We have witnessed a resurgence of vacuum tubes used in high quality audio equipment during the last 15 years or so. In conjunction with improved recording and production techniques, this has brought about something of a renaissance in sound quality and realism of reproduction. From the standpoint of vacuum tube component design, there are two reasons for this.

Firstly, electron tubes possess wonderful sonic attributes, including:

• Realistic reproduction of acoustic space and ambience (when present in the recording);
• True timbre, “body” and three-dimensionality of acoustic instruments and voices;
• Sensation of pace and inner dynamics;
• “Fluid” or “liquid” subjective sound quality (The sound is seductive, and it just gets better as you consume more of the “liquid”) -- this is especially manifest in the quality of the upper midrange and high registers characterized by the absence of: harshness in female voices, graininess in massed strings, and “etched” overemphasis of detail in cymbals;
• Sonorous but controlled pitch definition in the bass (which also imparts weight to the lowest registers).
  

Secondly, the modern electronic engineer has access to a vast array of high performance semiconductor devices and superior passive components which enable the refinement of tried-and-true circuit designs. Examples of these components include: excellent silicon rectifiers, precision voltage references,  almost “ideal” audio capacitors, finely engineered chassis wiring, very large energy storage capacitors, wide-bandwidth toroidal output transformers, superb connectors and switches, and so on. This is why modern amplifiers built around vacuum tubes sound so good!

Beyond sound quality, convenience of use is a factor which we consider to be important. For example, older tube amplifiers required frequent bias adjustment to maintain optimal operation, but our new automatic biasing circuit renders this unnecessary and helps to extend tube life.

We take pride in our quality craftsmanship, but we avoid frills that just add to the cost without adding value. Our products are durable as well as beautiful and functional, and we believe they represent a sound investment — in more ways than one!

At Marian Research, we celebrate these vintage devices. We employ all the modern circuit knowledge, the very latest and best electronic components, and the best build quality, in order to elicit the glowing virtues of vacuum tubes for your listening pleasure.