Since there was a lot of interest in the Thomas Mayer Compactron preamplifier, here are the photos of one of the possible models completed in the series chassis. All tubes in this unit are 12-pin Compactron tubes, hence the name. The tube configuration is 6FM7 and 6FJ7 in the signal section and 6BE3 in the power supply.
This is a full-fledged preamplifier with line and phono inputs. Mayer decided to develop a new circuit based on different tubes with the possibility of using MM phono input as well.
Mayer has managed to avoid electrolyte caps altogether in the high-voltage power supply. The only electrolytes are 2 EPCOS caps in the heater supply. And one more feature for users of many different cartridges: the gain of the phono section is selectable in 4 steps. These are the gain values (total gain at the line-out):
- low gain setting: MM 42dB, MC 60dB
- medium gain: MM 48dB, MC 66dB
- high gain: MM 54dB, MC 72dB
- maximum gain: MM 60dB, MC 78dB
The possibilities for customization are endless.
Prices for basic phono or line-only versions start at around 5000 euros (EU price including VAT, 4200 export).
