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Telefunken Tubes and Circuitry Upgrades Add New Levels of Clarity, Liquidity, and Musicality
This limited production Diamond special edition of Vincent Audio's SA-T7 preamplifier has a special story. Its existence is the result of an unexpected find: a few crates of prized German Telefunken tubes from decades ago, unused and in original condition.
These NOS (New Old Stock) Telefunken PCF803 tubes are so valuable that Vincent's prestigious German designer Frank Blöhbaum decided to build a product around them.
Frank chose the highly acclaimed SA-T7 MK Tube Preamplifier. But he knew that simply dropping these tubes into the existing SA-T7 circuitry wouldn't work. So, he ended up redesigning the audio circuit around the PCF803, ultimately achieving what he refers to as this preamp's "special sound."
The result is the special edition SA-T7 Diamond, a preamp that has to be heard to be believed. But hurry if you want to hear it! Production is limited, and no more Diamonds will be built once the PCF803 tubes have all been used.
Everything is Suddenly More Superlative
Telefunken PCF803 tubes have always been highly regarded – and every Telefunken tube manufactured in the former West Germany contains a distinctive 'forgery proof' square emblem melted into the bottom to foil would-be tube counterfeiters. No less that four of these fabulous PCF803 tubes contribute to the outstandingly sonic performance of the SA-T7 Diamond.
Everything that has already been praised in the SA-T7 and SA-T7MK becomes even more superlative with the Diamond. The heralded crystal-clear transparency remains, but this has been significantly upgraded to include a 'so real, it is almost unreal' additional level of liquidity and musicality.
Complementing the implementation of classic PCF803 tubes is the ability of the special edition SA-T7 Diamond to yield outstanding performance with digital music files, thanks to a built-in Bluetooth receiver. This allows you to easily stream your favorite music from your cell phone, tablet, or computer. So now you can enjoy your favorite digital music files wirelessly in addition to taking advantage of the SA-T7 Diamond's Toslink and coax wired digital connections.
"Packs an Audiophile Wallop"
"The SA-T7 MK packs an audiophile wallop… The tube choice is excellent and adds a lovely, detailed warmth to digital sources and vinyl. It’s a solid choice for matching the widest possible number of amplifiers," notes Anthony Kershaw in his review of the standard model SA-T7 MK for audiophilia.com, August 1, 2024.
"No matter the genre or medium, the Vincent SA-T7 MK Tube Stereo Preamplifier is an excellent partner and now adds Bluetooth streaming for a full-function component. German engineering and manufacture, lovely sound at a reasonable price," Kershaw concludes.
"The Highest Level of Craftmanship"
In his joint review of the Vincent SPT-700 monoblocks and SA-T7 preamp, ifidelity.net's Stephan Schmid observes, "The Vincent SA-T7 preamp and the SP-T700 monoblocks form a pre/power amp combination with the highest level of craftmanship, designed with smart technical innovations far from the beaten track. The result is a high sound quality level, which, thanks to the powerful monos, will not get wobbly knees even with current guzzlers."
"The Preamplifier That Has It All"
"At the core, the SA-T7 MK is a direct upgrade of the SA-T7 preamplifier. In fact, it is a better version of the SA-T7 in almost all the factors," reports reviewer Slava in a review of the standard model SA-T7 MK for makelifeclick.com, terming the SA-T7 MK "the preamplifier that has it all."
New Developments in Tube Technology
With the SA-T7, SA-T7 MK, and now the SA-T7 Diamond, Vincent asked itself the question, is it possible to improve vacuum tube technology in hi-fi equipment so that it takes a quantum leap compared to what was available before? It's probably no surprise that Vincent's answer was yes. This is made possible with a patent pending circuit technology, which is fundamentally different from classic tube circuitry.
Vincent innovation has avoided the usual shortcomings of vacuum tube technology. Thanks to its BestPentode circuit, developed by Frank Blöhbaum – who designed and managed the production of the award-winning Thorens TEM 3200 power amp and TEP 3800 preamp – the current-distribution noise problems which have been typical of pentode-based designs for years are now a thing of the past. The BestPentode circuit technology boasts far higher amplification with less noise than comparable triodes.
Analog and Digital Connections + Built-in 24/192 DAC
The SA-T7 Diamond includes connections for a wide range of audio sources, accommodating both analog and digital. Inputs consist of six stereo RCA-type connections, one Toslink optical digital connection, and one coax digital connection. The digital inputs let you enjoy two-channel audio from Blu-ray players, streamers, set-top boxes, CD players and much more. Inside the SA-T7 Diamond is a PCM 5102-based DAC providing 24-bit/192 kHz performance. It will play WAV, FLAC, APE, LPCM, MP3, ACC, AC3, and WM music files.
This premium DAC really brings out the best in your music when you stream content wirelessly from your phone, tablet, or other device via Bluetooth. The SA-T7 Diamond fully supports Bluetooth 5.0 for a quality listening experience. Stream files stored on your devices, music from streaming services, Internet radio, and more, depending on the capability of your source gear. This opens up a whole new world of listening enjoyment, and the Diamond is fully up to the task.
On the output side, the Vincent offers two stereo RCA-type preamp outputs along with one stereo RCA-type 'Record' out.
Precision Bass and Treble Tone Controls
The extremely pure audio transmission is ensured by the low-noise power supply couplings of the BestPentode stage. In fact, a special module was developed for this purpose, which Vincent calls the Vimala – Sanskrit for "pure, transparent, clear."
Another gain stage gives you control over the precision regulation of treble and bass, so that you can tailor the sound quality to your personal listening requirements. The tone controls can, of course, be bypassed if you prefer to listen to the purest music signal.
Outputs Designed for Critical Listening
Thanks to the extremely low output resistance of this novel amplifier technology – typically less than 1 Ohm – the amplifier outputs were designed with a purely resistive behavior. This ensures uniform transmission across the entire frequency range and compatibility with the finest cables and interconnects for critical listening. Two different output resistances (50 Ohm and 600 Ohm) are available.
Made in Germany
The patent pending Vimala circuitry is assembled in Germany and hand-tested by Frank Blöhbaum. No one else has access to this proprietary circuitry, which is a Vincent Audio excusive. Final product assembly and testing are also conducted in Germany in order to maintain the highest possible level of quality.
If you have been thinking of upgrading your preamp and appreciate the characteristic lush sonics that only vacuum tube gear can provide, this special edition, limited production SA-T7 Diamond is definitely for you.
