Wyetech Labs Ruby Phono Stage

I am the first owner of this year-old phono stage (SS#007) from the genius of Roger Hebert. I am only selling it because house renovation bills have far surpassed my original budget and some of the finer things in life will have to go. For now. Once things turn around I fully intend to buy this phono stage again as it is the most quiet, most dynamic, most lifelike phono stage I have ever heard. And as with all things from Wyetech Labs, it is built for many generations of enjoyment.

The unit will come in its original packaging with all original materials. It has only been used in my reference system and is just breaking in - to the point, in fact, where it has really taken on all the greatest characteristics of the best tubed phono stage without any of the drawbacks.

Shipping and Paypal fees to be handled by the buyer. I will only ship to the CONUS via Fedex ground and fully insured. As you can see from the pictures, both the phono module and the power supply are flawless except for the undersides which have a series of hair-line scratches from my Mapleshade mega feet. Hence the 8 rating when otherwise - and functionally - the unit is a 10. I have never seen one of these for sale on the used market, hence the asking price. It is worth it.

Here is the spiel from Roger's website --

The RUBY P1 is a two-channel phono preamplifier module with very
accurate RIAA equalization and many features. It is realized with the
best semiconductors available and non-inductive, low noise, SMD metal
film resistors. The circuit is designed to accept both moving coil (MC)
and moving magnet (MM) transducers/cartridges directly in order to
eliminate the need for an external MC step-up transformer or amplifier.
MC/MM input loading, gain and input capacitance values are easy to
select with high resolution DIP switches.

The Module is ideal for the most demanding applications requiring
accurate RIAA equalization, very low noise, extremely low distortion and
superior sonic performance.

The RUBY P-1 module has been custom-built for Wyetech Labs by
completely automated state of the art assembly methods using extremely
precision components with tolerances to 0.1% accuracy.

Wyetech Labs has employed dual completely independent plus and minus
power supplies for each channel rendering the most accurate level
attainable by any means. [far outperforms battery supply operation]

SHUNT REGULATION IN DC POWER SUPPLY

The Niagara river produces enormous power while still allowing some
water to flow over the falls to maintain the beauty of it and allow it
to be a world attraction. It only consumes a portion of the water flow
to meet these dual requirements.

It is the equivalent to Shunt Regulation in audio power supplies and specifically in the Ruby Phono power supply.

The power supply is designed to produce more power than what is
actually needed while the surplus power is dissipated as heat in order
to maintain a precise voltage to the amplifier itself. The amplifier
drains the current [ power ] from the power supply as needed which can
vary depending on the signal output, while fixating the VOLTAGE to a
precise level to eliminate any modulation of the actual audio voltage
signal.

The dual RED / GREEN LED's show the operation of these four circuits.
The LED's monitor this excess current which flows through each of them
such that they become the status of the proper operation. They should
always be lit but the intensity of the light output could vary depending
on the AC voltage fed to it. Low AC input voltage can cause the LED's
to turn off. The green LED will shut down first then the red if the AC
voltage continues to sag further. Even if this happens you will not find
any deterioration in sound because the +/- 26 volt DC output is further
reduced to +/- 16 volts by an outboard regulator on the analog PCB
module. Notwithstanding in proper operation they should always be lit up
if your input AC is operating at the proper AC voltage.

In other words the amplifying circuit is always supplied with the
power it needs which can vary with the signal while the excess power is
dissipated through the ground as heat. This type of regulation is called
shunt regulation and is considered to be far superior to a series type
regulator which is why we chose to implement it in this product.

Secondary DC regulators on the analog module further reduce the
voltage to +/- 16 volts for each channel from the +/- 26 volts feeding
it. This double regulation further reduces any possibility of noise or
distortion in the analog module.

FEATURES

• Compact design. Dual-mono. Very low noise. Single or Balanced output


• Non-inductive low noise SMD metal film resistors [0.1%]


• Input accepts moving coil/moving magnet (MC/MM) cartridges directly without step-up transformer


• Input loading >from 10 ohms to 47k ohms selectable in 21 steps


• Gain Select > 40db to 80db selectable in 34 steps


• High output drive. Balanced - 28V. Unbalanced - 14V


• High accuracy RIAA equalization with 0.05dB tolerance


• Selectable time constants of 3.18uS and/or 7950uS


• Total harmonic distortion 0.0003%


• Low output impedance [ 0.1 Ohm ] - drives long signal cables


• Two-stage dual-supply voltage regulator on PCB board for each channel in combination with external DC power supply


• Three-stage outboard power supply with 6 chokes and over 40,000 uf of filtering capacitance

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

DC ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• RIN, input resistance (DIP-switch selectable) 10,15,18,20,25,30, 40,50,60,70,80,90, 100,150,180,200, 250,400,600,1k,47k Ohm


• CIN, input capacitance (DIP-switch selectable) Approx. 100,200,300,400 pF


• PSRR, power supply rejection ratio (AV = 40dB, 10Hz to 20kHz) 120 dB


• RO, output resistance (VO = 1V, DC to 100kHz) 0.1 Ohm


• VO, output voltage swing (Unbalanced operation) Min. 14.2 V


• IO, output current (RL = 100 Ohm) 25 mA

AC ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• VIN, input nominal levels (VO = 1V) (DIP-switch selectable)


• (0.10mV ~ AV = 80dB)


• (1.0mV ~ AV = 60dB)


• (10mV ~ AV = 40dB)


• 0.10, 0.12, 0.15, 0.18, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.55,
  0.60, 0.70, 0.80, 0.90, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0,
  2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, 10.0 MilliVolt [Mv]


• VINO, input overload level (f = 1kHz, AV = 40dB) 100 mV


• AV, voltage gain (DIP-switch selectable) 40 to 80 dB


• dAV, RIAA equalization deviation (Ref.= 1kHz, 10Hz to 20kHz) 0.05 dB


• BW, bandwidth (-3dB, VO = 1V, AV = 40dB) 2 MHz


• Ein, input noise voltage density (f0 = 1kHz, AV = 80dB) 0.5 nV/Hz


• S/N, signal to noise ratio (AV = 40/60/80dB) 98/90/71 dB


• CS, channel separation (AV = 40dB, 10Hz to 20kHz) 120 dB


• THD, total harmonic distortion (AV = 40dB, f0 = 1kHz) 0.0003 %