About us
Over 40 years of HiFi experience
As seen on
Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Neuhaus
My interest in hi‑fi began at around the age of 14 and has since defined my professional path. I completed my studies in general electrical engineering with the construction of a modular hi‑fi preamplifier as my diploma thesis. During my studies, I also encountered electrostatic speakers for the first time and was immediately fascinated by this natural and genuinely authentic music reproduction. Nearly 25 years have passed during which I have continuously focused on the subject. Initially pursued as a hobby on the side, it gradually evolved into a profession. Throughout, the electrostatic transducer has always been my passion. It was through this common interest that Mr. Milkovits and I met many years ago. Even then, it was my goal to help bring greater recognition and wider adoption to electrostatic speakers. However, it took years to realize that goal—the simple reason being my insistence that the transducers must be superior both in terms of measurement accuracy and acoustics!
Through the partnership with Mr. Milkovits, the ultimate sound system could now be created under the purist label. I was presented with an almost unique opportunity as a developer—to realize my ideas and visions virtually without financial limitations, driven solely by the ambition to achieve the very best. Combined with Mr. Milkovits’s rich reservoir of ideas and enormous expertise, extraordinary concepts and products emerged in a short time, garnering very positive responses in the professional community.
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Milkovits
In the beginning, personal enthusiasm was paramount—an authentic reproduction, the live feeling at home, and the joy of listening to music. I had this vision already at 16, experimenting with countless components. After completing my studies in communications engineering, I pursued this goal even more intensively, leading to my own developments. After numerous attempts with various providers, I had to conclude that while there were some good approaches, most ultimately did not achieve the results I desired. They could only temporarily satisfy my audiophile standards. In 1997, I returned to tube technology and came to favor this amplifier principle. This spurred me to get in touch with several manufacturers and put my ideas into practice. From these contacts, a collaboration with KR Audio Electronics was born. Their new tube technology enables unparalleled sound dimensions and, in my view, is far ahead of transistor-based amplification.
Now, together with KR Audio Electronics, we are developing new products and consider ourselves to have reached our goal. In the field of speakers, I have been working with dipole systems—and especially with electrostatic speakers—for about 20 years. For roughly two decades, I have favored these systems, and now, with the enormous know‑how of Mr. Neuhaus, I have been able to develop the ultimate speaker system. The purist ESL sets new standards.
Our principles
Best Sound
Every electronic circuit, regardless of type, manufacturer, price, or tolerance, influences the musical signal. Our expertise lies in selecting the right types of circuits with the right components. This results in less impact on the signal and better sound. The components used are of the highest quality. Our long experience in designing electronic circuits and understanding the sonic behavior of components is reflected in our unique designs. Our circuit design fundamentally avoids feedback in the signal path. This is a crucial factor in achieving the unparalleled sound profile of purist products.
High Linearity
Audio circuits must exhibit very linear behavior. Any deviations in level are unacceptable. Distortion and noise must be kept to a minimum. Every developer strives to achieve this goal through their circuit design and the use of appropriate components. We preferentially use special audio tubes and JFETs, as they are the most linear “active” components and enable circuits with fewer parts. Additionally, these components offer more favorable distortion characteristics for audio applications. Extremely low-noise resistors and low-loss capacitors—sometimes manufactured to our strict specifications - are employed as “passive” components.
Stability and Reliability
We develop safe, reliable, and value-preserving circuits. In particular, power amplifiers must be able to handle a wide variety of speakers as loads. With complex speaker loads—such as electrostatic speakers—many amplifiers fail, experiencing anything from tonal compromises to complete electrical failure. In contrast, our amplifiers operate reliably even under the most challenging conditions. We only use components with an extended, specified lifespan. The reliability is also reflected in the solid mechanical quality of the enclosures and their substantial weight.
Short Signal Paths
A good circuit design does not require complex structures and is physically compact. Our know-how minimizes the number of components in the signal path, resulting in less impact on the signal and improved sound quality. Every component that is not absolutely necessary is consistently removed, while the remaining components are used in even higher quality grades. Physically short traces are also advantageous. Our layouts are optimized for short trace routing rather than for visually appealing effects.
Ease of Use
For us, ease of use means that our devices offer a meaningfully high level of functionality while remaining very simple and intuitive to operate. We reject confusing menus or the overloading of buttons with multiple functions. Intelligent automation works discreetly in the background, relieving you from unnecessary operational tasks. For example, in our Hard Disc Recorder, additional information about the music—such as track details or our special studio mastering service—is automatically retrieved from the Internet and displayed via a touch screen.
Clean Power Supplies
Clean power supplies are another cornerstone of good sound. Imagine if your meal were cooked with just one spoiled ingredient - you would notice it immediately. The ear is a much more sensitive sense organ and instantly detects a poor component. The music then sounds no longer genuine, but artificial, like canned food.
Technically speaking, an amplifier is a circuit that modulates its supply voltage with the musical signal. From this perspective, it becomes immediately clear that the quality of the power supply is just as important as the quality of the modulator. If a dirty, interference-laden power supply is used, then those disturbances inevitably enter the musical signal. Clearly, the power supply is essential for the overall sound impression.
The ideal power supply delivers clean and constant voltages that are independent of the load. This requires elaborate, multi-stage filtering and clever control loops. Our power supplies provide the audio circuits with the cleanest, noise- and hum-free supply voltages.
Modular Design
Modular design initially requires a special effort, but it is one that pays off. It allows you to configure your system precisely according to your demands and preferences - much like a tailored suit fits better than off-the-rack clothing. Only a modular concept is flexible enough to accommodate your individual needs and the unique conditions of your listening room. We call this our “scalable concept.”
As your requirements increase, you can easily and relatively inexpensively upgrade your system. In some cases, existing components can be reconfigured and reused instead of being sold off at a loss. For example, you might start with our amplifier module for electrostatic speakers, which features four amplifier channels to power both the electrostatic panels and the bass. If you later decide to operate the electrostatic panel with a new amplifier, the module can simply be reconfigured so that it only supplies the bass - providing significantly higher power reserves. The new amplifier continues to receive its audio signal from the amplifier module. With a further upgrade involving a subwoofer, the configuration can again be adjusted so that two channels supply the bass and the remaining two channels power the new subwoofer.
Each step represents a significant improvement with manageable financial and technical effort - a secure investment in the future.