The Wintersweet High Vividity Project

Contents

• What is the Wintersweet High Vividity Project?
• Project status
• Engineering Package
• FAQ
• References

What is the Wintersweet High Vividity Project

I love music. I know electronics. Here comes the Wintersweet High Vividity project: to make a good audio system to listen to music. After several years of reading, experimenting, thinking, I re-discovered the golden rule: Linearity is King. I know you may not agree with me. I will not say much about it at this time.

I started from the amplifier. My first attempt was to make a better cathode-follower amplifier. People had long praised the superior linearity of a cathode-follower output stage, but they all pointed out the problem -- the requirement for a driver stage with both good linearity and high dynamic range, which is daunting if not impossible.

Until now. People stick to old dogmas and forget that technology is advancing. I discovered the voltage booster circuit (for example, Figure 12 in AN-272 ) for operational-amplifiers. I designed one with 600Vpp non-distortion output, and married it to the cathode follower output stage. Wintersweet High Vividity is born.

I always refer to my project as Wintersweet High Vividity, because I expect people to design their own High Vividity systems.

Based on the amplifier, I scaled it down to be a general driver to drive 2A3, 300B, 805, 845, 12B4A, etc. My ambition is to beat all other existing driver circuits in every aspect. I have not tested it yet. It is not complicated. Why not try it yourself? I may provide kits in the future to speed up the adoption.

Project Status

I am listening to it. It sounds very good. I am satisfied.

Engineering Package

Many components' values are not critical but some are. I will write in detail how to adapt the design for what you have. This takes time and I do not have it. :(

FAQ

1. Why tube?
Because I heard about tube amplifiers a lot. So I decised to start from tube.

2. Why single-ended?
Because I do not need to have two times the tubes, and I do not need to match tubes. I do not need the extra power either.

3. Any solid-state plan?
No. This is partially because I found solid-state designs similar to this one, for example, Susan Parker's Zero Feedback Impedance Amplifiers. She uses an (expensive) input transformer. Replacing the input transformer with an operational amplifier, you basically end up with the solid-state version of my design. She has a push-pull version too.

4. Any push-pull plan?
With the single ended version in hand, the push-pull version is easy. I have no plan to actually build one.

5. Any plan of patenting it?
It is open to every one to use.

6. Can I use the word "High Vividity"?
You are more than welcome to do that. High Fidelity has dropped into the THD and IMD trap. It is time to replace it with High Vividity. I want it to be wide-spread so nobody can trade-mark it.

9. Could I use your design?
You are more than welcome to, even for commercial purpose. But I expect you to credit Wintersweet High Vividity for the design.

References

I will list some useful references but this takes time and I do not have time.