Audiophile Club Newsletter

Introducing: The new reference level CD/SACD 32bit/384kHz Player/Preamplifier from Audio Aero, with analogue and USB inputs, to play and resample all hard disc music files including digital signals from iPods, a USB which removes all jitter.....
From our listening tests we have found that this CD Player is the icing on the cake to a reference system. Comments have been that it is exceptional, amazing, never like this before, and that the photos do not do justice to its solid sculptural massive form. This is no simile: enter the metaphor. It is not just like being there, you really are there! Your room is the stage or studio!
A 25kg slab of carved polished aluminium, delivered in an equally stunning 12kg foam-lined wooden panelled flight-case.

La SOURCE: HAUTE FIDELITE REVIEW2010 ..
CLICK ABOVE TO READ THIS RAVE REVIEW OF LA SOURCE

WE WILL BE EXHIBITING AT THE MIUNICH HIGH END SHOW 6-9 MAY 2010
ENJOY A VISIT TO THE MUNICH SHOW TO EXPERIENCE La SOURCE AT OUR EXPENSE! ...CONDITIONS APPLY

La Source

Passion for music is simply the reason why Audio Aero exists. Since 1997, we have been developing and manufacturing some
of the best audiophile CD players in the world, without compromise. Our philosophy is to reproduce the most natural and realistic sound, bringing the emotion out of the music. To do so, Audio Aero has developed a unique concept of Hybrid circuitry featuring the most accurate digital treatment using an exclusive 32 bit re-sampling technology and subminiature tube output stage. This exclusive process represents the missing links between the analogue and digital worlds. The advantages are obvious once experienced.
For the first time in our history, Audio Aero Design has decided to create its top of the line CD/SACD Player : « La Source »
This creation is our own « interpretation » of the ultimate Source, using not only the latest technology available in the digital domain,
but also the synthesis of all our know-how accumulated over 10 years of experience, testing and listening.
We hope you will enjoy and feel the same deep emotion we experienced when we finalized the design of this new player.

Transport Mechanism
Rigorous testing and previous experience is what determined our selection of the new state of the art Esoteric VRDS-NEO / VMK 5 transport
mechanism. This new transport is optimized for high speed rotational requirements of both SACD and CD. La Source incorporates this newly
developed, high precision aluminium turntable and new drive mechanism, equipped with a unique anti-resonance polycarbonate disc
clamp. The result is a flawless extraction of information from the source media.
Ultra high rigid construction
Extremely rigid chassis construction isolates the drive from internal and external vibration. The main chassis consists of a 10mm – thick/30 lbs steel bottom frame that provides a rigid, stable base for the player, improving the reading accuracy. Thick anodised aluminium is used on the top and front panel, manufactured in a 50 mm aluminium ingot. Thanks to this complete inert housing, small vibrations that could affect the lens or the clock precision are totally isolated. The chassis is supported by 3 AKTYNA A.R.I.S. high performance feet that allow the unit to be perfectly isolated from its support stand.
We are also the UK Distributors for the AKTYNA A.R.I.S. and DynA.R.I.S. feet
Digital and analogue signal processing
In order to extract the data with the best performance possible, we have optimized La Source to a new level, previously not attainable until now:
Premium quality board
We designed a top quality board with 24K gold platted contacts and 70 ppm copper circuit that allows for a perfect flow of data.
Exclusive Audio Aero digital processing
S.T.A.R.S Evolution module Audio Aero teamed up with Anagram Technologies to develop the ultimate digital treatment possible:
Based on a DSP 32 bits/384 kHz with 2 channel Asynchronous Sample rate converter, the digital output is driving 2 DAC’s in dual mono mode.
Dedicated ultra-low jitter Master clock
We combined our exclusive S.T.A.R.S Evolution process with a dedicated ultra low jitter Master clock that incorporates a high grade natural quartz crystal. This resulted in a new level of noise reduction and digital artifact reduction (including Jitter) with less than 1ps of RMS Jitter. Through this process we were able to facilitate a truly accurate digital audio signal that creates unequalled spaciousness and richly detailed sound.
Dual mono dac + tubes outputs
After our exclusive S.T.A.R.S Evolution treatment to the digital signal, we chose to re-design our analogue output stage. We selected the subminiature dual triode 6021W from Jan. Philips directly soldered on the PCB board for perfect contact. We also chose to cryogenically treat the valves and this resulted in extended tube life and improved sonics.
Power supply
The new hybrid power supply has been developed to provide extremely stable power with high linearity to each module of the player.
Each module receives its own regulator with specific tension for the application. Both analogue and digital stages have their own dedicated power supplies, this eliminates all residual noise and interference between the digital and analogical domain. We also implemented the latest generation of Mos-Fet integrated
circuitry to lower the noise in the signal path.
Connections
Fixed output or variable output with volume control. • Fixed output : 3 levels available : 2, 3, 4 V • Variable output : The volume is controlled in the
analogue domain as this process is the best way to avoid any loss of resolution. This is achieved by a high quality “ladder” attenuator.
The preamp output, with a maximum 7V output, allows driving virtually any amplifier offered on the market today.
Dedicated USB input
Allows plugging any digital source directly through the USB port.
5 independent digital inputs for a totally versatile player
Preliminary technical specifications
• Analogue outputs : single-ended RCA
and balanced XLR
• Analogue inputs : single-ended RCA
and balanced XLR
• Digital output : BNC
• Digital inputs : BNC, RCA,TOSLINK, AT&T, USB
• Frequency range :
3Hz – 48kHz (-1dB) with SACD or 24/96kHz input
5Hz – 21kHz (-1 dB) with CD or 16/44.1kHz input
• Output voltage :
2, 3 or 4 V RMS in fixed output mode
Up to 7 V RMS in variable output mode
• Output impedance : 100 Ohms
• Signal to Noise ratio : 129 dB
• Total Harmonic distortion : < 0.1 %
• Read software : CD, CD-R, CD-RW, SACD
• Power supply : 100 – 240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
• Weight : 55 lbs.
• Dimensions : 18.50 × 17.32 × 6.30 inches
Retail Price: 27,000€ plus TVA which equates to a UK price of £29,500 inclusive of VAT, at the current exchange rate of 1.14€/£.

"Mix the latest in audiophile high technology with the best in 1930s radio valves and the result is huge ............in every sense"

"The individual components are all of the absolute first water and they all contribute to a sound so utterly right, you'd be forgiven for thinking someone had slipped LSD in your Horlicks"

AUDIO AERO PRESTIGE CD/SACD PLAYER
ARTEMIS LABS LA-1 PREAMP
AUDIO AERO PRESTIGE POWER AMPLIFIERS
BC ACOUSTIQUE ACT A4 SPEAKERS

So what exactly does it offer? Well, ther's a sense of 'thereness' that's uncanny and not far removed from the sort of sound made by that long-standing audiophile super-reference point, the Audio Note Ongaku. It must have something to do with the ultra minimalism of the amplifier stages, or maybe the magic kicks in wherever you get power valves that are the size of a small marrow. Whatever it is, this system has 'thereness' in spades.

'Thereness' is easy to define, and yet somehow impossible to explain cogently. Go someplace where (preferably unamplified) live music is taking place and listen. Then go back to your normal hi-fi system and play something similar. Feel the disappointment? Now, do the same on this system and you'll feel more like you are 'there' at the live event. You'll also feel the disappointment lift.

Nope, it doen't vanish entirely' this is a hi-fi system, not a Tardis. But therein lies the real joy of this kit. The next big upgrade on this system isn't a new disc player or bigger speakers...it's a time machine. To get a considerably better replay of the Count Basie Orchestra in full swing involves nipping back to the 1950s and sitting in on the recording.....

Ultimately, it's pointless to single out an individual component in this system. They are all of the absolute first water and they all contribute to a sound so utterly right, you'd be forgiven for thinking someone had slipped LSD in your Horlicks. If you were either to substitute one of these products in another system - you'd quickly see how good every part is. So don't bother looking for weak links; there aren't any.

If you were to sit in front of this system for 30 seconds, you'd be wowed by the dynamics. That's the immediate rush out of the way. After that, the long-term listening shows there's much, much more than top-notch dynamics. It has the grace and charm to make the system come to life whatever you plonk in the player. It has the sort of 3D imaging that seems so natural that if you were to play a recording made at a festival, you'd be able to smell the veggie burgers. It has the detail that will allow Clapton obsessives to spot that he changed to a heavier guage of strings for a particular solo. And yet, for all this, the whole system remains fundamentally musical.

It's hard not to be impressed at each of our Beautiful Systems. Each one is different from the last, but each one capable of delivering so much good sound. And yet, even among such lofty peers, some systems shine as being a notch above the rest. This is one such system. The only word is 'wow'!