TAD (Technical Audio Devices Laboratories) annonce le préampli C700 stéréo ultra haut de game (à 69 000 €) qui sera présenté sur le salon High End de Munich 2024 à l'Atrium 3, salle C113.
Ci-dessous le communiqué de presse en anglais et les specs officielles.
"Düsseldorf, 25.04.2024 - Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. today announced the TAD-C700 Pre-Amplifier as the newest addition to its top-of-the-line Reference Series of HiFi Audio components. The C700 incorporates a slew of technical refinements and enhancements to achieve a new level of performance, replacing the C600, TAD’s critically acclaimed flagship pre-amplifier released in 2011.
Immaculate preamplification circuit
The TAD-C700 boasts a high-performance, single-stage current-feedback amplifier in its flat amplifier section. The minimal use of amplifying elements enables the C700 to amplify every musical nuance faithfully. Furthermore, a dedicated output amplifier circuit provided to each of the two line outputs prevents signal branching and interference of connected equipment from deteriorating sound quality.
Fully balanced circuitry and dual-mono construction design
The C700’s fully balanced circuit topology amplifies positive and negative signal waveforms individually from input to output, in order to suppress even the smallest amplification errors between positive and negative signals, as well as between left and right channels. The wire length and dressing are identical between positive and negative signal paths and between both channels, to achieve an ideal signal path from input to output. Furthermore, the dual-mono construction design of circuitry achieves maximum symmetry to provide identical amplification, both electrically and mechanically, to positive and negative signals and to both channels, which results in a near-perfect stereophonic sound reproduction.
External power-supply unit
The C700’s power-supply unit is physically separated from the main amplifier unit. This design prevents vibration and magnetic flux leakage from the transformer from adversely affecting mechanical sections and audio circuits of the main unit. To increase the purity of power supply, the internal coil of the transformer is directly connected to the power supply circuit, minimizing the contact points with leading wires. Moreover, the terminals for directly connected coils, mounting terminals for motherboards, and clamping screws are all made of oxygen-free copper coated with non-magnetic materials to eliminate even the slightest magnetic distortions. A powerful toroidal transformer with a 400VA power rating, not uncommon in power amplifiers but unheard of in pre-amplifiers, powers the audio circuit to achieve greater signal transition performance. The entire power supply is housed in a rigid cast-aluminum monocoque chassis to suppress unwanted vibrations effectively.
Outstanding vibration control
The C700’s main amplifier circuit is mounted on a sturdy 33mm thick sub-chassis weighing 15 kg, made from pure aluminum ingots, to achieve outstanding vibration control that minimizes the effect of vibrations from speakers. The use of pure aluminum ingots provides a stable, low-impedance ground path, contributing to high-purity reproduction of music.
Custom-made parts and components
TAD’s custom-made electronic volume control circuit boasts ladder-resistance switching, achieving exceptionally precise attenuation performance and an ultra-low distortion of less than 0.0005% at 1 Vrms input. In addition, the power circuit employs TAD’s custom-made electrolytic capacitors, as well as large-capacity, ultra-low-distortion film output coupling capacitors to achieve a wider low cutoff frequency range.
Synchronous control of multiple C700 pre-amplifiers
A master C700 pre-amplifier can synchronously control several slave C700s connected to its “Master Out” jack. This enables two C700s to provide a dual-mono configuration for monoaural power amplifiers like the TAD-M700, and a multiple number of C700s in a setup with decoder and amplifiers to deliver multi-channel or immersive sound reproduction on highest performance levels.
Recording output and pass-through mode
The C700 is equipped with a dedicated recording output that bypasses the selector circuit to directly output incoming audio signals. It also has a pass-through mode that outputs input signals from a preout jack without changing the signal level. A monitor switch is not available on the C700 to eliminate any chance of switching elements adversely affecting sound reproduction.
Availability and recommended retail prices (incl. 19% VAT):
The Reference Series C700 Pre-Amplifier will be available in Europe from July 2024 at a suggested retail price of 69.000 Euro through highly qualified retail partners.
Experience the new C700 Pre-Amplifier and the whole range of TAD Reference Series speakers and components at Munich HIGH END show in Room C113, Atrium 3."
