PBN Olympia Li and MPSi Power Supply (Dual Chassis) Preamp - $15k MSRP

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From The Soundstation Online:

The Olympia-Li preamp is an all-FET design with an external MPS mini power supply (9.5″W x 4.25″H x 14.25″D) that has a 375VA transformer with 80,000µF of capacitance.

The main transformer features quad secondary windings and HEXFRED diodes for rectification. A proprietary, military-grade, 14-conductor connector of 16-gauge Teflon-sheathed silver wire — a serious umbilical — joins the power supply to the preamp proper, which measures 18.5″W x 4.25″H x 14.5″D. This main unit houses four independent regulators and provides 20dB of gain.

The Olympia-L’s front panel has a blue LED indicator light. The Digital volume control has a 63 steps and a switch to select among sources (two Aux, one CD balanced and two balanced). All controls are clearly labeled in white silk-screened letters, demonstrating what Noerbaek calls his “function without frills” approach to exterior design. All can be adjusted manually.

The metal remote controls Volume, display level and mute. On the Olympia-Li’s rear panel are three balanced inputs, two RCA inputs, and balanced, RCA, and the four BNC outputs for the proprietary interconnect system — which, of course, is impedance-matched at 75 ohms. 

$15k MSRP

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Better

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Best

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Better

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Best

About PBN Audio

In high-end audio, behind almost every breakthrough product, is a solitary and slightly rebellious individual who simply won’t settle for second best. Many of these individuals have founded companies born out of their frustration with compromised products claiming to be more than they really were. That’s why PBN was created almost two decades ago by Peter Bichel Noerbaek.

Noerbaek is an inventive engineer, first and foremost. Second, he doesn’t suffer compromise gladly. And lastly, he refuses to accept “that’s the way it’s always been done” as a rationale for anything. “The truth is in what you hear,” he contends.

As you peruse this website you will soon discover that PBN is more than a speaker company. It is a total-system company creating amplifiers and pre-amplifiers specifically to support the wholly uncompromised speakers PBN creates.

The same attention to meticulous detail that goes into each and every PBN speaker is also found in every PBN component…including Noerbaek’s award-winning turntable. But, unlike some high-end audiophile products, these pieces are just as beautiful to the eyes as they are to the ears.

As a native of Denmark, Noerbaek’s sense of furniture design is innate. As an engineer, he has gone to extremes to assure that every speaker, component and cable is absolutely the very finest available. There are no shortcuts, no obsolete parts and no concessions. It’s a take-no-prisoners approach! Everything is perfect, inside and out. But ultimately, it’s still about performance. And, as one reviewer quipped: “Noerbaek puts the bling inside, where it truly counts.”

The SkyFi Testing Process for Preamplifiers:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCB’s for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

When we first power on a preamplifier we connect its RCA output to a Sencore PA81 Power Analyzer which simulates real world loading conditions and gives us an oscilloscope interface. The first order of business is checking that the volume control works smoothly throughout its entire range with acceptable channel balance. This is accomplished by feeding a 1KHz sine wave into one of the preamp’s line level inputs while monitoring the preamp’s output on an oscilloscope. We then switch to a 1KHz square wave to test the tone controls, loudness function, and filters where applicable. During this step we are watching for equal alteration of the test signal by both channels. This also helps us identify dirty controls that will need treatment. Once the basic line stage functions are verified, we test each input individually. This is especially important for devices that use relays to select their sources. If the preamp is equipped with a phono stage we test that as well. We use an inverse RIAA filter which allows us to feed a reference test signal into the phono input with the proper RIAA equalization and level. A square wave or sine sweep is used to verify that the device’s phono stage is faithfully reproducing the RIAA curve. If the preamp under test has balanced inputs and/or outputs these are tested as well.

We finish up our bench testing with a listening test with our bench amplifier and reference speakers. During this test we check for hum or hiss that may not have shown up in earlier testing. We also check that all of the tone controls and filters perform as expected. If the preamplifier has remote control functions these are also tested. Preamps with tube circuits or complicated power supply topologies are connected at our long term test rig for extended stress testing under real world conditions.