An Interview With: George Kielczynski Of deHavilland Amplifiers
Have you ever heard of an audio company that uses vacuum tubes designed for Russian military
tanks?!?! Well, deHavilland does! This company, which has won numerous awards, thinks outside the
box! The result is single-ended tube amplifiers that turn your living room into a concert hall. Read on to
discover the thinking behind the magic that is deHavilland!
Even while our website DecibelGarden.com. was just in its beginning stages (the dream), we knew we
wanted to carry deHavilland. Like us, they are a small company that is committed to making top quality
audio performance available to audio enthusiasts - at a very reasonable price. Check out the technical
aspects of why these single-ended vacuum tube amplifiers and pre-amplifiers make truly beautiful
sound. On deHavilland’s Q&A page, Engineer Kara Chaffee answers such burning questions like: “If a
single tube is such a good engineering approach, why doesn’t everyone use SE designs?” And “Aren’t
single-ended designs exotic and a little strange?” Even more impressive, Kara answer these questions
so that even a novice can understand them! (www.dehavillandhifi.com/Q&Akara.chaffee.htm) Being a
woman, I have to admit that it is the personal stuff that I really want to know! (Gotta love gossip!) Since
deHavilland took a very different route (single-ended tube amps) than most audio companies, I wanted to
know how they got where they were. Read on as owner George Kielczynski takes time to answer some
personal questions about the deHavilland brand:
DG: How and when did deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company get started?
GK: It was all by accident. I met Kara Chaffee at a Northern California Tube Enthusiast Association
meeting at the Randall Museum in San Francisco in 1986. She had taken notice that she and I both lived
in Santa Rosa, 60 miles north of S.F. We got to chatting and I found that she had built a Svetlana 572
single ended amplifier – making some 15 watts of power output from a single tube. At that time it was
extraordinary. She brought it over to my house the following week for a listen. I was very impressed and
whe offered to help me build a S.E.T. triode amp. That’s how it started. We built one amp, then another,
then another, etc. Some enthusiasts heard the amps and asked us to build for them. By the end of 1997
we started deHavilland with a push-pull Svetlana 572 amp that was making 75 watts.
DG: What prompted you to get into the audio business in the first place?
GK: I was a tube nut and so was Kara. We simply are passionate about vacuum tubes and the
fabulous sound you can get from the tubes…We just live and breath vacuum tubes. We love the vacuum
tubes!!
DG: Which of your latest products are you particularly excited about?
GK: The Aries GM70. It uses a super rugged Russian made Ulynov GM70 vacuum tube. The Russian
military used the tube for communication. The tube is rugged enough that they used them in their battle
tanks. We are getting 50 watts with one tube, which is quite extraordinary in that we are only using one
tube. Others get this power by running two output tubes in parallel. The problem in parallel is that you get
what is called progressive tube distortion by using more than one tube. It can be fixed somewhat by
using some global negative feedback. All deHavilland amps are “no compromise zero global negative
feedback designs. We have made the Aries GM70 amp sound like our Aries 845 amp – on steroids.
From what I hear, we are the only commercial company making an amp based upon this wonderful
Russian tube. This amp will work with most speakers out there.
DG: Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like the public to know about?
GK: Well, most of what we are working on is top secret. If I tell you I would have to kill you.
(DG: Hey, is this guy kidding?) What I can tell you is that we are working on a phono stage. There is no
due date at this time. Hopefully next year. Kara won’t let any product be offered up until she is 99.99%
happy with it. Fastidious obsession!
DG: In your mind, what really makes deHavilland Amplifiers stand out in the marketplace?
GK: First off, all of our amps are way over built. They are REALLY made in the USA using USA wuper
quality built transformers. We use as many USA high quality parts that we can get. All the parts we use
are rated for much higher service than necessary. For their output power they are rather compact. The
mono blocks weigh about 70 lbs each, so two of them weigh 140 lbs! I have an Italian customer who
says he loves the sound and looks of his deHavilland mono blocks, that they make him think he has a set
of battle tanks for his power. Kara Caffee, the Chief Engineer, is obsessed at making products that will
last a lifetime. She is also obsessed at making products that just sound fantastic. Many deHavilland
customers have commented that our products bring the musicians and vocalists into the room. We are
passionate in what we do, and we are happy that we are making deHavilland owners happy. It’s all in the
music, and the music is what we deliver at deHavilland.
GK’s last words: Let me say that Kara and I are also obsessed in giving the best customer service
possible. Heck, we are still willing to take all the phone calls ourselves. If we have a deHavilland product
in for service, we are fastidious about getting it turned around as soon as possible. We make whatever
evolutionary changes that need to be made at this time. That way, any customers that have early
products can get them updated for better longevity and sound.
This small amplifier company is known world wide for its distinctive and beautiful single-ended vacuum
tube amplifiers. After finding out what the audio world is saying about their products, you will realize why
– their amplifiers make music for music lovers! Just for fun, go to their site and check out what some
audio enthusiasts had to say – www.dehavillandhifi.com/QUOTES_PAGE.htm . Here are a couple of
my favorite quotes:
“The 845-Gs may sonically be without peer among amps below $10K, and at just under $6K they are a
flat out steal. A true “Most Wanted Component.”
Dave Thomas, Stereo Times
“So, how does the music sound? Most remarkable is the fact that very familiar pieces sound like new
mixes. Whole parts “appear” that I’d never noticed before. A vigorously strummed acoustic guitar, for
instance, materializes on Sting’s “When the Angels Fall.” Other parts come to life with graphic clarity.”
Lang Phillips, Listener Magazine
www.decibelgarden.com is proud to be part of the deHavilland sales team and to have the privilege of
offering the deHavilland line of Award Winning Single Ended Triode Amplifiers and Pre-amplifiers to you
our patrons.....
By Tracy DeBardelaben
Owner, www.decibelgarden.com
Have you ever heard of an audio company that uses vacuum tubes designed for Russian military
tanks?!?! Well, deHavilland does! This company, which has won numerous awards, thinks outside the
box! The result is single-ended tube amplifiers that turn your living room into a concert hall. Read on to
discover the thinking behind the magic that is deHavilland!
Even while our website DecibelGarden.com. was just in its beginning stages (the dream), we knew we
wanted to carry deHavilland. Like us, they are a small company that is committed to making top quality
audio performance available to audio enthusiasts - at a very reasonable price. Check out the technical
aspects of why these single-ended vacuum tube amplifiers and pre-amplifiers make truly beautiful
sound. On deHavilland’s Q&A page, Engineer Kara Chaffee answers such burning questions like: “If a
single tube is such a good engineering approach, why doesn’t everyone use SE designs?” And “Aren’t
single-ended designs exotic and a little strange?” Even more impressive, Kara answer these questions
so that even a novice can understand them! (www.dehavillandhifi.com/Q&Akara.chaffee.htm) Being a
woman, I have to admit that it is the personal stuff that I really want to know! (Gotta love gossip!) Since
deHavilland took a very different route (single-ended tube amps) than most audio companies, I wanted to
know how they got where they were. Read on as owner George Kielczynski takes time to answer some
personal questions about the deHavilland brand:
DG: How and when did deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company get started?
GK: It was all by accident. I met Kara Chaffee at a Northern California Tube Enthusiast Association
meeting at the Randall Museum in San Francisco in 1986. She had taken notice that she and I both lived
in Santa Rosa, 60 miles north of S.F. We got to chatting and I found that she had built a Svetlana 572
single ended amplifier – making some 15 watts of power output from a single tube. At that time it was
extraordinary. She brought it over to my house the following week for a listen. I was very impressed and
whe offered to help me build a S.E.T. triode amp. That’s how it started. We built one amp, then another,
then another, etc. Some enthusiasts heard the amps and asked us to build for them. By the end of 1997
we started deHavilland with a push-pull Svetlana 572 amp that was making 75 watts.
DG: What prompted you to get into the audio business in the first place?
GK: I was a tube nut and so was Kara. We simply are passionate about vacuum tubes and the
fabulous sound you can get from the tubes…We just live and breath vacuum tubes. We love the vacuum
tubes!!
DG: Which of your latest products are you particularly excited about?
GK: The Aries GM70. It uses a super rugged Russian made Ulynov GM70 vacuum tube. The Russian
military used the tube for communication. The tube is rugged enough that they used them in their battle
tanks. We are getting 50 watts with one tube, which is quite extraordinary in that we are only using one
tube. Others get this power by running two output tubes in parallel. The problem in parallel is that you get
what is called progressive tube distortion by using more than one tube. It can be fixed somewhat by
using some global negative feedback. All deHavilland amps are “no compromise zero global negative
feedback designs. We have made the Aries GM70 amp sound like our Aries 845 amp – on steroids.
From what I hear, we are the only commercial company making an amp based upon this wonderful
Russian tube. This amp will work with most speakers out there.
DG: Do you have any upcoming projects that you would like the public to know about?
GK: Well, most of what we are working on is top secret. If I tell you I would have to kill you.
(DG: Hey, is this guy kidding?) What I can tell you is that we are working on a phono stage. There is no
due date at this time. Hopefully next year. Kara won’t let any product be offered up until she is 99.99%
happy with it. Fastidious obsession!
DG: In your mind, what really makes deHavilland Amplifiers stand out in the marketplace?
GK: First off, all of our amps are way over built. They are REALLY made in the USA using USA wuper
quality built transformers. We use as many USA high quality parts that we can get. All the parts we use
are rated for much higher service than necessary. For their output power they are rather compact. The
mono blocks weigh about 70 lbs each, so two of them weigh 140 lbs! I have an Italian customer who
says he loves the sound and looks of his deHavilland mono blocks, that they make him think he has a set
of battle tanks for his power. Kara Caffee, the Chief Engineer, is obsessed at making products that will
last a lifetime. She is also obsessed at making products that just sound fantastic. Many deHavilland
customers have commented that our products bring the musicians and vocalists into the room. We are
passionate in what we do, and we are happy that we are making deHavilland owners happy. It’s all in the
music, and the music is what we deliver at deHavilland.
GK’s last words: Let me say that Kara and I are also obsessed in giving the best customer service
possible. Heck, we are still willing to take all the phone calls ourselves. If we have a deHavilland product
in for service, we are fastidious about getting it turned around as soon as possible. We make whatever
evolutionary changes that need to be made at this time. That way, any customers that have early
products can get them updated for better longevity and sound.
This small amplifier company is known world wide for its distinctive and beautiful single-ended vacuum
tube amplifiers. After finding out what the audio world is saying about their products, you will realize why
– their amplifiers make music for music lovers! Just for fun, go to their site and check out what some
audio enthusiasts had to say – www.dehavillandhifi.com/QUOTES_PAGE.htm . Here are a couple of
my favorite quotes:
“The 845-Gs may sonically be without peer among amps below $10K, and at just under $6K they are a
flat out steal. A true “Most Wanted Component.”
Dave Thomas, Stereo Times
“So, how does the music sound? Most remarkable is the fact that very familiar pieces sound like new
mixes. Whole parts “appear” that I’d never noticed before. A vigorously strummed acoustic guitar, for
instance, materializes on Sting’s “When the Angels Fall.” Other parts come to life with graphic clarity.”
Lang Phillips, Listener Magazine
www.decibelgarden.com is proud to be part of the deHavilland sales team and to have the privilege of
offering the deHavilland line of Award Winning Single Ended Triode Amplifiers and Pre-amplifiers to you
our patrons.....
By Tracy DeBardelaben
Owner, www.decibelgarden.com
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |  |
 | |  |
|
| The Finest High End Import and Domestic A/V Electronics For Home, Mobile, & Marine Entertainment! |
|
|
|
Decibel Garden ® pictures and content of this website are copyrighted 2008-2010 ©
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|