The BlockHead Owner’s Manual
9
more about the processor...
The Audio Image Processor solves this problem. Analog filters are used to take an
attenuated signal from each channel, slightly delay it(about 300 microseconds,
depending on the frequency), and feed it to the opposite ear. This is the acoustic
information your mind needs to create a believable audio image in you head. This
added information eases the burden on your brain by spreading out the clumped
image in your head. Ahh, sweet relief.
How can the processor be tested?
If you have already tried out the Processor, you have probably noticed that there
isn’t a huge difference in the sound when switching the Processor on and off. If you
would like a more obvious demonstration of the effect of the Processor, just unplug
one of the line inputs to
The BlockHead
and listen for a few moments with the
Processor off. Now switch the Processor on and hear the difference. [
pause for
experimentation] See, it really is doing something dramatic.
Upgrading your BlockHead
The stepped attenuator is an available upgrade for our high-end
headphone amplifiers. We use the Nobel potientiometer
on our high-end amps, and its performance is very
good—but not perfect. In order to elevate the per-
formance of our reference products to as near
perfection as possible, we use a stepped at-
tenuator. The stepped attenuator uses a range
of discrete resistors switched into the circuit to
attenuate the signal. We start with a Swiss made
Elma 24-position switch. Then we disassemble it
and remove the stock circuit boards and replace
them with our custom made boards which allows
us to mount the precision thin film resistor right on the contact
boards. The gold plating on the contacts on these boards is about 4 times thicker
than on normal contact boards. The result is, what we believe to be, the finest
stepped attenuator in the audio world today.
