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Analog Research-Technology
Electronics for Serious Audiophiles
NEWS
December, 2011
"The DAC is almost ready................"
Not, it's not. Had to order custom crystals. Q2, 2012.
Yeah,yeah, yeah............I hear you guys kvetching. When a big audio company delays introduction, and shipment, of their fancy DAC............because they are waiting on some exotic clock, that is ok. A bunch of schlumps like us do it...............no peace!
What would you rather have: peace, or something that sounds really good? If you only had one to choose from..........
Yeah, just what I thought.
Starting on, or about, January, 2012, we will no longer be able to supply the AR-T manufactured BNC cable, that we include, for free, with the Legato. Yep, the same butt-wads that made the U-Byte no longer available have done it again: no connectors. So, we will supply something else. What that will be, and how good (or bad) it will sound, is unknown, at this time. We are investigating lots of possible candidates.
On a better note...............
At the same time, we plan to provide phase noise plots, of the clock(s), in every product we ship. Name any other company that even provides a "typical phase noise" plot. Yeah, a very short list. Some of you don't believe some of our claims. Now, there will be proof. Not for the nay-sayers, and other forum pests, but for our valued customers. So, there!
The Veloce should be ready, January 2012. Didn't have to order custom crystals (at least not yet), but.............yeah, same problem as the DAC. Some companies buy something, from some other company, based on marketing claims, and shove it into their gear. We are stupid enough to actually measure the stuff, first. 'Nuf said.
So, now you know why it isn't ready, either. You can stop sending us hate mail, complaining how slow we are.
Oh, wait..................lookee here.............actual fan mail!
Yes, this is what the most recent word of thanks, we have received. He may not have been happy, with the wait, but he realized it was worth it.
"This morning I connected your interface and started listening music in a completely NEW DIMENSION!!! Never, never listen similar quality and details and musicality and smoothness and……..WOW!!! Simply astonishing, a lot of additional details, bass frequencies firm as never heard , how could you do it?"
If we told you, you probably wouldn't understand, and then we would still have to kill you!
No, we really don't want to kill you...................gee, we already have a hard enough time making money. If we started whacking our customers...........
(Luckily, the cousin we do employ is not the one that is half-Sicilian.)
Ciao!
October, 2011
The DAC is almost ready................see "Products" page.
August, 2011
One of our customers suggested we put this in reverse chronological order, so the first thing anyone would see isn't "April, 2007." Might lead some of you to conclude we have not updated it, in all that time.
We are amazed anyone actually reads this. Oh, well. Since you do, here is the latest:
The Veloce is almost ready to be released.
"Couldn't you dorks think up a better name, than some dumb eye-tie car that broke all the time?"
I suppose. But, if you don't like it, then don't buy it. Just for you, we may think up something even more ludicrous, for the next product. Speaking of which...........
The USB cleaner-upper gizmo is almost ready, as well. And it is going to be called..................wait for it..................drum roll, please................
The Cleaner
Kvetch all you want, but we held a contest, over at Audio Circle, and that is the name that won.
Turns out it was named after a character in the movie Pulp Fiction. Mr. Wolfe....The Wolf...........aka, The Cleaner.
Yeah, that is what we thought. We never saw the movie, either. Our marketing weenie/guru had to explain it to us.
Next time...............yeah, we go back to thinking up silly Italian names.
Ciao!
Oh, a couple of things.............since this counters something further down the page.......
The Veloce has an AES/EBU output, so we now have to make cables for that. Not that we want to, but we want to make sure anyone who uses that will have a decent cable. We had to look at a lot of cables, to find one we were happy with.
In the design process, the Veloce did have a word clock output. Even thought about making a word clock input, so it would work in unison with an imaginary DAC, we thought about making. (Turns out that was a lot more messy that making a word clock output.) So, if anyone wants one, with a word clock output, we have some proto PCBs, with that one that. Contact us, and we may make you a really good deal on one. Or, we may figure you have more money than us, and try to gouge you!
You would rather we lie? Oh, wait..................this is high-end audio............you are used to be lied to. And gouged! So, now that we all know where everyone stands, yes, we have a few PCBs, that we can use for 24/96 kHz USB-SPDIF doo-hickey. With a word clock output. (It is different, from the Veloce, in other ways, so we make now assurance how it stacks up.)
Speaking of which, yes, the Legato and Veloce do sound different. I know, because we have conducted many listening panels, to determine how it sounds. We did not specifically compare the two, but we did that, at one point. Just because I was the one conducting the panel does not mean I was actually paying any attention.
I wasn't, so there. Honestly. They are both good, or we would not make them. Yes, one may do something better than the other one does, but I would not advise making a buying decision, on what our listening panel says.
Seriously, we think the Legato is an excellent product. If all you care about is 44 kHz, then buy it. If you really, really really need 96 kHz, you are going to have to shell out the extra $. The profit margin on the Legato is too small, for us to continue, selling that exclusively. But, that is not your problem. While we barely make money on it, we have no plans to stop making it. In fact, that only makes us (ok, in this case, I should say "me") want to find ways to make it better.
The only thing you should worry about is how long it is going to be, before "we" make your Legato passe.
Only if we announce the price is going up. If we do that......................yep, major upgrade. Or, call it "Legato II".
"So, if you don't jack up the price, there won't be any upgrades?"
Didn't say that. Only that it won't be a major upgrade. That little number, at the front of the serial number..........the one that indicates build number...............how do you know there has not been any changes, all along?
Oooops..............did I say that............uh, never mind. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.........everyone go home now..............nothing to see here.
Oh, one last item......since this was really intended as just a section for us to stick our private jokes, and see who writes "I have no idea what your News section is all about. Would you care to share it, with the rest of the world?"
In the immortal words, of the late, great, Jimmy Carl Black, Indian (and drummer) of the group:
"Hey, when am I going to get paid?"
May, 2011
For those of you who have mistakenly stumbled upon this.............
Other than Ron. If he is reading this, it would be nice to hear from you more often than once every 4 years or so
Ok, the rest of you..............let's see.....................
Working on a USB isolator. Something that will not only provide galvanic isolation, but also 500 mA, of clean (isolated) power.
"Great! How much better does it make things sound?"
Well, to be honest...............no idea.
"What? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. How can you sell something like that, if you have no idea how much better it will sound?"
Well, partly because we don't make any products that need USB power.
"OK, wise-guy............how much does it improve the products you do make, that don't need USB power?"
Fair question. Enough of a difference to convince us we need to make one, in order to extract some of your money, and transfer it into our pizza fund.
Look at it this way: it is going to be priced so that any one can afford one. Having then purchased one, if it only makes a small difference, you will have spent more on cables that have made less of a difference. If it makes a big difference, it will be the deal of the year.
Fair enough?
Oh, yeah...............almost forgot............for those of you who have not figured it out yet................
We no longer make the U-Byte cables.
"Why not? They sounded really good."
Yeah, maybe. But.............
The cost of the raw cable is now over $4/foot. That is absurd. We don't care how much it costs, and how good is sounds, it is just wire. Copper wire. Nothing magical or exotic. Wire. Plain ol' wire.
That, and the guys who make the fancy BNC connectors we use now take 12-14 weeks, to make any. Sorry, guys, it just wasn't worth the headaches. Look at the bright side: my time can either be spent teacking down parts (and loosing my temper!), or designing new products.
Which one do you think benefits the customer more?
Oh, yeah...........working on 2 new products. Not giving any hints, but some of you should be happy. At least, judging by our mail.
Oh, yeah............speaking of which...................
Our CSB (customer service babe) had brain surgery, in November, 2010. The operation was a complete sucess. A very hairy procedure, and lots of things that could have gone wrong. But, none did. She is much better now, although she is not ready to re-join us. She is making progress: she can stay up to 9 PM, on many nights!
Hope she comes back soon, because I am doing a crappy job of keeping track of parts! Out of BNC connectors, expandable braid, and one size of heat shrink tubing, needed to make the "freebie" SPDIF cable.
Did I mention we moved into a new production site? Still have some thngs to finish, but it is usable. Should be nice, once it is finished. (A lot of work, and yeah, guess who is doing it, with almost no help. Gee, wonder who got stuck with that?)
July, 2010
We have a new domain name!
We are now ar-t.co
(I got tired of typing analogresearch-technology.whatever. Only problem is that I did it on a day when the boss is out of town! We shall see what reaction I will get when they return.)
Anyway...........
While we are waiting on a new batch of PCBs for the Legato to show up, I have been working on the Velluto upgrade. Sort of. A good chance we are going to officially state the Velluto 500 is only suitable for bi-amp applications. Even when operating into a 4-5 ohm load, I personally am not happy with the frequency response.
Actually, we are working on making a set for someone who really does want to bi-amp their system, so this should work out well for them. The Velluto 250 upgrade looks good, but it may be a week or so before we have time to fully assemble one, and listen to it.
Yes, we realize that a lot of companies are selling full-range amps, using the same modules. That is their choice. We will probably make it official, sometime in the next few weeks, that the Velluto 500 is only for bi-amp applications. Mind you, it does have a helluva lot of punch. For a bi-amp system, we feel that you would want an amp that has a fair amount of control and punch. For full-range, or the top half of a bi-amp system, we would want the amp that is the smoothest sounding, and easiest to listen to. Some folks may not agree, but that is that.
"I know you guys. You are just looking for an excuse to sell custom electronic crossovers. That is all this really comes down to. And twice as many amps. You don't fool me."
You're right! I never thought about it that way. Wow. Thanks for opening our eyes to the possibility to make even more money. Remind me to spring that one on the boss, when they are back in town. Right after I unload the news of spending $ on a new domain. I can see it now.....................
"Beavis, don't make me smack you!"
Don't laugh: it could happen!
June, 2010
Ron informs us he is still around! That is good news. Except we can't make fun of him any longer, as it seems he really does read this.
Do any of the rest of you read this? No?...........good.
(Inside joke, that serves no purpose, other than our own private amusement. We are nerds, in case you haven't gathered yet.)
Speaking of private amusement, this next item may have wider appeal. Probably not much, but some.
We regret that we can not do the following:
Build a Legato with a word clock output.
Build a Legato with a word clock input.
Build a Legato with a I2S output.
Build a Legato with a AES/EBU output.
Build a Legato with that operates at 48 kHz.
Build any kind of AES/EBU cable.
Build any kind of HDMI cable.
Build any kind of D-sub cable.
And last, but certainly not least:
Modify your Oppo DVD player.
But, thanks for asking! We appreciate you thinking of us, and having endless faith in our abilities.
Oh, the Lone Star Audio Fest went well. The Velluto worked superbly with the Van Zyl Audio speakers. As the combination produced a sound that was highly complimented by all listeners, there is a high likelihood we will exhibit with them in the future. The Van Zyl speakers have a very wide soundstage, and were able to utilize the "speed" and "quickness" our products have become known for. I felt the room was a bit bottom-heavy, but I am probably the only person who would complain about too much bass.
You can see a show report here:
Enjoy the Music
March, 2010
The Legato is finally ready.
Yes, it is a real product. We won't go into why it took 6 months to get front panels. Let's just say the person(s) responsible for that won't have a chance to reprise their performance
No photographs of it, yet. Since you-know-who will get to do that, as well............well, I'm not a photographer. But, we shall try. If you want anything done right, seems you have to do it yourself. But this is one case where that may not be true.
We plan on exhibiting at the 2010 Lone Star Audio Fest. Not sure what all we will bring................some schmuck never did those Velluto upgrades he kept promising. Oh, well.........we shall see.
I know..............I will blame it on Ron! Wherever he is. No, I don't want to know, either.
January, 2008
U-byte © SPDIF cables are back!!!!!!!
What may be the world's best SPDIF cable, but certainly the one with the world's worst name is back.
Yes, after a 15 year hiatus, The U-byte © is back. Don't ask why. We will probably live to regret it.
Oh, yeah.....a lot of the old crap was removed. Again. (We know that you weren't reading it, so why complain that you are going to miss it? It was mostly filler, designed to suck you into a false sense of security that we are actually doing things here. We are. Just not at a pace we would own up to. So there!)
Working on updates to the Velluto. Was supposed to be ready by CES. Ooops............
April, 2007
Well, you found us.
For reasons that you probably don't want to hear about, we are now "dot net". We may be "dot com" again some time in the future, but for now...............
Moral of the story: Be careful who you chose to host your site and register your domain name.
Anyway, might as well take advantage of the SNAFU, and clean up the news. Most of the old stuff has been removed, because...........well, because!
You weren't really reading any of it to begin with. Right?
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