IT’S uncommon for a renowned high-brand to offer a true entry-level portal to its realm, but Cary Audio did that in the early 1990s with the Audio Electronics line, which achieved a reputation for offering audiophile sound at real-world prices (not that Cary prices were stratospheric even then).
Audio Electronics was put on hold for a few years, but Cary has now relaunched the brand, targeting “a new generation of music fans with a smaller, sleeker design suited for the urban environment”, while continuing to preserve the Cary heritage.
First up from Audio Electronics is the solid-state Nighthawk headphone amplifier, an all-new design featuring top quality parts mounted on a thick gauge fiberglass circuit board. A power transformer, rated at three times the requirement for the amplifier’s design, feeds a fully regulated discrete power supply for the best sound quality.
Operating in Class A throughout, the Nighthawk’s front end is a monolithic high-speed FET, which then goes to a fully complementary high-speed buffered output stage for extremely high linearity and low distortion, contributing to musical accuracy. No global feedback is used, and it is designed to drive headphones with an impedance between 20 and 600 ohms. A five second muting circuit prevents any annoying pops and clicks when turning on the Nighthawk.
The Nighthawk headphone amplifier is now shipping and available for purchase through Cary’s online store or at your local dealer.
Cary Audio president Billy Wright talks about the relaunched Audio Electronics here.
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