Sagatun is an analogue pre amplifier with five inputs

But it’s far from a typical pre amplifier. It’s an exercise in signal preservation taken to the extreme.

Sagatun has four main functions:

  • Selection of input – with a minimal loss of quality
  • Adjusting the volume with precision – especially at low levels, where the music is most sensitive
  • Controlling the above two by front buttons and remote
  • A Control Link that lets one Sagatun control other Sagatuns.

The first two functions is where quality is everything. This is achieved by the use of clever technology, endless trial-and-error and attention to every detail that has an influence. And as the sound quality gradually improved, we found that nearly all details do matter. Some a lot and others just a little. More than 500 listening tests were conducted in the development of Sagatun.

Some specific choices of technology were made, such as the design being dual mono (left and right channels are separate circuits) and the use of two ultra-quiet switch mode power supplies. We also experimented extensively with the regulation of the power feeding each circuit inside Sagatun. The best results were achieved with a combination of three different regulatory techniques, working in unison. When this combination was discovered, it was a breakthrough in musical performance. But even more quality was to be gained by individually fine tuning the feed to each part of the circuit.

The third function in the list above makes Sagatun possible to use, but it can also mess with the music. Therefore it needs to be as silent as possible and all experiments with conventional displays were discarded due their high level of interference – even when switched off! Luckily a suitable interface had already been developed for our single source pre amplifier Kikkin (now discontinued). It consisted of a quiet running low frequency processor communicating to the user with a coloured front light. This interface had already proven very popular, due it being simple and intuitive. We tweaked it a bit further, both in terms of making the processor run even more silently than in Kikkin (it shuts down completely three seconds after your last command) and by adding more colours to make it more informative and elegant.

To get an idea of how the coloured light display works, check out the pictures on this page!

The fourth function, the Control Link, is a feature that allows you to add more Sagatun’s to your system – if it requires more than two channels in stereo. The Control Link sets one Sagatun as the Master which all the others will follow and the communication medium is light in an optical cable. Use of the Control Link has no influence on sound quality.

The main purpose of Sagatun is to bring more emotion into your music. We encourage you to compare it with any other pre amplifier out there. If your focus is music, we’re confident you’ll be both delighted and surprised.

Sagatun 1.3 Tarandus was released in January 2017. It’s a new version with improved musicality and a more refined sound.

 

Version history

  • Version 1.0
    • Introduced the 17th of May 2014
  • Version 1.1
    • Introduced the 18th of March 2015
    • A new ground connection made with four optimized parts, precision torqued
    • Sound improvement: Yes
    • Previous model upgradable: Yes
  • Version 1.2
    • Introduced the 9th of January 2017
    • New firmware and adjustment of Control Link
    • Sound improvement: Yes
    • Previous model upgradable: Yes (included in TARANDUS)
  • Version 1.3
    • Introduced the 9th of January 2017
    • New components in the voltage regulation circuit of the power supplies and a small modification of the digital power regulation
    • Sound improvement: Yes
    • Previous model upgradable: Yes (included in TARANDUS)
  • Version 1.4
    • Introduced the 25th of October 2017
    • A new and more powerful transmitter fitted to the Master output of the Control Link
    • Sound improvement: No
    • Previous model upgradable: Yes
  • Version 1.7
    • Introduced the 1st of December 2023
    • Eight new components in the power supplies, new chassis ground, new screws and new internal cable clips
    • Sound improvement: Yes
    • Previous model upgradable: Yes