Mimas Integrated Amplifier

Over four years in development, the challenge of delivering the Aesthetix Sound in a more accessible package has been fully realized. The same volume control used in our award-winning Calypso was borrowed for use in the Mimas. It consists of 88 1dB steps, utilizing individual switched 1% metal film resistors. The volume control has long been considered one of the most difficult design challenges of a preamplifier, with more compromised designs utilizing potentiometers witch impart the music with a dullness due to loss of detail. Others use inexpensive integrated circuit based volume controls which have good matching between channels and small step size but impart a hardness and glare to the sound. Our volume control avoids these pitfalls. It is costly, but worth it.

The preamplifier section utilizes one 6DJ8 (6922) vacuum tube per channel in a fully differential, balanced configuration. Again borrowed from our Calypso preamplifier, this circuit will balance a single-ended input and provides voltage gain before the power amplifier section. This stage uses Roederstein plate load resistors from Germany, Reliable Capacitor coupling capacitors from California, USA, and a discrete solid-state current source. Tubes are burned in for over 100 hours before testing. Our tube testing regimen includes full FFT distortion analysis, gain matching to within .1dB, microphonics and noise levels.

For power amplification, we again looked to our existing industry standard products and borrowed a derivative of the output section from our Atlas amplifier. This power output section is fully discrete (no integrated circuits), fully differential, zero-feedback, DC coupled, balanced bridge output operating in Class AB. It is capable of 150W into 8 ohms, and nearly double into 4ohms, with both channels driven. Aesthetix painstakingly matches individual FET input devices and bipolar output devices, to ensure channel matching, linearity and stability driving any speaker load.

A key part of any Aesthetix piece is our devotion to overbuilt, advanced technology power supplies. Mimas is no different, incorporating no less than seven fully regulated power supplies. Fundamental to any power amplfier, the high current power supply is provided by a separate center tapped transformer winding capable of 750VA and feeding 176,800uF of capacitance for a total energy storage of over 110 Joules. The high voltage supply for the vacuum tubes is a fully discrete regulated supply with over 220uF of capacitance supplied by a separate high voltage transformer winding. Mimas' input circuits are operated by a fully discrete regulated supply with over 4,400uF of supply capacitance. Vacuum tube heater supplies are fully DC regulated. The 900VA low flux power transformer, incorporating 5 separate secondary windings, is designed and manufactured by Aesthetix in our facility in Moorpark, Ca.