PortaCode - status, plans ?

[Fred]

. . . BTW, I think your post will attract the right audience if it is posted in the LISA thread, instead of this one.

Will do!

[ppl]

Portable Headcode Triad Preliminary Introduction

No Amplifier shall be unveiled before its time and the Portable Headcode has taken quite along time to reach the Definitive state of it’s present incarnation. Indeed the task of reducing the 15 inch square Chassis of the Home Headcode into this 12” X 6.5” X 2 ¼” Extrusion is daunting and one could be expected to take a while. The road from taking the worlds finest Headphone Amplifier from the Living room to the great out-Doors required hundreds of Human hours of effort, however these were not in Vein because the result is pure Elegance in Engineering, Design and packaging.

the TRIAD platform Advantage over conventional Dual Mono and stereo has consistently proved a superior method of driving the Headphones, By Driving the Headphones differentially by eliminating the back EMF of the Drivers to contaminate the quiet signal ground, Moreover since the TRIAD draws current equally from both supply rails as opposed to one half of the supply being unloaded with the other half carrying the full load as with conventional Grounded Headphones. The Symmetry of the TRIAD Method provides A natural balance from the power supply and thus the Supply is not required to sink current as in conventional grounded Headphones and since most power supplies do not sink anywhere near as well as they supply or source current the requirements of the power supply can be substantially relaxed and thus low quality unregulated power supplies perform quite well with the Three channel or TRIAD Platform Headphone Amplifiers like My previous PPA and LISA III Designs. Thus the task of making the Portable Headcode a TRIAD version became a requirement and now at last has become a reality with This Amplifier.

The Portable Headcode TRIAD is fitted with a Reference grade power supply utilizing three separate regulators for each of the three Amplifier channels just like the previous home Headcode TRIAD provided. The difference hear is the input to these three regulators rather than coming from three separate Power transformers as in the Previous Home Headcode TRIAD they are powered by the one battery pack with an optional TRI-MONO battery configuration employing three separate battery packs supplying each of the three channels. In essence the Portacode is the Home Headcode TRIAD (With TRI-MONO option) with the power transformers replaced by batteries..


This Amplifier will find use whenever the absolute state of the art in Headphone Amplification for Dynamic headphones is required both indoors as well as out in the Field. The Portable Headcode will also serve as the finest in Dynamic Headphone Amplification for stationary installations in the company of the finest in auxiliary components. In purely stationary applications the Portacode offers a desirable feature that’s absent on all other Ultra high End Headphone Amplifiers and this being batteries Included. With our AC power grid becoming more and more contaminated as time progresses Audiophiles are discovering how battery Power can free there music from the loss of detail and added noise that Equipment powered from the AC Mains contain. With the Portacode you can leave the Amplifier always connected to the AC mains to maintain the battery yet when serious listening is involved the External AC power can be disconnected and the amp operated on batteries for Clean power, since the battery is contained with in the Amplifiers case there is No umbilical Power cable to carry EMI and RFI into the amplifiers shielded Enclosure and no Inter equipment ground loops developing in the AC mains ground, Just simply reconnect the AC power when finished so as to freshen up the Batteries for next listening session. The Portable Headcode Triad is simply the owner acclaimed Headcode TRIAD home Amplifier reduced in size and powered by batteries. The Bias current remains the same as the previous Home Headcode; the circuitry remains substantially the same however with an Optimized Electronic parts compliment as the previous Headcode.

Definitive performance comes from retaining the finest that the previous Headcode offered starting with the most sonically important component the Volume control. The Volume control selected is the finest in the World DACT model CT2 Stepped attenuator, just like in the previous Headcode’s. Also retained are the dual Headphone output sockets however unlike the previous Headcode one socket is 0 Ohms and the other the IEC standard 120 Ohms is thus eliminating any impedance adaptor requirements for some model Headphones. One headphone jack switches the rear panel located RCA type Preamp outputs and the other socket leaves these outputs connected at all times. The portable Headcode has one set of UN-balanced RCA type Inputs and DC power connection with Indicator LED located upon the rear panel in addition to the Preamp outputs. The front panel contains the Rotary Volume, True gain 3-position Toggle switch, Rotary Bass Contour, and two headphone sockets, a power toggle switch and an On Indicator/battery indicator LED.

[fkclo]

Hi Phil,

This is indeed exciting news. But can you explain more about the advantage of a TRI-MONO battery arrangement ? Also, if you are convinced this is better (although I need you to enlighten me) why make it an option ? The PortaCode is supposed to be best in class so I would suggest just go and have the best configuration built.

You also mentioned a pre-amp function. Can you describe more about it ? Will it be also a best of bleed design ?

And should we be expecting a balanced configuration (at least as a option) ?

One last but important question : When should we expect them ? Would it be a good thing to celebrate New Year 2008 ?

Sincerely,
Francis

[ppl]

(1)a balanced Portacode is not planed because The TRIAD Configuration IMHO offers all the advantages of balanced with none of the Drawbacks, I have talked about this on Head-Fi many times. I think Meier Audio and myself are the last holdouts on not going balanced. (Last holdouts that reminds me of the Old save the turn table days) However turntables are still viable as a source in spite of the presumed demise after the introduction of digital and you can bet that non balanced Headphone Amplifiers will also survive the latest trends and fads.

(2) Most Headphone Amps also make excellent preamp since the gain of both are smiler plus most headphone amplifiers have allot more output current available than typical High End Audio Preamp, thus Headphone Amplifiers are able to drive long cables for power Amplifiers located some distance from the Preamp. Since the Portacode is a top Class Headphone amp it also makes a similarly Splendid Preamp.

(3) as for a New year Introduction of the Portacode, Would that be the US or Chinese New Year? LOL Just kidding!

(4) there are still lots of designs i have all ready to prototype that i could make for the Ultra High End Home Headphone users however considering how good this Amp already is i believe the point of diminishing returns have long since set in with an Amplifier of this caliber. While this Amplifier will be a quite noticeable step up from lets say the LISA III, going beyond the Portacode triad to anything else is going to be subtitle in differences and may not be an improvement at all. the Portacode should not be looked at as a portable Amplifier that is able to also be a home unit but should be considered a World Class home Amplifier that just so happens to have Operation on clean Battery power as opposed to Dirty AC as an alternative.

Please consider that this portacode is far more sophisticated that your typical home headphone amp and contains allot more parts. Consider for a moment how many High End Headphone Amplifiers have 32 non cosmetic LED's about 130 transistors like the Portacode Triad.

[Fred]

. . . Consider for a moment how many High End Headphone Amplifiers have 32 non cosmetic LED's about 130 transistors like the Portacode Triad.

You know, Phil -- those "non-cosmetic" LED's could quickly become cosmetic if the case for the amp was made from a durable, clear plastic resin . . .

[ppl]

Oh no James trust me you need to cover all them LED's with the cover off these shine enough light upon the ceiling to light the entire room in a blue haze like Neon. Looking directly into the Amp's inside will result in temperately Blindness with flashes of blue light impressions, no James a cover less Portacode is not a Good thing. The Good news is the center Extrusion is one solid tube and thus exposing all them LED;s will require compleatly removing the amp PC board (A procedure similar to LISA III)

[Mon1018]

Great. I'm looking forward to this...
It sounds interesting. Let me have a try.

[labiteena]

How do you fix a Loose Headphone Jack on a Zune? My Zune has been having a headphone jack related problem. Whenever I listen to it, it cuts out and I have to twist the my plug-in to try and receive full sound again. It's gradually gotten worse over time. I really don't want to buy a new Zune or even want to pay to get it fixed. So, if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
___________________
market samurai ~ marketsamurai ~ marketsamurai.com