One aspect of living here in South Africa is that the local audio industry, while small, includes some really excellent local manufacturers with great products.
That's the plus side... The down-side is that this is a small market and most local manufacturers do not have the production capacity to enable entry into large volume markets - they tend to build-to-order. The result is delayed availability from order to receipt but, with the manufacturers close by, after-sales support is excellent.
One example is a local manufacturer - Valve Audio - that make a range of audio gear - from integrated amps, to high-end pre/power combos and...
The Valve Audio "Whisper" is a valve-based modular phono stage with a chassis design that clearly demonstrates a solid understanding of the low signal levels inherent in any phono stage and, particularly, in an MC configuration.
The front panel spans the full standard component width and provides power on/off, MM/MC selection and cartridge loading selection. Behind the front panel lies a shielded "bus" for wiring between the power supply and the various modules that provide, per channel for one or two arm feeds.
The rear view shows the modules (in this case for a single left/right feed) attached to the "bus" on the left with the power supply module on the right. Each module is constructed from extruded aluminium and functions as a Faraday Cage to limit the impact of any EMI on the low level signal.
A fully-configured unit with two sets of left/right modules for a dual tonearm/turntable setup via the addition to the base unit of the additional modules.
I've known Mr Valve Audio for years and have a great respect for his products and his engineering abilities (I've never been able to accept the order-to-delivery delays, so own none of his products...
) but a number of friends are very proud and happy owners of various combinations of VA electronics and the one consistent impression is just how musical these systems really are. The fully-configured Whisper above belongs to one such friend.
Some years back - about a year after VA launched the Whisper - we had an audio exhibition here in Johannesburg which included a guest speaker in the person of AJ van den Hul. After an extended set of auditions, Mr van den Hul ordered a Whisper for his own personal use.
From a pricing perspective, VA gear here in SA, provides a competitive offering to some of the real high-end audio available from all over the world - if one has the patience to accept the delay between order and delivery. The Whisper - prior to Brexit - sold for the equivalent of GBP1,100 or thereabouts - what it is post-Brexit is not quite clear in my mind, but would expect to see a hike of between 10% and 20% due to exchange rate shifts.
The only challenges for any UK buyer considering a Whisper would include:
a) a lack of any UK-based distributor/support organisation
b) the "build-to-order" approach
But any real lover of LPs and analogue reproduction associated therewith who does travel between the UK and SA should make a plan to audition some of these products - and the Whisper is a good starting point.
For anyone interested, the link below is the Valve Audio website:
Valve Audio Website
Please note that, apart from being a friend of Mr VA, I have no other connection or involvement in VA - I just admire his demonstrated understanding of audio and his commitment to engineering and after-sales service (rare commodities these days).
Dave
