zesto Andros Tessera Phonostage analog

Zesto Tessera Phonostage

Zesto Tessera Phonostage - Key Features For A Quieter and More Musical Phonostage

My quest for perfection, I started researching past tube designs going back to the original RCA circuits of the 1930s. Those guys got many things right, even though their tools were slide rules and trial and error. Their “classic” designs were my starting point. But I had the advantage of CAD software to simulate electronic circuits. Ah, yes, the old and the new. But even with the engineering skill, history, and technologies, in the end, it’s designed by how it sounds, by ear. The resisters are quiet, the capacitors are transparent, and the transformers have minimal distortion. To ensure its visual aesthetics lived up to its sound, I had an industrial designer (Musky Mistry) and an artist (Carolyn Counnas) collaborate to create an elegant enclosure built like a tank. In the end, however, it is about what you hear. Hearing is believing. — George Counnas, President of Zesto Audio

"The Zesto Audio Andros Téssera Reference Vacuum Tube Phonostage Preamplifier is the reimagined and redesigned top offering from 10-year-old Zesto Audio, with unique and exciting tube choices and usage, mammoth functionality, enormous dynamic range, a musical verisimilitude, and mellifluous presentation rare at any price you may be willing to pay. I tried to identify anything that might indicate a shortcoming in any parameter and failed. Zesto even managed to maximize its premium JJ tubes to the extent that replacing them with expensive NOS types was unnecessary. This is no small accomplishment, I assure you." - Robert H. Levy - Positive Feedback.

Musical Features

  • Completely new 100% tube analog circuit design with optimized components.
  • Dynamic range increased from 108dBV to 116dBV, so the quietest parts are quieter, and the louder parts are louder.
  • Loading on the secondary of the MC transformer to capture the most detail from the cartridge.
  • 12 position MC load per channel with more finessed adjustable options like 1000, 800, 700, 500, 400, 350, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100, and 50 Ohms
  • Two completely independent dual mono channels, with LED indicators for A and B
  • Gain is improved up to 7dB, which increases the output volume to better match your cartridge to your system.
  • The voltage increases from 250V to 300V for more headroom.
  • The power increases from 52W to 60W to provide more energy to reproduce music's highs and lows accurately.
  • The amps increase from 3.4 A to 8 A to provide more tube current.
  • Maximum output improved from 8V RMS to 12V RMS, increasing the headroom to allow more musical peaks like trumpets and drums.

Quieter Features

  • New 12DW7 tubes improve the amplification to drive better the output tubes, which gives you lower noise, more headroom, and lower distortion.
  • Dual chassis external power supply
  • New Toroid design ESP Supply replaces the linear regulated power supply, which generates significantly less noise by concentrating the magnetic fields.
  • The dark black noise levels went from -90dB to -95dB.
  • New PCB layout with significantly more grounding for lower noise.
  • Dual chassis with 3-meter RFI filtered umbilical cable to eliminate external noise.
  • Dedicated output tubes drive high-quality output transformers to create a true differential low-impedance output for lower noise and ideal power transfer to the preamp.
  • True floating ground, transformer-balanced XLR inputs, and outputs
  • New grounding throughout to further reduce the internal and external noise.
  • Switching on relays so there's no digital chatter.
  • Easily adjustable MC "Load on the fly" without clicks or pops so you can hear the change
  • Elegantly designed 16-gauge steel enclosure to help isolate the electronic "chatter" from nearby equipment
  • All the RCA and XLR connectors are Gold plated for better conductance and lower corrosion.

Other Features

  • Accommodates four tonearms, 1 MM, and 1 MC per channel
  • All settings are saved when you switch between channels
  • More energy-efficient Standby power that reduces the drain from 7w to 0.5W.
  • All switches and knobs are easily accessible, with nothing hidden inside to adjust.
  • Recessed RCA connectors are durable and will hold up to the typical Audiophile who loves to change their configuration.
  • Each unit is hand built "Made in the USA."
  • 50-hour factory burn-in on all circuits and vacuum tubes before final testing

Zesto Tessera Phonostage - See here for more details!

Made in the USA