with as few as two tubes as we have done with the ATOM. With correct voltage management the operating life of the tube can be very long, depending of course on the quality of the tubes. Substituting different brands of tubes will significantly affect the sound of the Line Stage.. We use construction methods which ensure that the signal suffers least degradation. Our custom made board comprises a ground plane which helps to minimize radio frequency interference (RFI) and also minimizes stray capacitance effects. Cadmium loaded solder is used throughout, which is more conductive than silver solder. CAUTION: Cadmium loaded solder produces toxic fumes when molten - Servicing must be undertaken under clean air conditions. The Linestage uses high quality metal film and metal oxide resistors, with exceptional low noise and stability characteristics. The coupling capacitors in tube circuits can have a major effect on sound quality. After evaluating "audiophile" components, we selected a capacitor designed for pulse operation. These have a much better tolerance than can be offered generally by other types more commonly used in audio applications. Sonically, they are extremely neutral, uncolored and do not restrict the dynamics of a circuit. The Linestage features close tolerance, double-ganged plastic potentiometers made by Panasonic and Nobel, regarded by some to be the finest available of their Incomparable only to the ultimate switched-ladder attenuator, found in other more expensive Matisse models. The internal cable used in the Linestage is made especially for Matisse and comprises a high purity silver-clad solid core copper conductor with PTFE insulation. It is derived from cable used in aerospace applications. Incidentally, this is also available and recommended as interconnecting cable The power supply is an integral part of the Linestage design. It has been built with the same attention to detail as the audio section. The power supply is designed to not only provide a stable and noise-free voltage to the audio sections, but also to isolate each tube to prevent the different stages from interacting and to have a low impedance so that the Amplifier can draw current at all operating frequencies. We have used conventional solid-state regulators throughout for maximum reliability consistent with performance. The one hundred percent overrated transformer wound for low acoustic noise and radiation has been housed in a nu-metal can, the shielding properties of which ensure that all radiation is reduced to zero.
|
|
| SPECIFICATIONS | Stage Gain: 30dB
Distortion: -76dB 0.016% Noise: 98Db DINA, 4V Output: 160V Max Balance: 0.5dB Impedance In: 200K Ohm Nominal Impedance Out: 920 Ohm The Preamplifier used two tubes: 12AX7, 12AT7 |