YPSILON ELECTRONICS

ΎΨΙΛΟΝ

ELECTRONICS

Ypsilon Electronics is a Greek,  globally established ultra high end company of state of the art audio masterpieces. You might find my words exciding but a close encounter with the devices, created by mr. Baklavas, the man behind the company, is a live proof of my words. 

A close look of any of the machines of the Greek manufacturer is enough to realize the high quality design and assembly of this machines. High level of musical reproduction in any price level has made a lot of High End loudspeaker designers to use Ypsilon Electronics as Reference machines for tuning. Also many reviewers around the world have chosen Ypsilon Electronics as Reference Machines.

Now to the point. I was invited a Saturday evening from a friend of mine to audition his Ypsilon system. Stunning looks of his components suprised me. His system was consisted of SET 100 Ultimate Monoblock power amplifiers, PST - 100 mono pre-amplifier version (dual chassis one for each channel) with built in dac module and CDT -100 CD Transport. In a few words, top of the Ypsilon line components. The loudspeakers were the bulky GKF Exclusive flagship heavily modified.

I could describe the system's sound only in a few words....! Amazing drive capabilities, uncompressed  dynamics, realistic speed, lifelike sizes, and ultimate transparency! 

The blend of deep knowledge and passion define the implemetation of state of the art components that are worthly representors and performers of music!

I think is a waste of time to describe of sonic behaviour of these machines. Give them an audition! You ought it in yourself!

Electro Harmonix 6CA7 Tube

Electro Harmonix 6CA7

The 6CA7 tube is a beaming tetrode tube and commonly said is the American version of the classic EL34 tube. 6CA7's are also called EL34  fat bottle. They can replace usually any EL34 pentode because they have very similar electric characteristics. In my tube amplifiers power section are Electro Harmonix tubes from which I was not that excited in highs and lows as much as in excellent mids, of this tube. So I started searching for a tube with an extended frequency range, dynamics and energy. So once I came across the Electro Harmonix 6CA7 tubes for which I read all this characteristics I wanted. I made e search in ebay and I found a nice offer of a matched quad. I ordered them and in a week and a half time they arrived nicely packed.

Next move was a communication with Luxman international to ask them if my Luxman SQ-38U is compatible with this tube type. The answer was positive  and then I asked them what I should do for the fixed bias of my amplifier and I got no answer. So I had to take some advice from a tube expert and I chose somebody who knows a lot. Tsakiridis Brothers owners and  designers of Tsakirides Devices Company of tube products. They told me to just install them and run them. And this is what I did. 

I turned on the amplifier waited for the start up delay relays of tube warm up and when the amp was ready I started some listening.

First impression was mixed. Great Dynamics I never could thing that my amp was capable of. Low frequency extension with excellent tonal of low end, performance, with body and fine lows articulation! Extended higs that were very transparent also with great tonal performance. But mids were transistor like sounding. This was my first objection. Mids no were a bit less musical an harmonics had a feeling of quick attenuation in time, plus swallower depth of soundstage but with larger width and height..  An hour later these characteristics gave their place to better behaviour. So after some discussions with tube friends I was advised to give an amount of 50 hours at least before making my mind and this is what I did again.

And they were right.  Mid frequencies became more refined and transparent. Voices became more realistic and harmonics were rich creating a charming result. Great musicality with fine tonality across the whole spectrum. Great energy and dynamics creating the impression of a power solid state amplifier but with musicality and transparency. Excellent soundstage especially in depth creating  a fine instrument positioning in depth. Excellent focusing of each musician in soundstage regardless of  volume levels. Ok mids were not as musical as a great  EL34 can do it, but more musical than a 6550 or KT88. Charming voices and instrument reproduction with transparency and lot of energy, providing any time an excellent dynamic behaviour.

Highly recommended if you want something extra from your EL34 amplifier!

Harmonic Audio Labs SE 100

Harmonic Audio Labs SE 100

Integrated Amplifier

Harmonic Audio Labs is a new established audio firm founded in Greece by a talented man called Kostas Kourkounis. He has been around audio for many years and he is passionate with his subject. He is characterised by his love for music and his vision is to design audio machines that serve this purpose. Musi Reprodudction.

He has made lot of designs for friends and he became famous around the Greek audio circles for his skills. So he went proffesional and now his designing and manufacturing products.

One of his best designs is an parallel single ended solid state intagrated amplifier which is designed and manufactured with no cost limits.

It is capable of delivering 50watts per channel in Class A by parallel  MosFets. It has 16 (PSU's) one for each stage and the pre apmplifier and power amplifier stages are seperate. 

I've done some auditions of this huge amplifier and the first contact was shocking indeed! 

If you listen to this baby you will not believe its rated output is true! The driving capabilities and ease creates a sense of owe when thinking it gives 50 watts per channel at 8 ohms!

The characteristics of Class A are present in huge doses creating a huge soundstage full of micro and macro information as if the amplifier is digging in every detail. Dynamics are instant and they do not appear any sense of compression at all. Music is expressed in the finest way with rich harmonics and excellent attenuetion versus time creating a natural sound feeling. It is indeed a piece of art in terms of music and sound reproduction and it is clearly a result of  a great R&D of  K. Kouskounis based on his beliefs about music reproduction.

The Harmonic Audio Labs SE 100 is a great representative of the solid state single ended designes that difines its category presenting many characteristics found in tube amplifiers combined with the advantages of MosFet technology.

Musicality, Transparency, Drive and Dynamics given in huge amounts that come with Harmonics and esoteric music reproduction that delivers the feeling of each music act recorded on any medium.

State of The Art!