Who said that the Chinese can't make a world-class sound?

Just now, Yulong officially released the PA1 set of flagship pre-amp phono amp headphone amplifiers, do you remember the last time the domestic audio label released the flagship independent analog amplifier in which year?

According to the official introduction, the positioning of PA1 is actually higher than that of DA1 decoding headphone amplifier pre-stage all-in-one machine. Many friends may have questions, isn't PA1 used to match DA1 suits? Actually, it's not, because the real suit of PA1 is a pure decoded version of "DA1", but it may still be some distance away from being listed.

In the past three to five years, because of the influence of the market environment, we are familiar with several domestic "Taiwan" brands at the top of the industry have rarely launched independent models, whether it is a pure decoder or a pure headphone amplifier, you can think that the decoding headphone amplifier all-in-one is more cost-effective, and it can also be understood that the low-end independent models are limited by cost and cannot make better sound performance than the all-in-one machine, everyone does not buy it, and the sales are worrying. The above will definitely be painful for the designer, and there is no doubt that every machine in the initial design of the designer wants to make it sound the best, rather than being constrained everywhere and compromising all kinds of things. In terms of working principle, the decoding headphone amplifier is bound to be the product of compromise, and the independent device has a more extreme possibility.

For "Xiaolong", who can be said to be the most senior audio designer in China, he must have a deeper understanding of this than we do. So when DA10 was still selling well, friends who had been to his audition room would definitely notice the "PA1" hidden in various top international Hiend machines. Of course, at that time, the "PA1" was not yet called this name, or it did not have a name, and even the chassis was randomly found to "make up the numbers". Brother Long especially likes to let everyone go to the scene to compare the sound performance of the "PA1" with all kinds of well-known foreign preamps, and the driving boxes range from JBL's large bookcase to Dynaudio's evidence. When he gets a recognized evaluation, he will smile from the bottom of his heart, and when someone makes a suggestion, he will continue to debug, debug, and debug, and so on and on, and so on, and the time has passed for a long, long time.

I once asked Brother Long, when will this pre-amp be done? When will it be listed?, he replied shyly, "How can anyone buy such an expensive independent pre-amp, just make it for yourself.......", if memory serves, it is 2021. Also in the same year, DA1 was launched. Although Brother Long will not admit it, I always think that the analog amplification of the DA1 must have borrowed from the design of the "PA1", but it will definitely be compromised due to the size and structure. Do you think Brother Long has the dream of launching his own flagship independent decoding and independent headphone amplifier preamp in his heart? If so, I think it should be "done" when DA1 was launched. The "little dragon" I know will definitely not compromise, but the time has not yet come for the dream to come true.

Everyone should be very familiar with the latter things, DA1 "exploded" as soon as it was listed, and it has become the representative work of the domestic flagship decoding headphone amplifier pre-stage all-in-one machine in recent years, and it is also the undisputed "sales crown". This seems to have given Brother Long a shot in the market, and it seems that there are still a lot of peers on the way to pursue the ultimate sound. I don't know when the pure decoded version of "DA1" and the preamplifier PA1 were officially established, but it should be at that time. 2023 is the year that PA1 will be launched as a "complete body", starting from the headphone exhibition at the beginning of the year, PA1 with DA1 began a year-long public display audition, in order to "absorb" more real user feedback Brother Long has done a lot of work, and has repeatedly tried to calibrate the final sound of PA1, until the official release at the beginning of 24.

Let's talk about the PA1 machine itself,From the design point of view, it is a standard preamp phono amplifier,Because it is a large speaker system for reference tuning,So it is not a one-dimensional product at all with the headphone amplifier with preamp launched by all headphone brands,The applicability of various speakers will be significantly wider,Whether it is with active speakers or with post-amplifiers to promote passive speakers。 At the same time, in order to better adapt to all kinds of modern headphones, especially flat diaphragm headphones, the PA1's pre-amp headphone amplifier circuit has a pure Class A output power of 8W, which is a very considerable number. It should be noted that with the optional independent power supply, the power reserve of 240W and the transient current output capacity of 15A are not comparable to an ordinary independent preamplifier of tens of thousands of yuan.

Separately take out the PA1's preamp and headphone amplifier analog amplifier circuit to talk about it, unlike most of the similar products on the market that pursue high gain and large output to cater to the driver of modern flat diaphragm headphones, Brother Long calibrates PA1 with low gain amplification, and the input buffer is OPA627BP at any cost, in order to obtain a more transparent and delicate listening experience. Because the output power of PA1 has reached 8W and is a Class A output, the current output capacity is excellent, so even low-gain amplification is very easy to control the common flagship flat diaphragm headphones on the market, and the full-range energy sense and dynamic transient performance and low-frequency volume sense are significantly more dynamic and natural than the headphone amp with preamp function at the same price with high gain but limited actual driving power, even if it is a flagship flat diaphragm headphone like Susvara, which is very power-hungry, it is not a problem, which is terrifying.

This performance will be more obvious when driving speakers, such as my Neumman KH120A, limited by the woofer caliber The abundance of low-frequency volume is still incomparable to that of the floor speaker, but both the dive and the speed are extremely smart. At the same time, the ability to interpret details under the abundant energy of the middle and high frequency parts is very good, and the control of small signals is free and comfortable. Although the full-range detail is rich, the timbre is still delicate and shiny, or it can be understood as a vivid presentation of the music, and the listening pleasure is greatly enhanced. There is no doubt that this is a pre-amp that most people can hear "good".

Finally, let's talk about the relationship between DA1 and PA1. The revival of the vinyl system can be said to be unstoppable in the past two years, and many headset players are also considering getting their own LP turntable. For users of DA1 decoding headphone amplifier pre-amp all-in-one machine, PA1 is a set of "cost-effective" upgrade options. First of all, it provides a good phono amp, and secondly, it also greatly upgrades the preamp function and headphone amp function, plus the consistency of the suit system in sound tuning, so I think PA1 will be the first choice for DA1 users to upgrade the system. If you don't have a DA1, maybe you can start with the PA1 and use it with the old system, and then wait for the pure decoded version of the "DA1" to be released before combining the real Yulong flagship suit system. Although I have never seen a pure decoded version of the "DA1" at all, with my understanding of the "Little Dragon", he will not mass-produce the sound that crushes the same level.

Along with the PA1, there is also a small accessory, a special equipment rack designed specifically for the DA1 and PA1 suiting systems. Very delicate double-layer design, each layer can accommodate the next machine plus an independent power supply, the shock suspension structure has been optimized according to the working vibration characteristics of DA1 and PA1, even the connection of the four metal shock brackets has made a special multi-layer soft and hard material mixed structure design, and the bottom equipment frame foot peg is attached with AUDIO BASTION's composite nail pad. I won't say much about the sound performance of the equipment rack, but from the perspective of open brain, this small accessory is undoubtedly a must-have.

Written at the end, the actual transaction price of the pure decoded version of dCS Bartók before the mask is only 5 or 6W, and the price of the new version of Bartók after a mask has nearly tripled. No matter what grade the products of other foreign brands, the price increase is more excessive than the other. Looking back at our domestic brands, especially the heads of several solid products, the sound level has improved by leaps and bounds, and the actual price is not unrestrained, and they provide the possibility for the majority of audiophiles to enjoy good sounds. Let's do it and cherish it, there are some things that don't help.