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icon Audio
BA2 MK II
Musical Box Instructions
All Valve Line Amplifier
No Compromise High End Pure Valve Buffer Amplifier
About the BA2 MKII
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 are sure that you will hear the difference.
Designed in Leicester by David Shaw,
MD and founder of Icon Audio.
We created the BA2 MKII in order to solve
several problems in Hi Fi:
1, A common complaint from customers is the lack
of warmth from their (often) “hi end/high spec”
transistor equipment often accompanied by
excessive “harshness”. This is often prevalent in
CD/Digital Radio/MP3 sources etc.
2, When driving long and often expensive
interconnects it is inevitable that there will be
some loss of detail and high frequency, as the
output impedance of some pre-amplifiers and
other units is either to high, or lacking “muscle” to
drive. Conversely the input impedance (load) of
some units can be to low, causing the same
problem.
3, Sometimes, for various reasons two units of Hi
Fi just do not seem to work well together. This
could be due to poor impedance matching, poor
loading or some other unidentified reason.
Our BA2 MKII
“buffer amplifier” is designed
to overcome all these problems and give a
warmer more musical “valve sound”. It is an
excellent cure for “listening fatigue” (the
“sounds great but I can’t bear to listen for
more than 30 minutes” syndrome).
The Musical Box is a small all valve pre-
amplifier with zero gain. It is based around
the superb 6SN7 probably the greatest HI Fi
valve ever made. Using one 6SN7 per
channel the “Musical Box” has a wonderfully
detailed smooth fluid quality. It will add
“texture” and make your system more
“listenable”.
The MK II BA2 uses the same power supply as our
award winning PS1 phono stage. This uses a high
performance choke regulated power supply which
provides the same smooth silent power.
6SN7s have a reputation for a very long life, they are
inexpensive and easily replaceable. There is
“new
production
” and lots of “old stock” to experiment with.
The power supply is integrated in the BA2 MKII so its
“footprint” is very small. We use a substantial mains
transformer which forms part of a generous power
supply.
As with all Icon products we strive for the best sonic
performance, this demands hard wiring “point to
point”. The audio cable is Silver PTFE. Using only
high quality audio grade full size components.
The chassis using a combination of Anodised alloy
plate and polished stainless steel. This gives a
