Silbatone Acoustics
- Thread starter Paul
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RichardAusten
Banned
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2014
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At CES a few years back I chose Silbatone (with their Manger single driver Aporia Full Rage) as one of the five best at the show. They sound quite good indeed.
hifinutt
New member
a very old thread but anyone tried some of their new integrated amps ?
http://www.silbatoneacoustics.com/btstrap/index.html#partners
apparently they use foil transformers
One of the elements that set Silbatone equipment apart from the rest is our unique in-house developed and wound silver foil transformers. The mode of operation of these transformers is entirely different from standard wire coil designs, offering extended bandwidth without peaky resonances and significantly improved efficiency. We employ various exotic core materials, including finemet and permalloy and pure silver, alloy, or copper wire depending on application. These transformers are a major reason that Silbatone amplifiers do not sound like typical vacuum tube amplifiers and even our low power single ended models have tremendous dynamics, detail, and drive capability.
these integrated amps have recently become available in UK and hoping to hear one soon
http://www.silbatoneacoustics.com/btstrap/products.html
http://www.silbatoneacoustics.com/btstrap/index.html#partners
apparently they use foil transformers
One of the elements that set Silbatone equipment apart from the rest is our unique in-house developed and wound silver foil transformers. The mode of operation of these transformers is entirely different from standard wire coil designs, offering extended bandwidth without peaky resonances and significantly improved efficiency. We employ various exotic core materials, including finemet and permalloy and pure silver, alloy, or copper wire depending on application. These transformers are a major reason that Silbatone amplifiers do not sound like typical vacuum tube amplifiers and even our low power single ended models have tremendous dynamics, detail, and drive capability.
these integrated amps have recently become available in UK and hoping to hear one soon
http://www.silbatoneacoustics.com/btstrap/products.html
hifinutt
New member
so the silbatone 109 landed this week here for a few days . using with some big horns and some tannoy legacy . I use class d amps and an arcam amp normally . The silbatone is built beautifully like a mercedes and relatively affordable at 10.4 uk pounds new . Its got a precise remote with easy to control volume . easy to fit on the rack and weighs i think between 20-25kg .
Its got a very very lovely sound with vocals , beautifully voiced sound which really is very real . very good with acoustic music with real sense of realism . about 70 watts hybrid valve . some pics here with my little class D which i am rather fond of .
highly recommended amp to try .
P1060945 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060944 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060942 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060941 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060939 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060938 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
Its got a very very lovely sound with vocals , beautifully voiced sound which really is very real . very good with acoustic music with real sense of realism . about 70 watts hybrid valve . some pics here with my little class D which i am rather fond of .
highly recommended amp to try .
P1060945 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on FlickrP1060944 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on FlickrP1060942 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on FlickrP1060941 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on FlickrP1060939 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on FlickrP1060938 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
hifinutt
New member
another pic with the horns , big open sound with no hint of harshness , very smooth and engaging
P1060956 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
would like to do a side by side assessment with the pass labs INT 25 . be interesting how they will sound together . I doubt if many have heard the 109 integrated but if anyone has had the chance to compare them it would be good to hear your thoughts
PASS_INT-25-0003 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
P1060956 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickrwould like to do a side by side assessment with the pass labs INT 25 . be interesting how they will sound together . I doubt if many have heard the 109 integrated but if anyone has had the chance to compare them it would be good to hear your thoughts
PASS_INT-25-0003 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
hifinutt
New member
don`t understand much of this but apparently they have Neohyb technology , if anyone can make this clearer it would be good
from the silbatone blurb
At Silbatone Labs, we engage in a lot of experimentation and exploration to discover new things that work. Our patented NeoHyb current multiplier circuit is one of our best innovations yet. Although we use mosfets in this topology for their awesome current delivery capabilies, this is completely unlike previous “hybrid” attempts, which usually involved a tube driver slapped onto a transistor output stage, the worst of both worlds, and never a high performance solution. This is why we call it NeoHyb. It has nothing to do with 1980s style hybrid amplifiers. NeoHyb is a whole new direction.
Our NeoHyb circuit uses parallel mosfets to enhance the current delivery of vintage triodes, yielding greater power and allowing for more conservative tube operating points at the same time. The mosfet is completely locked to the plate of the tube and adds no measurable influence, except greater current swing. The musical performance and distortion spectra are pure triode.
All signal current passes through a Silbatone foil output transformer. It acts and sounds like a pure tube stage, only boosted in output power. One use for this technology is that we can adapt very low power tubes, some ancient antique tubes, even preamp tubes, to play loudspeakers so we can learn and understand what they can do, often with very impressive results.
We can take medium output tubes like our standby 300B and shake the walls with power. And we are able to dial down the dissipation in tubes for both great longevity and the often higher quality presentation they can provide when operating at more moderate levels.
One lesson in our NeoHyb project is that what makes these tubes so great has nothing to do with low power output, per se. The struggle with low power output of so many of the best sounding tubes does not have to be obstacle to enjoyment. NeoHyb will satisfy with a wide range of popular speaker types, not only 110dB+ theater horns! And even with the most sensitive horn speakers, the headroom and drive created by our current multiplier technology opens new doors for old favorites,45, 71A, 275A, 2A3,, and many other great tubes not given the respect and wide use they deserve.
silb wiring by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr
from the silbatone blurb
At Silbatone Labs, we engage in a lot of experimentation and exploration to discover new things that work. Our patented NeoHyb current multiplier circuit is one of our best innovations yet. Although we use mosfets in this topology for their awesome current delivery capabilies, this is completely unlike previous “hybrid” attempts, which usually involved a tube driver slapped onto a transistor output stage, the worst of both worlds, and never a high performance solution. This is why we call it NeoHyb. It has nothing to do with 1980s style hybrid amplifiers. NeoHyb is a whole new direction.
Our NeoHyb circuit uses parallel mosfets to enhance the current delivery of vintage triodes, yielding greater power and allowing for more conservative tube operating points at the same time. The mosfet is completely locked to the plate of the tube and adds no measurable influence, except greater current swing. The musical performance and distortion spectra are pure triode.
All signal current passes through a Silbatone foil output transformer. It acts and sounds like a pure tube stage, only boosted in output power. One use for this technology is that we can adapt very low power tubes, some ancient antique tubes, even preamp tubes, to play loudspeakers so we can learn and understand what they can do, often with very impressive results.
We can take medium output tubes like our standby 300B and shake the walls with power. And we are able to dial down the dissipation in tubes for both great longevity and the often higher quality presentation they can provide when operating at more moderate levels.
One lesson in our NeoHyb project is that what makes these tubes so great has nothing to do with low power output, per se. The struggle with low power output of so many of the best sounding tubes does not have to be obstacle to enjoyment. NeoHyb will satisfy with a wide range of popular speaker types, not only 110dB+ theater horns! And even with the most sensitive horn speakers, the headroom and drive created by our current multiplier technology opens new doors for old favorites,45, 71A, 275A, 2A3,, and many other great tubes not given the respect and wide use they deserve.
silb wiring by https://www.flickr.com/photos/158267783@N02/, on Flickr