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mVista 3 ultra-high performance preamplifier
Design Goals:
- ultra-low noise
- high performance user interface with remote control
- music visualisation, VU meters, spectrum displays, all configurable
- DIY capable – 4 layer PCB build, front panel machining
- build cost <£500
Specification
- 6 input: 6dB & 18dB selectable per input: RCA, XLR
- 3 output: fixed, variable, sub-woofer x2: RCA & XLR
- S/N >120dB, Channel separation >120dB, THD+N < 0.0001% (-120dB)
- Ethernet and USB
- Internal MC and MM Phono stage
- Internal DAC/ADC plus DAC over USB
- Roon, UPNP, Spotify & Airplay 2 capable
- Low-noise resistor ladder, relay controller volume control: 64dB in 0.5dB steps
- ultra low noise power supplys
- Short analogue signal path
Latest progress, ideas and inputs
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Designing for a Black Background
A black background is a bit of a buzzword in high-end audio, but I really like it. Making music loud isn’t difficult. Making no noise turns out to be very, very hard. When the music pauses, there should be nothing left behind. No hum. No hiss. No buzz. Just silence. I’m listening to Clair de… Continue reading
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mVista3 Electrical Architecture
At the heart of the mVista 3’s design lies a meticulous approach to isolating sensitive circuitry from noisy components. Through advanced mechanical and electrical shielding, this preamplifier ensures that every note is crystal clear and distortion-free, providing audiophiles with a pristine soundstage. Continue reading
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Mechanical Architecture: making it all fit
Designing the mechanical architecture for an ultra-high-end preamplifier is an exercise in compromise and spatial isolation. The design breaks down into three distinct operational domains: Analog, Digital, and Power Supply. Because the analog domain is exceptionally sensitive to external interference, the physical layout must actively prevent electromagnetic contamination from the digital engines and power rails. Of… Continue reading
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mVista 3 Architecture
The architecture is divided into two separate sections that are physically and electrically separated. Also, great care is taken to minimise EMI and RF interference. Analogue Section The design philosophy is to provide the shortest path from input to output, through a minimum of devices with maximum screening. Dual-mono design. This means a single 4-layer… Continue reading
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MVista 3 – Cabinet and Screen mock-ups
MVista 3 preamplifier will be the combination of two major engineering sub-projects: The analogue electronics and mechanical design building on mVista 2 progressing to towards a full dual-mono, fully galvanically isolated architecture, with Raspberry-Pi 5 microcontroller. The user-interface and visualisation software package. The is based on the work significantly progressed called pyvisualiser. This is a… Continue reading
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mVista 2 preamp
Background In 2017 I made the first version of the mVista preamplifier. This was an ambitious project which met the functional goals, however the noise and cross talk performance left much to be desired. The key learning was that the attention to layout, build technique and mechanical layout is very significant to achieve the high-end… Continue reading
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mVista 3 ultra-high performance preamplifier
Design Goals: ultra-low noise high performance user interface with remote control music visualisation, VU meters, spectrum displays, all configurable DIY capable – 4 layer PCB build, front panel machining build cost <£500 Specification 6 input: 6dB & 18dB selectable per input: RCA, XLR 3 output: fixed, variable, sub-woofer x2: RCA & XLR S/N >120dB, Channel… Continue reading
