Pure Science. Pure Audio™
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http://www.zusaudio.com/newsletter/n2nov2006.htm
Written by Russell Torlage, President
Change with ZUS: When ZUS Audio was formed, much thought went into the logistics of the different areas of management of ZUS itself. It was initially decided to contract out the manufacturing, marketing and order fulfillment to a firm that could specialize in this area. Engineering, research, design, quality control and testing would all continue be managed in-house by ZUS. Two years ago, we entered into serious negotiations with a firm that we felt could help us with the manufacturing, marketing and order fulfillment. However, due to irreconcilable differences that arrangement was terminated just recently. Going back to the "drawing board" so to speak, we realized that ZUS would be far better served if it could somehow be totally managed in-house. Many of you are not aware of my current position of Co-President of SOTA Instruments Inc. (www.sotainstruments.com) SOTA Instruments is a leader in micro-current units based on the research of Dr. Robert C. Beck, and other pioneers in using electricity to better one's health. My wife Lesley and I are the owners and Co-Presidents of SOTA. SOTA has grown significantly since its inception in 1995. We have a dedicated Team of employees and have established an excellent foundation/infrastructure for effectively bringing our products to market. We just recently made the decision to have ZUS Audio's products run through the same manufacturing "stream" as SOTA's products. Distinct advantages are 1) SOTA has already established close relationships with contract manufacturers, 2) ZUS will draw on SOTA's experience and expertise in bringing a product to market, and 3) ZUS will not have to contract out key areas of management and will therefore have 100% control over all aspects of the company. We are very excited to bring ZUS up to this next level. The only unfortunate result is SOTA is currently working 24/7 on time-critical projects that are presently taking nearly all of SOTA's resources. Therefore, the ZUS product launch date will be pushed back. We expect to work in tandem during this time so we still continue to keep the "fires of ZUS lit" while SOTA completes its tasks. We will keep you informed as to the progress. Thanks for your continued support and patience while ZUS gets up-and-running.
Patents: We were hoping to apply for 4 original US Patents on our technology. However, after many months of discussion with our Patent Attorney, it was concluded that the current ZUS technology may not be patentable due to previous disclosure of the technology to the public domain. When Randy Slone had SEAL Electronics running, he offered audio kits to the public. Some of those kits included ZUS technology. Furthermore, on Randy's efforts to serve the Do-It-Yourself audio community, he frequently shared schematics, and talked openly about the latest developments being made that would eventually become the core of ZUS' products. These efforts placed the ZUS technology into public domain. Once in public domain, you have one year to apply for patents. Unfortunately, neither I nor Randy had patent law knowledge and did not know at that time that we would be preventing ourselves from receiving US Patents on our innovations. So, we move on as the wiser. It is comforting to know that we had an excellent opportunity nonetheless in obtaining US Patents as our technology was indeed highly innovative, novel and by all accounts, patentable.
Audio Power Amplifier...Hum?:
Prototype Amplifier - Front View
After much testing of the power amplifier, we ran into a minor problem. On certain pieces of audio equipment, when connected to our amplifier, there was a measurable rise in hum on the output that could be heard from the loudspeaker. This was of course an immediate concern and we started investigating. It turned out one of our balanced input boards had a minor wiring error that would only show up if certain other audio equipment were connected to the amplifier. On equipment with a 3-prong grounding system (we had most all of our testing done on equipment with 2-prong power cords), a 60 Hertz ground loop could be established. This of course would cause increased hum and noise. We found the offending wiring error and promptly fixed it. It took us several weeks to find it as it did not occur to us that the Balanced Input board was the cause of the hum. Once fixed, performance returned to expected levels.
Audio Pre-Amplifier:
Prototype Pre-Amplifier - Inside
View
Testing and tweaking of the audio pre-amplifier continues. Our first prototype is pictured here. New circuit boards were designed and have been ordered. As time permits we hope to shortly re-build the entire pre-amplifier and run some more extensive tests. We will keep you informed of course.
AC Power
Filter (PowerPure™):
Prototype PowerPure - Inside View
Pictured above is the prototype PowerPure™ unit. The PowerPure™ is a high performance AC power line filter. This unit is intended to filter and clean the AC power prior to your audio gear. As you can see it houses a massive toroidal transformer as well as array of high-current choke coils and eight high-performance polypropylene capacitors. The transformer is a 2,000 VA rated toroid to ensure the PowerPure™ unit can easily provide ample power (Watts) to any piece of audio equipment plugged into it. Initial testing shows the PowerPure™ unit does a remarkable job of "cleaning up" the incoming 120 VAC 60 Hertz mains. Since all of our time is being spent on perfecting the amplifier and pre-amplifier, we have had to put the PowerPure™ unit on the back-burner for now.
New Look of
ZUS:
Artist's Rendition of new ZUS
Concept
Once we were certain the circuit design and electrical/mechanical requirements were complete and "set" we then hoped to place more attention on the industrial design (look and feel) of our products as well as branding. We expected to start this final step sometime over the next few months. However, it turns out that one of our associate's brother is a gifted architect as well as an audiophile. We formed an instant bond with Victor and have been working closely with him on this new design for ZUS. We thought you might like to see a sneak preview of where we are heading. Shown above are concepts of the Pre-amplifier, Stereo Amplifier and our 6-Channel Home Theatre Amplifier.
Tell Us What Product Your Are interested In:
As we approach our Product Launch date, we will begin the ordering and manufacturing of the components that make up each product. To help us get a better idea of what products our Customers have an interest in, please feel free to e-mail us at contactus@zusaudio.com on those items you might be willing to order from us. (Of course, we won't actually be placing any orders.) This way, we can make sure we will have enough inventory to fulfill orders ahead of time. Please see our Products page for available items. Now, if there is a product that we do not currently offer and you would be interested in, please feel free to let us know as well. We really appreciate your feedback and thank you for your support.
That is it for now. Until next time.
Cheers!
Russell J. Torlage,
President
ZUS Audio Inc.
ZUS Audio Inc. Penticton, BC Canada
Tel: 1-250-770-2022, Fax: 1-250-770-1999
Copyright (C) 2007, ZUS Audio Inc.