UNISON RESEARCH S8

Second-hand, in mint condition, without scratches. Supplied with remote control, no original package.
Integrated tube amplifier

It is widely recognized that the finest sounding valve amplifiers are those which use triodes in their output stage-especially triodes of the directly-heated type. The S8 is an integrated amplifier which follows this design philosophy.

The S8 offers superb quality of construction both in terms of electronics and appearance, resulting in a sound that is truly outstanding in terms of sheer realism and dynamic capability.

Moreover, the S8 is an amplifier that has been designed for long life and excellent reliability. Its intelligent electronic circuitry guarantees component stability so that the original quality of the sound will remain unaltered over the lifetime of the unit.
Electronic characteristics
In order to use a directly-heated 845 triode valve in the output stage of an amplifier, the associated circuitry and components must be of the very highest quality. Absolutely no compromises have been made in this area, which is critical to the success of the S8 design. In fact, when we found that a component of the desired quality was not available, we simply designed and manufactured it ourselves.
Pure silver is used for the electronic circuit board of the S8, and all hard-wired connections are made with solder made of silver alloy made to our precise specifications by a special metal laboratory. This procedure is undoubtedly expensive, but the sonic benefits fully justify the use of such exotic materials. The high voltage and currents inherent in a directly-heated triode design of this type make it necessary that the output transformer - a component of key importance - must be made with the utmost care and from specially-selected materials. Only by doing this can the highest quality standards be maintained.
The same exact procedures are followed when building the power supply transformer for the S8.
In line with our design philosophy of using the minimum possible number of passive components to achieve the desired sonic result, the S8 circuit has been made simple and direct, approaching the theoretical ideal of pure unimpeded signal flow. In addition, the output and input connectors are gold-plated and ensure an excellent electrical contact with source components and loudspeakers that will not degrade over time.
The styling
The attractive, bold styling of the S8 comes from the drawing-board of Claudio Chiarello, an acclaimed stylist within the high-end audio industry.
The sound
Fine tuning of the sound of the S8 was carried out in different locations over many weeks, using a wide variety of ancillary equipment. During this intensive period of testing, many fine adjustments were made to the original design. In particular, exhaustive listening tests were conducted using small increments in the level of feedback until we finally decided on the proper amount. The end result is a well-designed and carefully executed pure triode valve amplifier which is capable of providing great pleasure to the listener and music lover. The S8 is a very special amplifier; indeed, it is a machine created to give the utmost in musical pleasure.

Technical characteristics
Type: Stereo Integrated Valve Amplifier
Output Stage: single ended
Classe: A
Output Power: Approx. 24 watts per channel
Output Impedance: 4 e 8 ? outputs
Outputs: 1 tape, loudspeakers
Input Impedance: 47 kOhm / 50 pF
Inputs: 4 line, 1 tape
Feedback factor: 12 dB
Valves: 3 x ECC82, 2 x 845
Remote Control: IR for volume
Power Consumption: 320 watt
Dimension: 420 x 440 x H. 260 mm.
Net Weight: Kg. 30