Angel Lofte Audio Signature Series Studio Hardware


We are very pleased to announce the release of:

The Source + Plus TM
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More Info here:} {Audio Examples here:} {Additional Images here:}
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Source + Plus TM
Dual-Mono, Dual-Valve, All Discrete,
Hand-Wired, Vacuum Tube Analog Signal Upgrade

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*** Improve Your Sound At The Source ***

Created and Designed by Michael Angel and Aric Kimball.
Available Exclusively at CDSoundMaster.com

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Superior Quality Build
Hand-Crafted in the U.S.A.
Limited Production
Beautiful Wood Grain Finish
100% Discrete
Dual-Valve Customized Original Design
Pristine Transformerless Signal Path
100% Point-To-Point Wiring By Hand
Silver-Soldered Connections
Mylar Poly Signal Caps Used Throughout
Xicon Filter Caps On The Power Supply
Power Stage Wired Using 16 Gauge Solid-Core Copper
Tube Circuitry Using Only Metal-Oxide Resistors
Audio Signal Path Is Carried Via 18/2 Shielded Microphone Cabling.
1/4" unbalanced and TRS balanced inputs and outputs, balanced XLR inputs and outputs
No Circuit Board, IC's, Chips, or Solid State Parts to Compromise the Signal Integrity
No Line Noise, Hum, or Hiss
Extremely High Headroom
Approximately +15dB Maximum Output Gain Balanced
10k Ohm Output Impedance
* 84dB SNR Of Natural Vacuum Tube Harmonics.
* 10Hz - 30kHz -3dB.
* Actual Specifications Vary, Based Upon The Actual Tubes Being Used.

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The Source + Plus TM comes in two finishes: Light Natural Wood Stain Finish and Dark Wood Stain Finish

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Important!

The Source + Plus TM is a unique, custom designed and built piece of hardware. By purchasing our product, neither the purchaser or any party associated with the purchase in connection with the customer, whether a business or individual, are granted any rights for copying or modifying the proprietary design of this device for resale, re-distribution, access to design for patent purposes, or any form of cloning of this design. Purchase of the Source + Plus TM is for use in mixing, recording, and mastering audio, and does not designate the ownership of any rights to the sharing or recreation of the design. The design, build, use of parts, and complete concept of the Source + Plus TM remain the exclusive rights of the designers, Michael Angel and Aric Kimball.

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To order, email us at - mangelarts@aol.com

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U.S. Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + *$45 Shipping/Handling

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + *$45 Shipping/Handling

*$45 U.S. Shipping/Handling via USPS Priority Mail with Insurance and Delivery Confirmation.

Please allow 10 business days for your Source + Plus TM to be custom-built just for you! We will send you a confirmation email when your hardware has shipped.

Important information on purchasing! If you do not have a PayPal account, you can still use your credit card without having to become a PayPal member.

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U.K. Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

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Sweden Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

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Spain Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $75 Shipping/Handling

 

The Netherlands Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $100 Shipping/Handling
 

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $100 Shipping/Handling

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Australia Orders:

The Source + Plus TM - Light Natural Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $95 Shipping/Handling

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The Source + Plus TM - Dark Wood Stain Finish:
$550 + $95 Shipping/Handling

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Other Countries Outside U.S., please email for shipping quote - mangelarts@aol.com

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Angel Lofte Audio
Signature Series
Source + Plus
TM
Dual-Mono, Dual-Valve, All Discrete,
Hand-Wired, Vacuum Tube Analog Signal Upgrade

____________________________________________
*** Improve Your Sound At The Source ***
____________________________________________

Superior Quality Build
Hand-Crafted in the U.S.A.
Limited Production
100% Discrete
Dual-Valve Customized Original Design
Pristine Transformerless Signal Path
100% Point-To-Point Wiring By Hand
Silver-Soldered Connections
Mylar Poly Signal Caps Used Throughout
Xicon Filter Caps On The Power Supply
Power Stage Wired Using 16 Gauge Solid-Core Copper
Tube Circuitry Using Only Metal-Oxide Resistors
Audio Signal Path Is Carried Via 18/2 Shielded Microphone Cabling
1/4" unbalanced and TRS balanced, and balanced XLR
No Circuit Board, IC's, Chips, or Solid State Parts to Compromise the Signal Integrity
No Line Noise, Hum, or Hiss
Extremely High Headroom
Approximately +15dB Maximum Output Gain Balanced
10k Ohm Output Impedance
* 84dB SNR Of Natural Vacuum Tube Harmonics
* 10Hz - 30kHz -3dB.
* Actual Specifications Vary, Based Upon The Actual Tubes Being Used.
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Forward:
The Source + Plus TM has been custom designed to fill a specialized niche in Mastering Facilities and Recording Studios alike, where the absolute highest standard of sound reproduction is desired. The Source + Plus TM is designed to improve the sound quality of your analog signal path, increasing the overall perception of volume, clarity, dimensional stereo imaging and sound stage. The design allows for use at every stage of your signal path, reducing the stress placed on any source, improving the performance of your equipment, allowing the best performance of any analog amplification stage, while providing the user with a wide range of tonal control, introducing only the most desireable attributes of natural vacuum tube harmonics anywhere in your signal chain.

Give ALL of your favorite hardware a complete upgrade with one device!

Definition:
Source:
A point of origin.
Plus: Greater than that specified.

The Source + Plus TM has been created to give your recording/mastering facility a complete system upgrade! Not only is the Source + Plus TM a solution to multiple issues, but a single unit can be used in a wide range of applications, working to bring every aspect of your recording process to it's peak performance. Not only can this customized creation maintain the signal integrity provided at the input, but actually improve upon it!

Because of the uniqueness of it's design, it is a challenge to describe the Source + Plus TM usefulness with just a few words.
Phrases like "Sound Betterizer", "Input Improverizer", "Sonic Enhancerator", or "Audio Mammoth-ometer" may be helpful descriptors, but with this classic design, it is best to avoid the sensationalism and simply describe the benefits.

The Goal:

The goal here is to create a single hardware device that increases the value and quality of EVERY piece of gear you are currently using in your studio, instead of replacing or upgrading only one element. This has been designed to be a complete studio upgrade.
It must be created with zero compromises on sound, quality, and must be affordable to any facility, whether it is an individual with a home studio, or the most advanced Mastering room.
The device must constitute an improvement to the overall system, whether it consists of shelf speakers and a cheap soundcard, or a world-class facility with thousands of dollars worth of outboard compressors, eq's, etc. This device must serve a purpose at every point in the signal chain with the utmost in simplicity in use. While providing absolute quality, the device must also
provide the user with a great deal of flexibility to tweak the sound to their liking, or to alter it's tonal character for the project at hand.

The Solution:

you guessed it...
Source + Plus TM

Each channel uses a 12AU7 dual triode. The two independent triodes are implemented in serial, passing the signal of triode #1 on to
triode #2. Each triode has it's own input control, where the adjustment for triode section two controls both the output drive of triode #1 and the input level of triode #2. The 12AU7 has been selected for it's perfect combination of clarity and personality.
The Source + Plus TM can also accept any variety of 12AX7 or 12AT7 tubes, making it a widely variable palette of sound for those who wish to experiment with shaping the tone for different projects. Source + Plus TM combines every necessary input/output option required via switchable balanced/unbalanced 1/4" connectors and balanced XLR inputs and outputs.

The Build Quality And Design:

The front panel provides the user with individual input and output level selectors. In addition, each input has two-stages.
Completely variable level controls allow the user to fine-tune any stereo source or individual mono sources to perfect accuracy without negative side effects generated from stereo-linked functionality. Left and Right signal paths are completely separate, so they can be used on two separate mono sources at the same time if so desired.

Each input stage selects the signal level to the primary and secondary vacuum tube stages. The primary control on each channel chooses the input level to vacuum #1. The second control adjusts the output of vacuum tube stage #1 while simultaneously controlling the input to vacuum tube stage #2. The third control is used to set the output level coming from vacuum tube stage #2, which is a
summation of both stages in serial. To make this design complete, there is a final fourth control which allows the user to set the bias of the tubes! Bias can be set in combination with the amount of tube saturation for a range of sound from clean processing to noticeable distortion. This can be especially useful for special effects in mixing, use with individual instruments, guitar amplifiers, and d.i.
where flexible vacuum tube controls are desired.
Truly, at any stage the Source + Plus TM brings you the sonic upgrade and addition of the most necessary and useful analog features for every piece of hardware you regularly use.

It is important not to confuse the Source + Plus TM with hybrid solid-state tube designs, often known as "starved-plate" or low-voltage designs. While some of these devices are actually better than they are given credit for, they provide a very different purpose and generate a great deal of variance in signal quality, tone, and musical fidelity from what we have developed with
the Source + Plus TM. In fact, the Source + Plus TM should not be viewed as as a mic/line amplifier or signal driver at all.

The main problem with most "starved plate" designs is not limited to the voltage being supplied, as popular opinion may have it, but rather the problem exists in the design. "Starved plate" has become synonymous with 'cheap' build and marketing hype used to sell tube gear to the masses while lowering the price for availability. Well, most people will agree that good vacuum tube design
does not come cheap, and in trying to make 'tube' devices available for ultra-cheap, manufacturers will employ the use of a very
inexpensive IC solid state amplification stage followed by an ambiguous tube stage, often an optional stage, which allows for the tube to be overdriven with a shared power source and degraded solid state signal path. The result can be flexible and very useful, but
represents an inexpensive and compromised signal path with many under-performing parts in the chain. This type of design can only be viewed as a signal processor, or special effect, and is not an acceptible design for direct mastering transfer. What makes this concept even worse, is that these inexpensive solid state amplifiers have become so common, that even well-regarded manufacturers of 'tube' devices are making well-built hybrid designs at very inflated prices. Many users assume they are the same as their expensive all-tube predecessors or other similar devices in their lines, but the truth is that it is much easier and less expensive for them to integrate inexpensive solid state parts into a tube design, sometimes not even mentioning that this has been done.

The misconception about a 'starved plate' is that the problem consists of running the tube at low voltage. This is not the problem. In fact, many tubes have been intentionally used to perform well at as little as 6 volts for wide frequency range, low heat, and consistent long life signals. The counter-concept in this process is that "real" tube designs use high voltage. Well, for an all-tube amplification mic/line amplifier, high voltage is a requirement for best sonic performance, perhaps at the sacrifice of heat and often shorter tube life. But, this is not a requirement for every audiophile, all-tube design. The Source + Plus TM works at an optimal voltage when bias is turned all the way up. When bias is reduced, the voltage is reduced, but the signal integrity is maintained, providing a range of sonic possibilities where intentional processing is desired. Once again, the source is never diminished by an inexpensive and compromising amplification stage.

Description of Controls and Features:

Front Panel Controls
On/Off Switch - Once your input and output connections have been made, turn the switch to the "on" position. A light will turn on, indicating that the unit has powered up. Do not turn the unit on
without a tube installed in both channels. Do not install tubes while the unit is turned on. The Source + Plus TM gradually powers up and down to protect the life of the tubes.

The Tubes - Source + Plus TM comes with a pair of JJ Tesla 12au7 tubes already installed. These have been chosen as a high quality, new production tube that is a good match for the demands of this unit.

You are free to experiment with other tube manufacturers and a few other tube models within the same family.
The 12au7, 12ax7, and 12at7 are all acceptible tubes for the Source + Plus TM.
There are many variations of names for these same tubes, including ECC82/ECC83 for many European codes. We have developed a special website for hand-picking tubes for your Source + Plus TM if you are interested in experimenting with changing the
tonal possibilities of your unit. Go to www.TubeGetter.com for more information. To remove and replace tubes,
unscrew the bottom covering of the unit and gently pull/push the tubes into place. Do not twist the tubes, and do not touch the tubes just after the unit has been running, as they take a while to cool down.

The tubes that are installed will reproduce program material with reliability for a long time. When operating the unit for clean reproduction, these tubes are known to react quickly to source material. With fast transients like drums, they are very tight and focused, and provide a slightly sharper peak at the cleanest setting. This can be very effective when restoring the natural transients of overly processed source material. When adding extra harmonics and driving the Source + Plus TM harder, the tubes react with sensitivity to complex combinations of audio, with wide dynamics and a spacious soundscape. The low frequencies and high frequencies will compress and eventually roll-off earlier than mid-range frequencies. Simultaneously, mid-range frequencies receive more pronounced harmonics at the same rate, allowing for a great amount of control of your source for sound-shaping.

Input A - This control adjusts the input level for the first tube stage of the unit. This is directly tied to the "Triode B" and "Output" controls. When turned all the way down, the source material arrives at the tubes at its cleanest, most unaltered setting. Increasing this control sends a hotter signal to the first triode stage, which is controlled and balanced between the input and "Triode B". The effects of the input can only be heard when "Triode B" and "Output" are also being tuned.

Triode B - This control regulates the levels of the first tube stage's output along with its input level to the second triode. With a single turn of the knob, you have control over a very complex interaction with source material. When the input control is set all the way to the left, the "Triode B" control will not noticeably change the audio. As the input is increased, the more you turn up the "Triode B" level, the more you will notice an apparent rising in volume and harmonic saturation. This is also being balanced at the output control, which must be turned on at least marginally to hear these effects. With the input turned up just a small amount, the two triodes will gently 'grow' the signal and feed the resulting sound to the output. With the input turned halfway, both triodes are similarly unified in driving the signal increasingly more as you turn up the "Triode B" level.

Output - This control balances the volume of all previous stages to the output of the unit. It is at its cleanest setting when turned all the way down. It must, however, be turned up just a small amount for the effects of the other controls to be activated. The output interacts with both triode outputs so that is continues to drive the signal the more the "Triode B" control is turned up. If you send a hot signal from the input into both triodes, as you increase the "Triode B" control, you can further increase the audible effects when turning up the "Output" control as well. For the cleanest results, turn all three controls down and the "Bias" up.

Bias - This control affects the tonal palette of all three other controls. Turn the "Bias" all the way up to run the unit at full power for the most accurate reproduction of dynamics and frequencies. Reduce the "Bias" for interacting with the other controls to retune your sound, to engage a different overdrive character, and to revoice the equalization of source material.

Rear Panel Controls
1/4" inputs and outputs
- Connect your unbalanced TS or balanced TRS cables here.
1/4" unbalanced/balanced switch - set the device according towhich kind of source you have connected.
XLR inputs and outputs - Use these connectors for balanced equipment.

In Use:

Mastering Applications:

1. Master Two-Track Analog Transfers using the Source + Plus TM between your playback device and analog to
digital converters.
As a Mastering Engineer, my primary motivation for designing the Source + Plus TM was to give me the benefits of a high-end all tube signal path without having to send the signal through extra undesired processes like compression or eq. There are many benefits to mastering via the Source + Plus TM, including the benefit of analog headroom, frequency balance, stereo information, natural harmonics, and overall sonic characteristics. The Source + Plus TM allows you to control the most important elements of stereo program material while avoiding any extraneous interconnections.

You can naturally re-tune the spectral balance of a mix without using eq, and can likewise control the the natural dynamics with natural limiting and harmonics without the use of an actual leveling or compression stage. Keep your mix as clean as the original, with the subtle benefit of dimension that only a high quality tube device can provide.

2. Restoring dynamics to overcompressed source material.
The Source + Plus TM may be used in its cleanest setting to help restore fast transients and provide a better stereo recording
before digital processing takes place.

Mixing Applications:

1. Using the Source + Plus TM between your microphone and your microphone preamplifier.
Plug your microphone of choice into the Source + Plus TM and plug the corresponding output to your microphone preamp. Any options that are available on your mic preamp work exactly as they would normally be used. Select phantom power where necessary,
adjust any levels and select your usual impedence options as you normally would. However, now your microphone has several
new benefits. Even by setting the input level to the exact same volume by ear, the microphone preamp is being fed an improved signal, optimizing the cable's performance, and feeding a stronger, more pure signal to it's input. As a result, the microphone preamp is now working to achieve the same output with less effort. The audible results include improved frequency range and accuracy, faster transient response, greater overall dynamic range, and a flexibility in tone coloration by adjusting input balance from two-stages of vacuum tubes.

Add more color and subtle harmonics to your microphone's sound to give it a natural, vintage effect. Gently increase the signal level to your preamp and adjust the way your preamp's gain staging works.

A special note about using the Source + Plus TM before your mic preamp: when adjusting its controls, the Source + Plus TM will make a scratching sound. This is normal for the device, as removing this affect would add unwanted coloration to the signal. This sound is not harmful to your interconnections and does not cause any harm to the tubes. For the most accurate sound with the benefit of improved clarity, adjust the "Input A", "Triode 2", and "Output" controls turned all the way down, and turn the "Bias" control all the way up. For a more vintage sound or for a present, mid-range adjust the "Triode 2" and "Input A" until it reaches the desired affect, controlling the level and amount of overall effect with the "Output" control.

2. Using the Source + Plus TM between your microphone preamp output and your ADC.
You may choose to run the output(s) of your microphone preamp or line/instrument device through the Source + Plus TM just ahead of your Analog To Digital Converters. The average ADC made today is a simple, inexpensive, and generally great sounding translation of audio compared to early digital devices. However, not all converters handle a loud input level very well without inaccurately translating noise, distortion, or fast transients as misplaced bits or distorted/overloaded source information. Although these artifacts are not always distinguishable from the source, they do have a great impact when individual tracks are added up inside of your computer, and by mixdown, there are often perceivable sonic disappointments that arise from these unwanted variations coming from your converters. The inexpensive IC based amplifiers in many ADC designs do not handle analog sources very well either. Although these amplifiers are well made and are designed to meet a demanding specification on paper, the truth is that when they are pushed to extremes,
the very small amount of negative artifacts in their reproduction compund with the
converter to bring many unwanted results. Here is where the Source + Plus TM can help! By preparing the signal just ahead of the ADC, lower, cleaner signal from the microphone preamp or other source can result in a higher quality transfer by allowing for the
Source + Plus TM to share the load from the source before it goes to your ADC's analog signal path and is ultimately translated by the converter. In addition, you can choose to tune the sound to your liking, without increasing the output volume to your ADC, thus capturing a more robust sonic image of your source.

For high end converters, and for those who already like the sound of intentionally sending "hot" signals into their ADC's, the Source + Plus TM provides you with a more musical, yet neutral source with better connectivity to your ADC, thus allowing it to perform even
better than you are used to! All of this, and for good measure you still have the advantage of an extra level of control in hitting your dual stage vacuum tube analog source with a heavier signal, whether to optimize the levels of your microphone preamp or other source and adjust bias and vacuum tube levels accordingly, or to use the entire signal path in a more neutral and transparent manner.
Either way, you will find that the combination makes for an absolutely ideal signal path to your converters.

3. Using the Source + Plus TM in your signal processing chain.
If you incorporate analog signal processing in your digital mixing setup, you will find the flexibility and signal quality of the
Source + Plus TM to be an incredible asset. When used ahead of a reverb device, eq, chorus, or other effect, the Source + Plus TM can allow you to change the characteristics of the instruments or mix going to the effect separate from the dry or uneffected signal. The range of diversity this adds to the signal processing at hand is tremendous, and can go from subtle additive harmonics to a smooth overdriven sound followed by the effects.

Using the Source + Plus TM after your effects allows you to increase the depth and alter the sonic dimensions of the sound being
effected. Reverbs can take on a more prominent, longer sounding tail; chorus effects can sound wider and more forward if desired; delays can be easier to hear as they diminish. The more that these elements are adjusted by a pure, clean signal chain produced by the Source + Plus TM, the easier it is to get more believable results from your vst effects as well, which can often be used minimally as a result.

4. Using the Source + Plus TM to re-shape/re-tune your recordings.
Often times, processors like equalizers, compressors, limiters, and vst effects are over-used to correct problems with program material that simply doesn't sound right. There are several vital elements at work with the Source + Plus TM that allow for you to re-shape/re-tune your tracks and complete mixes. The input, dual-valve, and output stages all interact with each other in a unique way that specifically addresses the perceived width, depth, and dynamics of your stereo recordings. By varying the input and output stages in relation to the valve level, you can subtly increase the presence and roundness of the source, or you can increase this affect to re-shape
the frequencies to slightly reduce the lowest frequencies and extreme upper frequencies while simultaneously increasing
natural harmonics and gently compressing the signal. This cumulative affect replaces several devices with one process, avoiding
unwanted loss from filters, opto-cells, transformers, etc. For more extreme results, both tube stages can be increased to
audible overdrive, which is shaped differently depending on the volume of the source, the range of dynamics and frequency of the source, the level of the input and output in relation to the triodes, and the bias adjustment.

There are countless other ways to use the Source + Plus TM in your current setup, including:

Using the Source + Plus TM as a final stereo analog bus between your DAC and final mixdown device.
Using the Source + Plus TM between your analog mixing desk and your analog mixdown tape machine or final digital transfer.
Using the Source + Plus TM between your mixing or mastering chain and your monitoring system.

We hope that you will find the Source + Plus TM to be an indespensible device for making your favorite gear sound it's best, and for bringing flexibility to every stage of your work.
With the Source + Plus's TM design, you can truly unleash the creativity in your gear!

Warranty information:
Manufacturer's warranty covers the Source + Plus TM for one year for repairs, and 30 days for installed tubes.

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