The Only Way of Building for the Best Audio Experience

The high end audio landscape can be complex and hard to traverse because there are so many brands, options, and reviewers with questionable levels of reputation. Who can you really believe? Everything seems to be a great value, the next best thing in hifi just to be replaced by something else the next year. So what becomes of most of these products? They end up recycled or as waste since many are built cheaply to meet a price point for the market, or because they quickly become obsolete when integrated circuits or logic chips fail, rendering the entire device useless. That or the same could be said because the value of the component isn't worth what it would cost for a reputable tech to repair it, so why invest your hard earned money into something temporary?

Connectors vs Direct Solder 

In mass produced electronics engineers design and test the circuits in simulators, sometimes on a proto board, and then the design is forwarded for the layout of the PCB and how the component will be assembled. There are very few brands that actually have engineers or electronic technicians assemble the individual devices, so everything has to be made straight forward as possible to be assembled on a line by cheaper labor to maintain profit margins. This means snap in or quick connectors are more prevalent in new equipment as they are the most efficient means of assembly. 

Lets look at the pitfalls and compromises of your typical connectors. One, they are typically a crimped connector with a thin contact point, a piece of tin bent in a way to create a form of spring action to hold the connection. This in itself restricts current flow, adds resistance to the signal path, and introduces the possibility of failure. I have seen or repaired many connections with high resistance that overheated in a high current situation. 

Also consider the amount of contact points that each quick connection requires. There is a post soldered into the PCB with the base of the connector. Then there is the wire with the connector itself. Each individual wire has a crimped connector that is installed into the plastic housing that clips onto the post on the PCB. There are 3 connections already, and this is just one side of the wire. Considering that there will be the same thing on another side, you are up to 6 individual electrical contact points. In a recent repair and modification of a modern preamplifier that I had here at the shop, there were a total of 14 electrical contacts just for the volume control between the input and output sections! 

All of Angela-Gilbert Yeung's equipment is assembled using only direct point to point wiring from each individual electrical component, eliminating even more points of contact found in most other designs. This guarantees a solid, stable connection with minimal resistance for the purest transmission of musical signal.

This in itself makes a huge difference in the overall sound quality, and this has been known since the glory days of Hifi. During audio design in the 60s and 70s, the prototypes were hand built by the engineers for testing before being sent to manufacturing. These prototype models sounded better than the production models because they used point to point wiring, where later connectors were used. 

Vibration and Resonance Dampening

Tweaks are becoming a large percentage of the audio market not only because audiophiles love to experiment, but also in part due to the fact that some of them work very well on these mass produced components. A specific tweak is that for vibration and resonance damping, or tuning through the use of different footers and exotic materials. Use under a turntable makes obvious sense, but for the other components it begs the question, if this tweak works so well why wasn't this considered in the design process? Sometimes it is, but sometimes it is also a result of the design and use of PCBs with heavy mounted and unbraced components such as capacitors that transmit this vibration. 

Angela-Gilbert Yeung uses silicone throughout her designs for artistic style, and for function. Many components are mounted using silicone, and wiring / solder connections are supported by it as well. Silicone is the most cost effective vibration absorption material that can be formed into any shape, maintains elasticity indefinitely,  and can withstand the sometimes high temperatures inside of an electronic component without drying out over time or attracting moisture. 

Chassis are also made with steel instead of aluminum, this is thicker and heavier gauge than what is typically used in the industry making it more durable and less prone to resonance. The chassis is further dampened and braced with silicone or denser adhesive on any side that does not have a point of support such as the top covers. 

In addition to the resonant qualities of steel, it also has better EMI/RFI performance than aluminum with a larger range of frequencies and can effectively absorb and direct magnetic flux.

Serviceability 

Convenience is a big seller nowadays, but everything in engineering has some sort of trade off, so what is the real price you are paying for a big fancy remote? Extra connections, the use of multiple relay paths, and the dreaded logic circuits. The more moving parts, the more likely you are to have some sort of technical issue sometime down the road, as everything has a finite lifespan. Is there a service department for your equipment, and will the be able to repair it when it does fail?

How many 90s and early 2000s receivers have you seen on marketplace or in the bin? There is always a new sticker on the front to advertise the new feature, but they don't seem to hold their value, or stay working for long. Much of this has to do with the onboard logic chip that controls the interior functions, switching, front panel, and multi-channel audio decoding that is programmed specifically for that component. When it fails, it essentially bricks the component, as you can no longer control it regardless of the state of the analog circuitry. Manufacturers typically don't keep these chips on hand, or they are not willing to release the programming for the chips for repair, because they would rather sell you on a new model. 

Our equipment can always be repaired, as every piece is custom made. If an old circuit has since become obsolete or parts are no longer available for it, chances are there is a new updated version that can be installed in it's place. Regardless of how old your Blue Circle or Gilbert Yeung equipment is, we can service it or upgrade it, with upgrades being created and offered for designs over 20 years old to this day.