Ypsilon PST-100 MKII

Description

PST – 100 is most certainly an impressive addition to YPSILON’s 100 series. It approaches the concept of pre amplification in an outstanding way. Its heart lies in the in house made transformers used for attenuation. In addition its valve state circuit combined with exquisite materials produce the finest and most elegant sound that any pre amp could ever achieve.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the most critical part of a preamplifier is the active circuit design. We, however, believe that the means of signal attenuation (the volume control) is the most critical to the overall sound of a preamplifier. Most designers use resistor attenuators for volume control. We have used resistor attenuators with high quality resistors (Vishay, in the past, felt unsatisfied from the character they induced in the signal. We developed a very special transformer as the means of attenuation, using special winding techniques and highest quality wires and cores. Its performance suppassed that of the best resistor attenuators. In a transformer the magnetic circuit can be ultra linear when the very best core materials are used. The sound of such materials is much more musical and detailed compared with the best resistors. A transformer attenuator with 31 taps is used in the PST100 mk2 providing a total attenuation of 54db in its lowest tap.

The active gain stage is a no – feedback s.e. ,C3m triode, transformer coupled. The power supply uses valve rectification(using the 6CA4) and choke filter. Wiring is point to point with custom made pure silver wire. The transformer attenuator is placed after the valve stage, preserving the purity and micro details of the signal. The gain is 16db. Output impedance is 150 Ω max. PST 100 mk2 is the pinnacle in preamplification. It is a must have component for building a “no holds” system.

PST 100 TA  is available without the valve stage for systems that don’t require additional gain. This version is equipped with the transformer attenuators and is called PST 100 TA. **Notice that it is fully upgradeable to the full version at any time by returning to factory**

What makes the PST-100 MKII unique is its architecture:

• Proprietary transformer volume control instead of conventional resistor attenuation
• Switchable passive and active operation call PST 100 MkII
• Single-ended triode tube gain stage using a C3m tube
• Transformer-coupled circuitry with zero feedback
• Extensive use of pure silver internal wiring call PST 100 SE
• Point-to-point hand wiring throughout

PST -100 MkII is available on 4 versions

• PST -100 MkII.  TA is the passive preamplifier
• PST -100 MkII.  is the passive and active preamplifier
• PST -100 MkII. SE is the passive and active preamplifier with Silver wire Transformers
• PST -100 MkII. SE is the passive and active preamplifier with Silver wire Transformers and special parts and trasformer iron

The transformer attenuator is considered the heart of the design. Ypsilon developed custom transformers in-house because they believed even premium resistor ladders added sonic coloration. The resulting 31-step transformer attenuation system is widely praised for preserving low-level detail, harmonic richness, and dynamic nuance.

In a famous review for Stereophile, Michael Fremer called it “the best preamplifier I have ever heard,” praising its ability to sound like a “straight wire with gain.”

The SE

The Ypsilon PST-100 MK2 Silver Edition is the ultimate expression of Ypsilon’s transformer-based line-stage philosophy. Building on the already legendary PST-100 MKII platform, the Silver Edition (SE) introduces extensive silver implementation and upgraded transformer technology aimed at extracting even greater transparency, harmonic realism, and spatial dimensionality.

What elevates the Silver Edition is the obsessive attention to materials and magnetic behavior:

• Custom pure-silver internal wiring
• Silver transformer windings
• Special core materials and annealing techniques
• Carefully selected passive components and matched tubes
• Further reduction of noise, grain, and phase distortion

The design philosophy centers on minimizing sonic artifacts introduced by conventional resistor attenuation and capacitor coupling. Ypsilon instead relies on its proprietary transformer technology, which the company considers more “musical and detailed” than traditional resistor ladders.