bonzo wrote: ↑2018-12-29 14:09 Congratulations Fredrik! I know you’ve been working very hard on this product. Forgive me, but have I missed photos of this wonderful preamp? I’m actually somewhat pleased at the retail for the mono pr as it’s not something I will be able to afford any time soon (2 teenage boys/college).. however I’m all for trickle down benefits! I’m so very excited to read people’s comments/reviews of their experience with this great product. BTW, I LOVE the name! Ever consider making a tonearm called The Event Horizon?

Thank you bonzo!

I haven't posted any pictures of SINGularity yet. When number 3 and 4 are made, I have a photographer waiting. It might be an interesting challenge to him - at least I found it very difficult to capture the satin finish with my phone. I wanted to do it justice, but it was much harder than I expected.

May I ask for an update? Have you been able to make units 3&4? Any new photos? User feedback/reviews?

Hi bonzo!

SINGularity 3 and 4 are in the making. In fact, that's all I'm working on right now. My fear is that they won't be ready in time for the Axpona show in April. But if all goes right and nothing goes wrong, they will be ready, tested, photographed and shipped to Chicago in time.

Here's a greeting from SINGularity 3 base plate about to get its 33 holes tapped with M3 (26 holes) and M4 (7 holes).

Wow! Thank you for the image! I love the marks from machining the copper. I’m 100% confident the units will be ready for the show. Sure would love to be in Chicago as well!

One word: Wow!

Fredrik sent me that photo the other day, in part to allay my fears they wouldn't be done in time as his metal guys had told him they would take longer. As he sent it to me in a text and the photo was vertical I didn't realize I was also receiving a wave at the same time. Very cool! :-)

Board 003 is also done and 004 is very close (if not done already too). So it is looking good. It is mostly the casework that needs completion to allow final assembly. The more I learn about this the more I realize how laborious they are to make, Fredrik himself tapping all the holes which are very difficult to do in pure copper, picking all the components for perfect matching (helped much by his assistant Måns), hand soldering something like 85 components with a couple different solder temperatures. This is obviously a labor of love from a true master. As you can imagine I am very excited!

Any chance of a quick progress update and perhaps some more photos?

Ian

Hi Ianw!

SINGularity 3 and 4 were completed on Monday and photographed yesterday.

I just love these photography sessions! We spent from early morning to late evening moving them around, opening and gently moving the electronics in and out of the their copper enclosures, trying various angles and capturing their brand-new-appearance with the help of direct and reflected sunlight. My extremely picky and quality conscious photographer has previously photographed my mother's jewelery (she's a silversmith) and knows all the challenges of capturing metal surfaces. He's the type who arranges the scene and the light for an hour or two before he takes one picture and says "There. We got it."

Now we have a bunch of raw files. As soon as I get some usable material, I will post it on the forum.

Great to hear! - looking forward to see some pictures that do them justice.

mrco99 wrote: ↑2019-04-04 10:53 Great to hear! - looking forward to see some pictures that do them justice.

You took some really good ones yourself, Marco.
Can they be seen anywhere?

So far I used only one on my instagram account - see here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Buq2AHwHyR6 ... p1nblugnpa

Can post some more here but think your professional shots will look better.

Herewith some pictures of Singularity #1 and #2, taken after the Hamburg show.

By then they already had some signs of being touched by people who simply could not resist, so I mainly photographed the fronts that still looked best and avoided any 'full body' pictures as one could really see the smudges.

To get them posted on this website I had to resize them quite a bit to a lower resolution but I hope it will give you at least an impression.

Fredrik told me that the new models will have their serial numbers engraved on the backside.

Thanks Marco!

I really like the last one.

These photos are of SINGularity 1 and 2, which lack engraved text, name and serial number on the rear. There's also some flaws in the lid that won't appear on later units.

These two units have also been polished many times, both by me and others, with a polishing paste I found best at the time. The problem with this paste is that it's easy to rub down the satin finish and make it shiny. It also doesn't penetrate into the machined logo on the front.

Now I have found a much better polish, which is completely liquid and very gentle. This means that all units from serial number 3 and up will likely keep their finish much better. I still however recommend letting them darken naturally and only polish them if absolutely necessary. I will make a video of how it's done.

mrco99 wrote: ↑2019-04-04 15:29 So far I used only one [two] on my instagram account - see here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Buq2AHwHyR6 ... p1nblugnpa

Can post some more here...

Marco,
Since I (and probably many others watching here) do not partake in "social media", perhaps you could post photos here at your leisure. You may not be aware that one cannot copy your pics on instantcrap if not a member. Yes, there are people who would copy your pictures, blow them up, crop them, use them as screen-savers, etc. I'm not saying I'm one of those guys but I know of a "friend" who would and it would make him happy if you did.

Your photos are actually quite good!

Remember, this is a big deal. You may be annealed at this point but a maxed-out, full-tilt, three-way "six-pack" hi-fi powered by Lejonklou would have the SINGularity (a phono-stage!) at about one-third the cost of all the electronics combined!

For most members here, the SINGularity is a big deal as it costs more than our entire hi-fis. So please show all photos regardless of quality for us to admire and set a goal towards.

Ron The Mon
Needle-Freak

lejonklou wrote: ↑2019-04-04 22:10 Thanks Marco!

I really like the last one.

These photos are of SINGularity 1 and 2, which lack engraved text, name and serial number on the rear. There's also some flaws in the lid that won't appear on later units.

These two units have also been polished many times, both by me and others, with a polishing paste I found best at the time. The problem with this paste is that it's easy to rub down the satin finish and make it shiny. It also doesn't penetrate into the machined logo on the front.

Now I have found a much better polish, which is completely liquid and very gentle. This means that all units from serial number 3 and up will likely keep their finish much better. I still however recommend letting them darken naturally and only polish them if absolutely necessary. I will make a video of how it's done.

Fredrik, I sell Louis Poulsen lamps (among other things) and they have some lamps in copper, which are as sensitive as your SINGularities. Their representative told me, that if I get fingerprints on them, I should smear them with ketchup (sic!) and leave it for a few hours and then polish them again. I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth trying out, if you have some loose bits of copper to test on.

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2019-04-05 12:15 Fredrik, I sell Louis Poulsen lamps (among other things) and they have some lamps in copper, which are as sensitive as your SINGularities. Their representative told me, that if I get fingerprints on them, I should smear them with ketchup (sic!) and leave it for a few hours and then polish them again. I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth trying out, if you have some loose bits of copper to test on.

Thanks for the tip, Tendaberry!

I have tried ketchup and it works. It's better than most commercial polishing products, as it doesn't require any rubbing. The liquid polish that I finally found is however much faster and cleaner.

Great photos there. Thanks for sharing.

Ian

lejonklou wrote: ↑2019-04-05 14:11

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2019-04-05 12:15 Fredrik, I sell Louis Poulsen lamps (among other things) and they have some lamps in copper, which are as sensitive as your SINGularities. Their representative told me, that if I get fingerprints on them, I should smear them with ketchup (sic!) and leave it for a few hours and then polish them again. I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth trying out, if you have some loose bits of copper to test on.

Thanks for the tip, Tendaberry!

I have tried ketchup and it works. It's better than most commercial polishing products, as it doesn't require any rubbing. The liquid polish that I finally found is however much faster and cleaner.

Yeah, besides I don't imagine anybody in their right mind would smear Ketchup all over their € 36.000,- preamps ;-)

I want these just to match with my Accuphase integrated - though the price is a bit of a hurdle!

If they sound anywhere near the look they have to be one of the coolest piece of electronics around! Great work!

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2019-04-05 15:26

lejonklou wrote: ↑2019-04-05 14:11

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2019-04-05 12:15 Fredrik, I sell Louis Poulsen lamps (among other things) and they have some lamps in copper, which are as sensitive as your SINGularities. Their representative told me, that if I get fingerprints on them, I should smear them with ketchup (sic!) and leave it for a few hours and then polish them again. I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth trying out, if you have some loose bits of copper to test on.

Thanks for the tip, Tendaberry!

I have tried ketchup and it works. It's better than most commercial polishing products, as it doesn't require any rubbing. The liquid polish that I finally found is however much faster and cleaner.

Yeah, besides I don't imagine anybody in their right mind would smear Ketchup all over their € 36.000,- preamps ;-)

This reminds me of the repair story in the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" where the author repairs his motorcycle with a piece that he cuts from a can of beer or Coke (as I remember it). This was an entirely suitable material for the purpose, but his friend says that he would never let anyone repair his expensive motorcycle with something so simple and cheap.

hcl wrote: ↑2019-04-09 21:20 If they sound anywhere near the look they have to be one of the coolest piece of electronics around! Great work!

Thank you hcl! I hope to be able to make a demo in your city as well. Now heading for Chicago with SINGularity 3 and 4.

Assembling the parts a week ago: As you can see, number 3 and 4 has vent holes, which drains some of the heat generated by the power supplies. This was added because the heat trapped inside the enclosure made some parameters of the main circuit eventually drift away from optimal.


Now packed down:

They look so fine.

Fredrik, will future pairs be delivered in that flight-case? Stunning work.

Yes, the flight case is custom made for the SINGularity and comes with them. Included are cotton gloves and two bottles of the polish. SINGularity 003 and 004 are stunning, they are even more musical than 001 and 002 were. They are actually musically better than they appear, which isn’t easy! Simply stunning in every way.