Ypsilon Electronics VPS-100 Reference Tube Phono Stage

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The road to VPS-100 took many turns in our long and extensive evaluation of topologies and materials, design and implementation.  
 

Passive RIAA equalization is preferred to active because in active RIAA equalization there is a feedback loop and the RIAA network is in this feedback loop. Usually RIAA equalizer circuits are implemented with capacitors and resistors (CR networks). Capacitors present the so called “dielectric absorption” -energy is stored in the dielectric material and is added to the signal with a small delay producing a ringing character in fundamental notes. This ringing behavior can be noticed in piano notes. In the past an alternative way of implementing a RIAA equalizer the LCR (Inductance-capacitance-resistance) circuit was proposed.

 A long time ago TANGO transformers from Japan used to produce such a circuit working in 600Ohms. A few manufacturers are using LCR based phono stages using variations of the original TANGO LCR circuit. The challenge in 600ohm LCR eq is to drive the network properly; having no more than 2 gain stages with enough overall gain and low enough output impedance.

The best way of driving the LCR network is by using a transformer. We design and build ourselves the transformers using a special amorphous c-core material. Winding insulation is paper. A properly implemented LCR RIAA sounds much more natural, musical and open than CR networks with better defined macro and micro dynamics.

The LCR networks most commonly used are based in double T filter networks .One T filter forms the 50-500Hz poles and the second T filter forms the 2123Hz pole.

In the VPS-100 we took it one step further, the 2123Hz pole is formed by air core inductor with practically no stray capacitance at the first gain stage and the 50-500Hz poles are formed in high signal level directly at the output of the second gain stage. So this is a split RIAA design using two gain stages based on the SIEMENS C3g tube. These tubes are very reliable as they are specified for 10.000 hours.

The power supply uses the 6CA4 tube rectifier and a choke filter .The heaters for the tubes are AC in the second stage and DC passive regulated for the first stage. The construction uses no printed circuit boards and is point to point silver wired using our own extruded and annealed to spec silver wire. Special attention is paid to mechanically de-couple the first gain stage and 2123 pole coils using a specially designed decoupling system. The rest of the construction is mounted on a aluminium sub chassis that forms together with the aluminium bottom plate a very rigid platform.

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REVIEWERS AGREE:

Designed and built based on Ypsilon’s “no capacitors!” philosophy, the VPS-100 is both remarkably true to the source and also utterly beguiling.  Jacob Heilbrunn, writing for Analaogaholic, had this to say after spending 6 months listening to it:

“Its most notable trait is transparency to the source – an ability to project back, up, sideways, down, revealing aspects of LPs that, frankly, had never been previously apparent.” 

Heilbrunn went on to add:

“Moreover, the size of the soundstage can become almost hallucinatory.  . . .  

There’s an immediacy to the sound, a lack of restraint, and a sense of a time delay having been removed when the Ypsilon is in my system.  . . . 

The Ypsilon is as pure as it gets.  It is not a good phonostage.  It is a superb one.  But beware:  If you audition the Ypsilon, you will almost surely be unable to part with it.”    

Jeff Dorgay, Heilbrunn’s colleague at Analogaholic, added a postscript of his own:

“Having listened to most of the cuts referenced in the review here, I concur with all of Jacob’s conclusions.  . . .  The moment the tonearm is lowered onto the record, the concept of listening to a music system disappears from your consciousness, allowing you to enjoy music reproduced without limitation.  And that’s truly what high-end audio is all about.”

Equally enthusiastic was Fred Crowder, the reviewer at Dagogo.com, who spent months comparing the Ypsilon to his previous reference phono stage, and had this to say:

The Ypsilon VPS-100 is far superior to any other phonostage, tube or solid-state, which I have auditioned by a rather significant margin. I think that I can best communicate this by comparing it to my previous reference, the Einstein Turntable’s Choice. In comparison, the VPS-100: (1) is better able to recreate the space of the recording venue or in some cases the lack of any spatial cues, (2 ) is particularly good in differentiating among different drum heads, (3) highs are clearer and more distinct without any hint of stridency, (4) imaging is better with excellent focus and specificity, particularly when used in combination with the equally superb Odin tone arm cable, (5) dynamics in the mids are better, but the real achievement is that dynamics are consistent throughout the frequency range with no particular frequency band singled out, (6) bass is astonishing in its power and ability to plum the depths and (7) macro dynamics are somewhat better but the Ypsilon truly shines with respect to micro dynamics.

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SPECIFICATIONS VPS-100 PHONO STAGE

INPUT IMPEDANCE 47Kohm/200 pf OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 1200 Ohm OUTPUTS RCA unbalanced XLR unbalanced (pin1,3 grounded) FREQUENCY RESPONSE -3db @ 10hz-40khz MAXIMUM OUTPUT VOLTAGE 5 V peak @ 1Khz 50V peak @ 50Hz RIAA ACCURACY +/- 0,5 db 20hz-20khz CHANNEL MIS MATCH < 0,2 db GAIN 39 db POWER CONSUMPTION Typically 20W DIMENSIONS 400 x 180 x 400 (WxHxD) mm WEIGHT 25 Kilos

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PLEASE NOTE: This unit is a PURIST passive RIAA phono stage and many consider it, one of the, if not THE finest tube phono stage in the world. Period. But be advise because it is a passive device you will need to partner it with a HQ SUT (Step-Up Transformer) when using in tandem with a low output moving coil.

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