Classic Style. Classic Circuit. Classic Sound? By Steve Graham SunValley – that’s the way they spell it, without a space between the Sun and the Valley – is a division of the huge Toyota corporation, manufacturer of motor vehicles. I suspect there is a member of the Toyoda family (yes, Toyoda is the correct family name of Toyota’s founder) or that one of the senior vice presidents of the corporation is a tube-loving audiophile. Anything that brings more tube gear to us geeky audiophiles is fine with me. But first: this is going to get wordy. I think kits deserve extra attention, so a few highlights from the build process are presented at the end of the review. Also, because my name is Steve Graham and as different tube types are encouraged both by SunValley and VK Music, I’ll do a bit of tube rolling too. Features: – Based on the classic Marantz 7 circuit – Power supply: 5AR4/GZ34 Tube rectifier (silicon rectifier also supplied) for B+, regulated filament supply – Amplifier: Two 12AX7 and one 12AU7 (see below) – Four inputs, one switchable to optional USB dac – Volume and Balance controls – Amplifier portion point to point [...]
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