Ancient Audio – The Cracow audio manufacturer was the first Polish producer of high-end CD players. The exceptional sound quality has been confirmed by a high demand from foreign aficionados, and last but not least – noteworthy reviews in international and home audio magazines (HI-FI News, Fidelity, Audio, Hi-Fi i Muzyka, and others).
A various selection of Ancient Audio CD players have been widely used as front ends in myriad music systems to a spectacular result during innumerable audio shows both in Poland and abroad ( Warsaw Audio Show, Horten Hi-Fi Messe, Brussels AA presentation paired with Kharma speakers, and many to mention but a few) with nods of approval and amazement.
The latest product of Ancient Audio is the long expected Lektor Prime whose origin can easily be traced back to the line of lectors I,II, III and IV but above all to Lektor Grand – The MIGHTY ONE – the renowned three piece top loader so enthusiastically reviewed in last year HI-FI News .
The idea behind making the new Lektor and calling it Prime was to reaffirm the indisputable leading position in the high-end market that could eventually compete with any CD player irrespective of price.
The primary decision to start the project of making L(ektor) P(rime) player was to deliver much of the Lektor Grand sound quality for a more affordable price without having to compromise too much. Both dealers and customers had their say in bringing the Prime onto the market.
Some technical applications previously found in Lektor Grand were incorporated into the Prime to make it sound refined and exceptional. The CD Pro2 mechanism, fully-balanced A/D converters, analog filters, level attenuators, double output level, a Sovtek 6H30 triode output level, XLR output. Since additional pair o RCA input sockets were implemented, Lektor Prime can be regarded as the high performance CD and a valve pre-amp in one.
However, there are still a number of novelties which have been installed that outshine those ones applied in Lektor Grand. An instantly striking difference, seen long before it is turned on, is that of the mechanical construction. Instead of one single slab of granite there are three layers of them. The upper one is suspended on springy elements and the sandwich area between the two has been filled with damping materials. The construction like this allows for rigidity and very high damping specifications. Another visual aspect is entirely new red led display with graduated brightness.
Of course, the most interesting part of Lektor Prime is the inside one. The latest DAC- a new generation of Silver DAC III. Both a digital part as well as I/U converter have been completely redesigned to make the music sound effortlessly with exceptionally well defined bottom base, palpability and most importantly: real-to-life acoustics with three dimensional musical events. It has also been fitted with V-cap Teflon- tin capacitors, which are considered the best one on absolute sound reproduction scale.
“…Prime redefines the notion of hi-end…”
http://www.highfidelity.pl/artykuly/0606/ancient.html
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/ancient1/lektorprime.html
features:
famous metal CD mechanism : CD-pro2M
non-resonant sandwich granite base
Anti-vibration platform from BASE Technology (Norway ) -option
Silver DAC III
V-Cap teflon/tin foil capacitors
Fully balanced signal path
Fist-order analogue filter
100 dB range analogue volume control
Auxiliary analogue input
Silver ribbon internal wiring
Separate power circuits for CD transport, digital , DAC, tube stage
Low impedance tube stage with Sovtek 6H30
Natural stone finish
Dimensions: ( W x H x D) : 350 x 350 x 70 mm
