Tortuga Audio October 2014 Newsletter

LDRx & LDRxB Passive Preamps Now Available 

On September 1st we officially released the new LDRx/LDRxB passive preamps to manufacture. The LDRx is a single ended passive preamp with 3 inputs (optional 4th & 5th) and 2 outputs. The LDRxB is a balanced version with 3 XLR inputs, 1 RCA inputs (up converted to balanced internally) plus 2 XLR and 1 RCA output.

The LDRx and LDRxB are our second generation finished passive preamps and utilize our third generation LDR technology design with key features only available in our finished preamp products.

One  thing is for certain. With the LDRx and LDRxB we’ve clearly raised the bar a few notches higher on our passive preamps. I personally listen to each and every preamp before it ships out of our shop and have done so since day one. With the release of the LDRx/LDRxB, the imaging, sound stage, clarity and articulation of our LDR passive preamps have never been better.

We are also quite pleased with how well our new enclosure design has worked out. These models have a high quality look and feel to them that combines the cool elegance of dark anodized aluminum with the warm accent of bamboo. We very deliberately left off any text, artwork or logos from the front panel. Didn’t want to spoil the view!

For the past few weeks we’ve been very busy ramping up production and shipping out our backlog of pre-orders. So busy in fact that we haven’t had time to stop and update you all with any announcements or newsletters….until now.

We are close to having caught up with all of our pre-orders and extend a heartfelt thanks to all of our pre-order customers for their interest in Tortuga Audio and their patience. We are currently telling folks who place new orders to expect roughly 3 weeks until shipment. Over the past month we’ve brought on additional help to get us through this exciting crunch time so turn-around will improve as we move forward.

More info on the LDRx and LDRxB (balanced) can be found via the links below:

[button link=”http://51.81.208.15/product/ldrx-passive-preamp/” size=”small”]LDRx (single-ended)[/button] [button link=”http://51.81.208.15/product/ldrxb-balanced-passive-preamp/” size=”small”]LDRxB (balanced)[/button]

New Planned Features – User Adjustable Input Impedance 

We are working on a firmware update that will enable LDRx, LDRxB and LDR3x.V2 owners to adjust the input impedance level of their passive preamps. This new feature will enable owners to test and find the optimal input impedance for their specific combination of source and amp components. Changing the input impedance will be a 2 step process of first changing the impedance setpoint value and then running the unit through an auto-calibration cycle. The range of input impedance adjustment is expected to be between 1k and 50k in ~5k increments.

Future refinements of this feature may include having multiple impedance data settings/results stored in memory so that input impedance can be switched “on the fly” making it much easier to quickly determine your optimal impedance setting.

Another upcoming feature will be the ability to turn the display on/off while the preamp is running/playing. Currently the user can adjust the display brightness but isn’t able to toggle it off and on.

Owners will be able to try these and other new control features by downloading future firmware updates from our website and uploading them into their units via a PC and USB cable.

LDRx Passive Preamp Debuts at New York Audio Show & RMAF 2014

In late September our new LDRx Passive Preamp  was shown for the first time at the New York Audio Show. While we were not at this show in person this year, our friends at Bright Audio were highlighting the LDRx Passive Preamp  in their lineup of great audio equipment. In the future we expect that our line of LDRx preamps will be available through Bright Audio which caters to the New York City high end and home theater market including full service installation.

Last weekend we personally attended the 2014 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver and had a great time meeting customers, new friends and playing music for tons of people on an outstanding lineup of audio equipment.

For RMAF we partnered with Volti Audio (speakers), Border Patrol (DAC & tube amp) and Triode Wire Labs (cables) with a Dell laptop front end server with nearly 800 GB of FLAC files plus many CD’s and thumb drives.  We had a great time and were all too happy to play whatever music our visitors asked for or brought with them. My summary of our experience at RMAF can be found here on our AudioCircle forum.

If you’re not already a member of AudioCircle.com I highly recommend you give it a try and better yet become a member. It’s a well run audio forum where civility is the norm – thankfully.

Complete DIY Passive Preamp Kit Being Planned

We often receive inquiries from the DIY community as to whether we offer a complete LDR passive preamp kit. While we do sell DIY components we have yet to offer complete kits. We are working to change that.

The kit will be comprehensive and will include everything needed to assemble a complete LDR passive preamp including the enclosure. To be clear it WILL NOT be a kit version of our LDRx or LDRxB finished preamps nor will it include our LDR input switching board. However, it will include a fully assembled and tested LDR3x.V2 preamp controller board together with a to-be-assembled 3 input relay board and display board plus an encoder, RCA jacks, wire, external “wallwart” power supply and enclosure.  The enclosure including front/rear panels will be all aluminum and either painted or anodized black.

Assembly will require the DIY’er to have basic soldering equipment, a drill, plus basic hand tools like screw drivers, allen wrenches etc. No tools will be provided with the kit.

Final pricing is still being determined but will likely be somewhere in the range of $750-950.

Tortuga Audio Turned 2 Years Old In October!

Hard to believe it’s been 2 years already since we hung out our sign and went live.

The best part of designing and selling high performance audio gear is our customers. We’re not perfect but we try to do right by every one of our customers and have been delighted at all the positive feedback we’ve received over the past 2 years.

A heartfelt thank you to all of our customers and supporters!