Octave HP 300 SE, Owner'S Manual

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INTRODUCTION
Congratulations and thank you for choosing the OCTAVE
HP 300 SE
You are about to enjoy the benefits of one of the world's most innovative and reliable
preamplifiers. Take care of it, and your preamplifier will provide you with many years of
listening pleasure.
You often hear people claim that there has been no real progress in tube amplifier
design for years. The operating principles of tubes have been documented extensively
and are well known to amplifier designers. Of course, the same can be said for transistor
amplifiers.
Nevertheless, there is still room for further development with both of these technologies.
This is both necessary and desirable. With tube amplifiers in particular, a general
reluctance to depart from the classic circuit designs has not done the technology any
favors. Today's loudspeakers and source equipment provide better performance than
ever before, but also present greater demands on amplifiers. Modern sound
reproduction equipment delivers a level of performance at a price that simply would not
have been possible 20 or even 10 years ago.
These advances have been achieved through the application of cutting edge technology
as it becomes available and more affordable.
Integrating these technologies into amplifier design demands a detailed knowledge of
the inner workings of amplifiers and an appreciation of the sonic benefits of each
modification.
We have specialized in tube amplification for the past 30 years, during which time we
have developed a number of innovative technologies that have earned us a reputation
as one of the leaders in the field.
We hope you will enjoy many hours of wonderful music with your OCTAVE preamplifier.
Andreas Hofmann