Finding the Sweet Spot

Whether we’re talking about tube audio gear or solid state, what often limits a system’s performance is the number of connections that you can make between your components, and how long the individual runs need to be to reach them. Longer runs can mean a potential loss of audio integrity, and let’s not even get started talking about endlessly plugging and unplugging RCA jacks every time you want to listen to your turntable rather than your CD player. That’s where Hexagon hits the sweet spot.

While this unit is a departure from our typical audio gear offerings, Hexagon bridges that annoying gap many people have in their sound systems. It brings six input options to your set up – four balanced RCA inputs, two balanced XLR inputs, as well as two RCA outputs. And you can quickly and easily switch between them with a front facing selector dial. The XLR options let you make those longer runs while being less susceptible to noise pickup along the way. Better still, this unit is compatible with virtually any audio gear available today, solid state or tube based. Connect your entire system once, and enjoy all of it without any unplugging.

Hexagon incorporates a solid-state design that uses military spec components. There are no hookup wires involved – all components from the precision selector switch to the gold-plated RCA and Nutrik XLR sockets are mounted directly to their individual printed circuit boards. The entire circuit was designed to eliminate background noise, and the bi-polar power supply utilizes low noise voltage regulators and a wealth of filtering. And coming in at a mere 9”x12”, it’s an easy fit just about anywhere.

Learn more about Hexagon as well as all of our custom designed, handcrafted audio gear at Erhard-Audio.com. If you have questions or would like more information, send us an email at ErhardAudio@gmail.com, or use the contact form available on our website. Don’t waste a minute more of your listening time.

R2R Or Vinyl?

It’s a little like asking someone about whether they prefer a domestic micro brew or a European import. Audiophiles tend to have strong opinions about which media they prefer. While vinyl has been stealing the headlines of late, and modern artists are often choosing to include a vinyl option for their new releases, the reel-to-reel resurgence is also booming.

Choosing between tape and vinyl is often a matter of personal preference. In all fairness, tape does have a much larger dynamic range than vinyl especially at the extreme ends of the sound spectrum. Consider how vinyl is produced – it’s created from a master tape that has to be compressed to fit within the audio parameters of the vinyl medium. The master tape, on the other hand, can be transferred to a ¼” tape with virtually no loss of the original signal.

Willi Studer first registered his Revox brand in Switzerland in 1951, and Studer machines quickly became an industry standard for recording studios worldwide. Eventually the brand split more discretely into Studer studio equipment and Revox for high-end home enthusiasts. While these classic open-reel tape recorders are no longer in production, demand is increasing dramatically for refurbished units, and R2R is poised to make a strong challenge to vinyl for the soul of today’s audiophile.

The good news is that here at Erhard Audio, you don’t need to choose between vinyl and R2R. In addition to our vacuum tube amp and preamp line, as well as our PAS3 upgrade kits, we also offer upgrade kits for Revox tape players that will bring the full range of their sound back to life. And of course, there’s also Nina, our tape head preamp available in a range of chassis including a rack mount option. For more information about our product range, or for any questions about our R2R kits, send us an email at ErhardAudio@gmail.com, or use the contact form available on our website. The only real choice you need to make is to embrace the best music possible.

Put Good Stuff In, Get Great Sound Out

It’s true that here at Erhard Audio we love good music, but you may not know that we also love to cook. One of the first things you learn in the kitchen is that if you want to make something really tasty you need to begin with quality ingredients. And it’s no accident that the same is true for great sounding audio gear – if you want your music to sound fantastic, you’ll have to begin with high quality components. That’s why all of our amps and preamps are built exclusively with Lundahl output and step up transformers imported and distributed here in the US by K&K Audio.

Founded on the outskirts of Stockholm in 1958 by Lars Lundahl in the basement of his family home, the company expanded almost overnight when they began providing audio isolation transformers for AGA TV units. This led to becoming a supplier to the Swedish military for their radio, intercom and radar equipment, and by 1970 transformers the company developed especially for the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation moved them prominently into the audio business.

As a tube amplifier enthusiast it was natural for Lars to expand in this direction, too. In 1985 Shindo Labs in Tokyo was the first professional manufacturer to use Lundahl components, and the high expectations of tube enthusiasts have kept Lundahl constantly pushing for better designs ever since.

Today Lundahl Transformers employs about 25 people, including Lars’ son Per, in a manufacturing plant that uses power produced solely by renewable sources. The company also participates in a carbon-offsetting program, Vi Agroforestry, to ameliorate the estimated 400 tons of carbon dioxide that may be produced through the production of their raw materials as well as the distribution of their finished products. From start to finish, design to production, Lundahl Transformers refuses to settle for anything less than their best.

Discover more about our handcrafted audio gear and the components we use to create it at Erhard-Audio.com. If you have questions or would like more information, send us an email at ErhardAudio@gmail.com, or use the contact form available on our website. Music is too important to use anything other than the best.

Introducing Nina, Tube Gear For The R2R Enthusiast

Mention vacuum tube gear to an audiophile and the first image that pops into his or her mind is probably a turntable. Vinyl enthusiasts have long embraced tube analog sound for its depth and tonality. But while reel-to-reel listeners have traditionally had to settle for OEM playback preamps, we’re happy to announce that this in no longer the case.

We’re proud to introduce Nina, the newest member in the Erhard Audio stable. This is a playback preamp designed especially for tape decks using the well-known 6922/E88CC/6DJ8 triode. Nina’s true beauty is the ability to use it with a huge range of playback heads, consumer or pro, without any audible degradation. Upon request, we can also customize Nina to suit a certain playback head impedance to get the best possible performance from your individual deck.

Circuit guru Ray Waters designed Nina’s preamp circuit especially for us, and we’ve paired it with our own regulated solid-state power supply. Nina can easily cover the playback EQ for both world standard NAB and IEC curves at the most popular speeds of 7.5 and 15IPS, and it also includes both RCA unbalanced and XLR balanced outputs.

Nina is available in your choice of our custom wood chassis, or a 2U standard width metal rack mount chassis. It comes with a set of gold pin 6922 tubes as standard, or you can also request a quad set of matched NOS 6DJ8 tubes as an option. No matter which choices you make, your reel-to-reel tapes will never have sounded so good.

Learn more about Nina and all of our handcrafted audio gear at Erhard-Audio.com. If you have questions or would like more information, send us an email at ErhardAudio@gmail.com, or use the contact form available on our website. There’s no longer any excuse not to listen to premium analog sound.

What’s In A Name?

Shakespeare had something to say about it, and prospective parents seem to put a lot of thought into it. So maybe names really are important after all. That’s why we’ve changed our name to better reflect the care and craftsmanship we build into all of our products. As Erhard Audio, we will continue building premium vacuum tube audio gear, and our upgrade kits will contain the best possible components just as they always have.

Along with our name change, we’ve made enhancements across the board to all of our gear. For example, the photo above shows our updated model Ray, a 4W/channel single-ended Class A amp, with its new Lundahl output transformers that will allow far more detail and clarity of sound. We’ve also chosen to use higher spec components in all of our gear such as Vishay low noise metal film resistors, Nishicon and Panasonic capacitors as well as Mundorf coupling capacitors. For the PAS and SCA kits, we’ve done a thorough review and fine tuning of the PCB designs, and have sourced premium quality components to compliment them. Erhard Audio products are the same high-quality products originally offered by Tube Nirvana, only better.

For more specific information about any of our amps, pre-amps or upgrade kits, have a look at our new website, Erhard-Audio.com, and feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. You can use the contact form on the website, here on this blog site, or simply send us an email to erhard-audio@gmail.com. Life’s too short to only listen to digital music.