Page 1
icon Audio
LA 3
Valve Line Amplifier Instructions
About the LA 3
Thank you for purchasing one of our amplifiers, a
lot of care has gone into the design, selection of
components and production of this amplifier.
We want you to get the best out of the LA 3. Please
read the enclosed notes.
We would recommend
that everyone follows the ‘quick set up guide’.
Should you be uncertain about anything to do with
your LA 3 please contact us.
The LA 3 is a line level pre amp offering very wide
band width, low noise and capable of driving low
input impedance loads. Designed to complement
high quality valve or transistor power amplifiers
requiring an input voltage of between 200mv and
2v.
Our philosophy is to base our designs upon the
traditional time honoured research of Mullard, GEC
etc
in the 1950’s. The beauty of valve amplifiers is
that they are usually very simple; therefore with the
use of traditional point-to point construction and
modern
high
performance,
low
tolerance
components, it is possible to very high sonic
performance.
The simplicity of the design means that we were
able to avoid the use of printed circuit boards,
which are not ideal for valve amplifiers despite their
common use.
Although good frequency response, low noise and
distortion are important in any hi fi unit, there are
several other criteria that are often forgotten.
Transistors have a poor overload capability, and the
resulting distortion is very unpleasant. The LA 3 has
a massive overload capability and even then would
go into ‘soft clipping’, which is more benign and
easier on the ear.
The simplicity of the circuit means that there are
much fewer components for the signal to pass
through, fewer connections and switches, again
adding to the purity of sound.
This simplicity also means that we can use higher
quality oversized components, such as 2w resistors.
The use of popular valves, which are still in
production, means that obtaining replacements is
easy and inexpensive when necessary.
In the process of building the LA 3 to its high
standard no corners have been cut and we have also
paid close attention to the appearance. Stainless
steel has been used for its many properties including:
non-magnetic, non-resonant, non corroding and
looks. A painted steel sub chassis has been used to
mount the valve holders and smaller components on.
The steel transformer cover uses crackle finish
enamel. The front and back panels are anodised
alloy plate for rigidity.
The final result is an amplifier with excellent
characteristics, with an accurate yet smooth and
transparent quality.