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Ypsilon Phaethon Integrated Amp Boxed with Warranty - $7,800 (Wilmington)
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Given the performance, reputation and pedigree of their separate amplifier pieces, when Ypsilon decided to build an integrated amplifier, much anticipation was expressed by the audiophile community. The resulting Phaethon integrated amplifier represented a bit of a watershed moment in modern amplifier design, re-defining a new level of sonic performance previously unheard in integrated designs.
The Phaethon is a unique product in many aspects. It uses many of the technical solutions developed for the Aelius mono block amplifiers and the PST100 Mk2 preamplifier in a compact and elegant design. It is a hybrid line level amplifier utilising only three active gain stages. The input and driver stages incorporate low noise valves operating in a single-ended class A topography. It also features a transformer attenuator built in-house, embedded in the preamplifier section using advanced post-attenuation techniques.
The tube driver stage is coupled to the output stage with a wide bandwidth inter-stage transformer that provides perfect phase splitting for the output stage. The output stage features same polarity semiconductors for both phases in a “balanced single-ended architecture”, resulting in the sonic quality of pure single-ended designs combined with the power of push-pull designs. There are separate power supplies for the tube and output stage utilising five power supply inductors for low noise filtering. All these technologies are designed to operate in unison offering unmatched sound quality, thus providing a clear advantage of a single chassis, compact and cost-effective integrated amplifier platform. All functions are remote controlled and are visible through a high quality LCD display with large characters so it can be read from across the room.