Willow Revisited: A Design Celebrating the Enthusiasm and the Creativity of the Builder

audioXpress December 2011 introduced readers to Willow, a “proof-of-concept” project featuring a PMBF4393 JFET and HA5002 buffered preamp, built as a companion to the author's 5002 power amp, and the first to use this typology. After considerable positive DIYer feedback, the Willow was revised and updated, and this article, Willow Revisited was published in February 2016.

Australian company Burson Audio has recently launched its dedicated components division, Supreme Sound Audio, for DIY and OEM products. The manufacturer of USB DAC and amplifiers has also launched the new SS Lycan Op-Amp Test Bench, Headphone Amp and Preamp device on its brand new Supreme Sound Audio website.

The new Drawmer MC1.1 monitor pre-amp follows the success of the previous Drawmer MC2.1 monitor controller, this time designed with the project studio market in mind. The MC1.1 shares the same analog circuitry and robust linear power supply, while also featuring a phono input, at an affordable $549.00 MAP price.

Music software and hardware developer Arturia surprised the market with the announcement that it will be stepping into a new product sector, unveiling a next-generation audio interface in 2015. Widely recognized in the world of software and in particular analog emulation, Arturia successfully entered the musical instruments market a few years ago, but this will be its first audio specific hardware product.