There must be a reason why a model blue has now found its way into your audio chain. Perhaps you already have experience with a model fughetta and immediately heard the difference, and that was it for you. In any case, there must be a compelling reason. And after your first impressions, you realize that this was a good purchase.
Why was this model blue created in the first place? The blame lies with Henk, my Dutch dealer at the time, make me a phono stage below a model surzur – but it MUST sound good and not cost too much, I want to sell lots of them. Not costing much is every businessman's dream, but a developer's nightmare, given that there are so many great components out there that are off-limits to him.
But okay, I thought, since a developer's brain is always excitedly searching for something new, maybe I could pull it off after all...
I already had a circuit variant floating around in my head that I had never tried before. So, my brain cells rattled away cheerfully, and a first prototype was created. Which is easier, climbing up a mountain or climbing down? In this case, I found climbing down more difficult. Very difficult. I sent a prototype to Henk. I heard nothing from him, so I finally called him and asked if he was on vacation. But no, whenever he had some free time, he was working on this new phono stage. Yes, he said, it sounded pretty good, but could I sprinkle a little more sugar on it? Henk, it's just a prototype – okay, keep going then. And – what should we call it? – you're still asking, he said, a phono from BLUE AMP must of course be called model blue. Oh, really? OK
And so, the BLUE AMP phono stage family was expanded somewhat.
High channel separation was an absolute must—the developer was uncompromising on this point. And despite slightly less expensive resistors, my high standards for low tolerances remained unchanged. But wherever possible, capacitors were to be used that are otherwise only used in high-frequency technology. However, these were not easy to obtain because they were no longer being manufactured, at least not as THT (through-hole technology) components. After some research, I found new old stock components in sufficient quantities to last for at least four decades. The developer was happy. Highly motivated and fueled by lots of coffee, he set about measuring all these capacitors individually – this laborious process meant that slightly larger component tolerances were no longer an issue, and I ended up with a selection of components with extremely tight tolerances.
I just wanted to mention this so that you, dear customer, can get a vague idea of the effort that goes into your product—you can't see anything, but you should definitely hear it. And that seems to have worked for you, otherwise a model blue wouldn't be playing in your chain now.
The sound could go a little further. A glance at my nasty curve of audiophile bliss shows the possibilities mercilessly and clearly. But don't panic, it's only the comparison with something else that makes you unhappy. And even the addition of the PS 300 quadruple power supply pushes you quite a long way up the curve. And if, after a while, your curiosity flares up again, then the model PS 300 can simply stay where it is and a model surzur takes its place.