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Thermionic Culture The ULTRA Vulture  From Thermionic

Stereo valve enhancer for mastering and more.

Thermionic Culture

$3,599.00

No Sales Tax in OH!
No Sales Tax in 45 States. Learn More.

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No Sales Tax collected in OH.

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Sales tax is only collected in the following states: CA, FL, NC, SC, TN and VA. If your state is not listed, sales tax will not be collected on your order.
Ships Quick!
Usually ships 3 - 5 business days after order processed.
Payments as low as $81/mo.

Manufacturer's Description from Thermionic

Building on the success and performance of the limited edition Culture Vulture 20th Anniversary model, the Ultra Vulture performance is the best for stereo sources yet.


New features include :

  • Lower noise and minimum distortion than previous models.
  • Wider bandwidth with more low end extension and high end well beyond 20khz.
  • Subtle lift of low and high frequencies for clarity, size and depth of sound.
  • Wide sweet spot of controls for subtle stereo use with excellent stereo matching.
  • Features also include:
  • Balanced inputs and outputs provided by specially designed transformers.
  • Indented front panel controls for easy recall and stereo matching.
  • Triode, Pentode and P2 settings taken from the now classic Culture Vulture. P3 setting.
  • Normal/+10dB/Overdrive and presence switches taken from Culture Vulture Super 15.

 

Thermionic Culture

About Manufacturer

Thermionic Culture is focused on producing the very best all valve design audio products. In this day and age of mass-produced solid-state audio equipment it's a refreshing change for a company to constantly strive for the ultimate all valve signal path.

The owners/key people involved at Thermionic Culture are totally dedicated to valve audio equipment, all having many years experience in recording and working with valves. Company founder and designer Vic Keary built his first studio in the late 50's and went onto building Maximum Sound Studios which was later bought by Manfred Mann and renamed The Workhouse, Chalk Farm Studios, and the all valve based studio Chiswick Reach.

Jon Bailes, Thermionic Culture's co-founder is responsible for the mechanical design & visual appearance. Jon has a wealth of experience as a Chief Designer in the electronic manufacturing industry .

Nick Terry engineers on many current albums and singles working recently with artists such as McAlmont & Butler, The Libertines. All this 'real world' experience is an invaluable aid to creating all valve equipment that other artists will no doubt appreciate.

Audio amplification, compression, mixing and equalisation took a backward step when solid-state technology was introduced. Valves are much more real and natural when amplifying and processing audio. We use no transistors or ICs in the signal path. Solid state is relegated to where it works best - in power supplies, although we do use a valve voltage regulator in The Culture Vulture's HT supply.

Some of our circuits take ideas from the 1940s to '60s and refine and update them to produce the low noise and distortion which are expected now. Other circuits are really original! To achieve high standards we use modern components such as 1% metal oxide resistors and polypropylene capacitors where their use is a positive advantage, but we avoid Hi-Fi type gimmicks such as gold plated XLR connectors. We take pride in the construction and reliability of our equipment. To date it is all hand wired using the best quality components. We give a 2-year guarantee against manufacturing defects, though we can only guarantee valves for 1 year. Many valves we use, are Military/Industrial grade. Also, we select and match (where necessary) all of the valves that we supply so a far longer life span can be expected

Specifications

A) Figures obtained with 1kHz signal, 0.25mA ‘Bias’ current, Function at T, feeding a 10kΩ load.

Distortion (THD): 0.2%

Frequency response: 20 Hz to 25 kHz, +/-1dB

Max Output Level (MOL) +19 dBm, 2% distortion

Gain available: 46dB line, 52dB DI input

Noise: 90 dB below MOL (2%)


B) Maximum Figures

Distortion (THD): 98%

MOL: +24 dBm, 20%+ distortion

Gain: 70dB (approx), P1, min. ‘Bias’.


C) Impedances:

Line Input: 20kΩ

DI Input: 50kΩ

Line Output 1kΩ

Lo Output 4kΩ


D) Power Consumption: 20W

 

E) Net Weight: 6 kg