Modern Linestages


This is a general question about how complex and expensive some linestages have become. I'm looking to understand why? I can grasp that really good volume controls are complicated and that equally good switches are not inexpensive. I also have a general understanding of the importance of a high quality power supply, which again is not going to come cheap. I just don't comprehend how you get to a 50lbs. plus preamps that cost well over $20k. Is this level of complexity really needed or is it the equivalent of the spate of 500hp "sedans" for every day driving?
128x128onhwy61
08-30-11: Pubul57
True, it is not infinitely elastic, but it can stretch pretty far, why you often seen 10 different tiers of cables running from $3/ft to $3,000/ft - you just never know how much demand there might be to have the very, very, very, absolutely very best.
Pubul57 (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)
This could be the reason Magico is raising prices on the new Q series speakers. Probably miscalculating the high demand? or/both price increase of Al.
charles1dad... I apologize if my post came across as someone here suggesting that companies should not make a profit. I meant it as a general statement as it has been suggested (indirectly) in various threads over the years that companies should not use the excuse of recovering R&D for thier pricing.

It was simply refreshing to see grannyring's post.

Again, my apologies.
A question for Mr. Atmasphere,

Were you to design the best linestage of which you are capable, without regard to cost, and applied the "standard mark-up" formula you referenced earlier:

A) Where do you think it might weigh in?
B) What do expect the cost (per pound) might be?

We can do the rest of the math.
It might be enlightening for the OP, given the specific question he raised. (I'm kinda curious, too.)

Marty
Response34,
No need to apologize.
I wish you the best of sucess with your Purity Audio Design products.
Best Regards,
Martykl, thanks for the question. I'm not exactly sure how to answer- it might help to tell the story of the MA-3.

This is our flagship amplifier. I had the idea of 'something' for a long time but it was pretty nebulous. But along came a customer that wanted something beyond our MA-2s, and was willing (he said) to wait, **but also to pay for it**.

So I really had to think about what an amplifier like that would really be. I went though 15 chassis concepts and about 7 major circuit concepts before I settled on something that I thought we could build but also suited the 'idea'. That process took 7 years and involved a few blind alleys. Ultimately we lost money on the original amplifier, which is pretty normal on any R&D project.

Now to your question- what would such a preamp even look like? There are a lot of questions to be answered, and we have an issue of perspective- from where I sit, we already make the state of the art in that the existing MP-1 has a patented direct-coupled (and very reliable) balanced output. It has no feedback, and only 3 stages of gain from the LOMC phono input to the output of the linestage. It can drive headphones directly (something most tube preamps can't do without additional circuitry) and is fully differential and balanced from input to output.

I don't care what preamp you are talking about, what I just put in that last paragraph is a mouthful of SOTA stuff.

So to give the question justice its simply going to take time, but since this is the 2nd time this has been asked of me maybe I better devote some time to it...
This is our flagship amplifier. I had the idea of 'something' for a long time but it was pretty nebulous. But along came a customer that wanted something beyond our MA-2s, and was willing (he said) to wait, **but also to pay for it**.
If anyone is still CONFUSE, there's NO hope.