QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
What's wrong with transformers?
More than any other electronic component, transformers must abide by the
natural laws of physics as they pertain to magnetism. Hysteresis (magnetic
inertia and momentum) is the main hurtle an audio transformer designer
has to clear gracefully. Any audio design engineer will tell you how difficult
it is to make a transformer that will faithfully follow the edge of a musical
transient and not want to keep going. That's called "overshoot". Transformers
also tend to want to resonate at a particular frequency. This is called
"ringing". Designers try to keep this resonance out of the audio spectrum.
The truth is that when this resonance combines with upper harmonic in the
original program audio, a third "tone" can be produced well within the
audio spectrum that is subtle but definitely perceptible. Both overshoot
and ringing are forms of distortion in that they are artifacts that were
not present in the original signal.
Good transformer design is thought to lend a "quality" to the sound.
Bad transformer design can be heard as harshness, a lack of presence, or
poor low frequency definition. Good circuit design with no transformer
renders an instant improvement in transparency. The JUICE BOX is the realization
of that improvement. Imagine, startlingly clear transients with all the
warmth that is associated with tubes!
What's the gain switch on the JUICE BOX all about?
It provides a measure of flexibility previously unavailable in a direct
box. The "-20" position is for a traditional direct box situation, intended
to feed a low level signal, typically the signal from an electric musical
instrument, to a microphone input. The "0" position turns the unit into
a unity gain buffer; the musical instrument signal can be driven into a
mic input or a low level line input. The "+20" position raises the signal
to professional line level for those fans of the "direct to the tape machine"
mode of recording. The "VARI" knob allows continuously variable gain adjustment
between 0dB and +20dB.
How's the JUICE BOX going to stand up to the demands of digital
recording?
It already exceeds the present day capabilities of digital audio! The unit
has wider dynamic range than is afforded by available digital storage mediums
and is capable of much faster transient risetimes than present sampling
rates will allow. Also, coupling a digital synthesizer with the JUICE BOX
gives the benefit of tube warmth added to the digital environment. With
it's class A circuitry and impressive specs it is the ideal compliment
to the digital forum for now and many, many years to come.
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