macrotech2 wrote: ↑2020-10-10 16:02Agreed. I’d like to think that was possible - otherwise Sagatun and Boazu would have a rotary volume knob wouldn’t they?
matthias wrote: ↑2020-10-10 18:46
IIRC, Fredrik mentioned that the multiple inputs of Boazu do sound inferior in comparison to only one input with no switching. Further, IMO, the Giella case seems to be too small and lightweight for multiple inputs.
There are some interesting things to discuss here. It's about the two tasks of an analogue preamp: Volume control and input selection.
Regarding
volume control, I am not sure whether the old fashioned analogue potentiometer (with a rotary knob) or the digitally switched resistor ladder (with either buttons or a rotary knob, and as a bonus remote control) is the ultimate solution. They can both be trimmed and tuned and where lies their respective upper limit of musical performance?
At first I was into potentiometers. Then I worked for a long time on digitally switched resistor ladders (which resulted in Kikkin and later Sagatun/Sagatun Mono) and they became a lot better than the potentiometer solutions. Now with Giella I'm back to a potentiometer, mainly because you're already bound by those corded headphones (so remote isn't necessary) and it's a lot easier to make it sound good when there's no digital circuitry involved. The mere presence of the digital parts requires a lot of tuning or it will have a "digital flavour" that kills the groove. There's also the possibility of a mechanical resistor ladder. I have one in a drawer that I call "the sausage". That's potentially better than the potentiometer, but now there's only a limited number of volume steps to choose between. Perhaps suitable for a very limited audience, like beck who only uses two (or is it three?) levels when listening. But for many others probably too extreme. Add to that the higher output volume level of Entity and the sausage is out of the equation.
My bet is that the digitally switched resistor ladders still have more to give. And most people prefer to have remote control.
The
input selection is also tricky. I didn't invent the idea of the summing input of Boazu (all four inputs are always active and there's no switching involved - whatever sources you play will be heard), I got the idea from the Czechoslovakian company Rational Audio and their amplifier Au-ra Z1 that was released in the early 90's. It had summing inputs and when I experimented with the idea, it sounded great. The drawback is that as you connect more sources, the quality is lowered. One is ideal, two is still great, three is a little worse and four is stretching it.
On Sagatun and Sagatun Mono, I did at first just have four switched inputs. And then, typically, I tested adding a direct input and became troubled by the difference. The final solution became to add a mechanical switch that would let you use either just the single input OR the four switched ones (the direct input is still added, as it can't be switched off).
So, for those who only have
one source, it doesn't really matter whether the inputs are summed like on Boazu or whether there's a switch that lets you turn off the other inputs, like on Sagatun /Mono. They're both ideal.
For those who use
two sources, the choice becomes more tricky. Summed inputs like on Boazu will degrade both a little and equally much. A direct input and a switch, like on Sagatun, will be ideal for the first source and slightly degrade the second - and you will need to flip the switch to hear the second source. Or - if you don't flip the switch - it will degrade the first source a little and the second a bit more. Or you can skip the direct input altogether and degrade both inputs a little and equally much. This last option I am unsure of whether it's actually better than the summed inputs of Boazu. I think they're roughly equal.
For those that use
three or more sources, summed inputs like on Boazu will degrade all and equally much. Switched inputs like on Sagatun will be preferable.
All in all, this boils down to how many sources you have. Simplicity speaks for the summed inputs like on Boazu - but the Sagatun solution always lets you have an ideal single source input, at the flip of a switch. I ran a poll a good while ago regarding how many sources people are having connected to their system and was hoping you would all reply one or two (vinyl and digital, what else could be needed, right?) But there were quite a few with more than that...
Your comments are, as always, highly appreciated!