A Brief History

HANSEN audio equipment manufacturing started in 2010 with a request from a client (Roddy Newsham) for a valve phono stage. The task was tackled with enthusiasm and many long nights behind the design workbench. Much thanks to my Creator for help and direction. Words of encouragement via the audio grape vine kept me going – ("if anybody can do it then he can" – Helmar van Rooyen). There after there was a nine month voicing period for which I owe much gratitude to another client (Theo Rai) for allowing me to use his great sound rig, we had many good nights of listening and upgrading until the product was worthy of being manufactured and to be part of his system.

The valve pre-amplifier was next in line and was finalized in a nine month period. The faster completion time was due to the foundation already laid by the valve phono stage. Voicing was quicker and the final product was in place.

A unique request for a 5.1(6-channel) valve pre-amplifier for surround sound was put into action and was manufactured in a six month period. This unit incorporated the first remote control system. Remote controls are not encouraged as they incorporate microprocessors which require crystal oscillators to operate, these inherently induce high frequency noise into the design but in this instance it was allowed for reason of convenience for the client.

The power amplifier was now put into action at the request of a client (Anton Kriek, who already owns the HANSEN valve phono stage and pre-amplifier). The design, development, prototyping and first product took just over a year. My client took ownership of his equipment at the end of 2014.

Upgrading is an ongoing process and any developments for improved sound quality are made available to existing and future cliental. Some upgrades are implemented in future products as part of the manufacturing process and not as after market upgrades.

The Design Philosophy

In order to design audio equipment with High End sound quality, numerous factors are taken into account and kept in the fore front of one's mind. The one presiding factor that supersedes them all is to aim for the shortest signal path from input to output. The reason for this is that every component in the signal path adds its own character to the overall sound reproduction and therefore influences the final sound stage quality. Each component in the signal path is "voiced" in listening sessions in order to obtain a sound quality that most closely follows the original recording. That in itself can be very subjective so in order to have an objective view point, listening to live music and instruments is the best reference. Our mind is the best recording device.

Two other important factors to be kept in mind is noise control and component matching. Noise control is a factor that is designed into every part of the circuit from the ac mains input to the speaker output and the enclosure itself. Noise comes into the circuit through the ac mains input, through radio frequency bombardment, EMI (electro-magnetic interference) and from other equipment attached or placed nearby. This "noise" needs to be suppressed at all entrance points to the designed circuit, from within the design itself as well as with the enclosure.

Component matching is paramount and yet obvious if pin point imaging, extended sound stage and 3D imaging is to be achieved. This is time consuming as many components need to be measured in order to obtain a matched pair and even more time if four components need to be matched. Yet it is well worth the effort and satisfaction is achieved when a "played – in" piece of equipment comes into its own.

The final aim is to design a piece of equipment that when listened to in the comfort of the home environment, a satisfaction and enjoyment of listening to natural music reproduction is achieved.

Hand Manufactured

All the audio equipment is hand manufactured in South Africa. Yes there are imported components, but where possible, local industry is used for the manufacturing process of certain key components.

All printed circuit boards are personally designed with careful thought to component placing, track to track proximity and the influence of other external components on the circuit board. The boards are locally produced and are of highly ridged fibre glass with the thickest possible copper tracks available for lowest resistance and highest current transfer where required. These printed circuit boards are populated and soldered with care taken on every solder joint and what type of solder to use for each component application within the circuit design. No automated processes are used.

Hard wiring of the valve sockets in the phono stage component and in the pre-amplifier component is of utmost importance in achieving the sound quality they are able to reproduce.