GOLDMUND - Swiss Made High-End Audio Equipment

We heard the first few samples only few weeks ago but decided already to include it inside the Mimesis 27+, which is probably today our best sounding preamp already, waiting for the brand new Mimesis 22 Millennium that everybody is waiting for (and should be sparing for…!). (See below)

The A20 module is already quite successful as an upgrade for existing Mimesis 22, Mimesis 27 and 27+ as well as for those who wanted to have it inside their SRP or SRP2. Absolutely plug compatible, you don’t even need a technician to install it and the improvement in distortion and power supply noise rejection makes it a tremendous quality increase for the absolute top systems.

Its official now : we will have a Mimesis 22 Millennium Edition before the end of this year.

We kept the Mimesis 22 name because it was worldwide considered the absolute top in terms of analogue preamplifiers.

We kept it also because the unit will look very much like a Mimesis 22 with the same 2 front servo-controlled big knobs and display.

What will make it absolutely unique (and one big step ahead of its ancestor in sound quality) is the the inside.. We decided to redo it entirely, and to revamp each part of the circuitry, some being already more than 15 years old.

The Mimesis 22 Millennium will have a totally new power supply circuitry with more than 12 separate power supplies built-in !

The Audio circuit will use A20 modules of course and be exactly equivalent to the Millennium amplifier in both schematics and components quality.

The driving software is currently totally redesigned to overcome all the problems known in the early Mimesis 22, like the bad potentiometer range, unbalance at low levels, irritating software erasure, complexity of the setup menus, etc..

The Millennium 22 will be configurable by an outside or optional built-in computer so the most complicated setup may become essentially automatic.

The Preamplifier will be controlled by infrared using a Pronto2 remote, by RS232 for Home Installations, or even by Ethernet in a future option (for UPNP connection). We are even investigating RF remote by Palm computer as a very exciting option.

An interesting new feature of this luxury version of the best preamp in the world will be the additional optional Digital input module, so you may connect both analogue and digital domain sources to the same control unit.

Last but not least, we expect to introduce simultaneously a brand new Phono preamp …. A big work as you may see. But what other preamp could a Millennium amplifier owner buy ?

We know you will ask if the new inside may be retrofitted to an old Mimesis 22 ? Right ?

The prudent answer now is maybe, or rather probably. But it could be quite expensive since literally all electronics, and big part of the mechanics will have to be exchanged…

The successor of the Mimesis 39 and 36 is still not available for sale but shows good progress. We now have a working prototype which is giving us great satisfaction.

For those who missed the precedent episodes, here is a small memo of what we know already about this new machine:

• It is aimed to replace the Mimesis 36 and 39 as a top quality CD turntable, but include the DVD Video support that everybody buying such an expensive machine will need one day or another.
• The Eidos 38 will match exactly the Mimesis 20 and Mimesis 22 in look, finish and “Mechanical Grounding” construction quality. It uses the same aluminum, brass and steel construction, with 4 adjustable conical feet going through the machine. In such respect it will be even better built than a Mimesis 36 or 39 to evacuate vibrations.- The machine will weight around 20 kilos, like a Mimesis 36.
• It will use a Pioneer mechanism, still the best sounding in CD playback, even if we heavily modify it.
• We developed a totally new drawer and clamping concept to keep the mechanism from vibrating. It has been designed and is built for us by Georges Bernard and Modesto Barros. The mechanism drawer, made of aluminum, Teflon and gold plated screws, looks like a Patek Philippe rather than the usual plastic molded ones found in even the best machines..
• We designed a totally new 7 stage power supply which is 100% isolating the machine form the AC line noise, based on the AC-Curator technology. The transformer bloc is twice bigger than any other transport we ever made and is fully suspended.
• The Eidos 38 will receive in option a totally new video output circuit based on the research made in the US by Izahi Corp. Auto adjustment of the contrast and sharpness, special “AntiMacrovision” circuitry compensating for the loss brought by this process on the best projectors, recreation of a 4:4:2 quality for the component Video outputs, all BNC connection, etc..

By the way for those who still don’t know it, why the name Eidos ? It is another reference made by Goldmund to our common cultural roots, the ancient Greek : in ancient Greek, Eidos means the perfection of the image reproduction. After the Mimesis family, a clear indication of the new Home-Theater direction we are pursuing …

The new Stellavox PR2 Passive Controller was initially designed to provide a simple switching/adjusting device in analogue studio setups. But Hifi buffs are expecting it to become the ideal partner to the very successful PW1 and future PW2 power amps. With 5 inputs and a level control, no sound quality since it is 100% passive, and the typical Swiss-made Stellavox look and feel, it may become a great Hifi preamp in these days of high audio level sources. Welcome to the new baby !