Don Dissanayake Preamplifier

[gionaz]

I'm telling you about a designer Sarath Don Dissanayake, owner of the audio brand of the same name, he is not known to international audiences but has many admirers and customers here in Italy, he is oriental but has lived in Rome for over 50 years! He started designing electronics at the age of 13 and even before that he experimented in the family laboratory shop. He designs and builds in a totally artisanal way, drawing on his almost inexhaustible reserve of NOS components, especially tube preamplifiers, but some customers are lucky enough to own his final amplifiers!

For about a month I have had the honor of being able to listen and test in my reference setup, the latest effort and top of the range preamplifiers, it does not yet have a name and requires its power supply in two separate chassis which will have to be completed in brief. The character and energy he releases are something words cannot describe. You have to listen to it, both with power amps from the same brand but also with products from other tube and solid state manufacturers!
It doesn't matter if you have a 3 watt power amp with the 2A3, with a preamp of this type you can also drive the JBL Everest at satisfactory levels! I say this because in the past it is a test that has already been done, but with a power output of only one watt!.
The power supply section is served by an American power supply with 8 6L6s and another ultra-silent digital power device, waiting for the two definitive power supplies that will close the circle.
I attach some photos.

Cheers,
gionaz

 

[Marcoz]

Cogliendo l'occasione del trasloco, e avendo l'impianto tutto smontato, decido di accettare la richiesta di un mio amico appassionato valtellinese (Luca) di ascoltare il mio pre Dissanayake Resurrection (uno della prima serie), il suo impianto è composto da: Pre AR ref.3, amp AR ref.75, altoparlanti B&W 804, CDP Marantz SA 12se, ecc... Prima di disimballare il Dissanayake ascoltiamo alcune tracce con l'impianto di Luca, e ho subito notato che è un ascolto piacevole ed equilibrato, tutto è al posto giusto, grazie anche ad un ottimo trattamento acustico della sala. Tiro fuori la scatola il pre e vedo Luca che inizia a "ridacchiare" ed esclama: "ma cos'è quella roba lì, mi aspettavo un apparecchio più grande e più raffinato", beh dai, stacco l'AR ref. Preamplificatore 75 Mentre lavorava con i cavi ho sempre notato quel "sorrisino" di chi sa già di vincere facile, beh dice, ho finito, vai a scegliere un disco, decido di mettere su un classico , Summertime di Fitzgerald e Armstrong 1968 Fin dall' inizio del brano gli archi erano delicati e setosi e il sorriso di Luca era meno accentuato, appena Ella inizia a cantare, Luca mi guarda e dice: "niente male"! ma il vero sussulto è stato quando hanno cominciato a spingere i corni, si gira verso di me, il sorrisetto era scomparso e con la faccia di cera, esclama: 'ADORAZIONE INCREDIBILE SE SUONA COSÌ BENE!!!! che immagine spettacolare e che realismo!!! Ok tutto bene, ma se dovesse verificarsi un guasto a chi mi posso rivolgere, beh vi spiego che il mio pre ha più di 30 anni e da allora funziona senza nessun problema e comunque Sarath è sempre molto disponibile. Premetto che non ho e non avrò alcun trattamento speciale da Sarath Dissanayake, volevo solo evidenziare le sue meraviglie, ho posseduto apparecchiature come Shindo Lab, Audio Tekne, Audio Note, AR ecc. in 40 anni di passione ho non ho mai provato l'emozione che mi dà questo preamplificatore e pensare che è vecchio, un prototipo, chissà come suona il modello di punta! Non oso immaginare....Spero che questa storia sia stata interessante, se vi capita di avere a portata di mano un preamplificatore del Maestro non perdete l'occasione di ascoltarlo, non non ci credo neanche io, ma ormai è nel mio impianto e appena ne avrò la possibilità di ascoltare la sua nuova attrezzatura......

Bravi Marco

 

[gionaz]

thank you Marco for your contribution, reading about audiophile experiences is always exciting! allow me to write a translation for those English-speaking users who may find it useful...

Taking the opportunity of the move, and having the system all disassembled, I decide to accept the request of an enthusiast friend of mine from Valtellina (Luca) to listen to my Dissanayake Resurrection preamp (one of the first series), his system is composed of: Pre AR ref.3, amp AR ref.75, B&W 804 loudspeakers, Marantz SA 12se CDP, etc... Before unpacking the Dissanayake we listen to a few tracks with Luca's system, and I immediately noticed that it is a very pleasant and balanced listening, everything is in the right place, thanks also to an excellent acoustic treatment of the room. I take the preamp out of the box and I see Luca who starts "sniggering" and exclaims: "but what is that stuff there, I was expecting a bigger, more refined device", well, come on, I unplug the AR ref.75 preamp While he was working with the cables I always noticed that "little smile" of someone who already knows he has an easy win, well he says, I'm done, go and choose a record, I decide to put on a classic, Summertime by Fitzgerald and Armstrong 1968 Right from the beginning of the track the strings were delicate and silky and Luca's smile was less accentuated, as Ella starts to sing, Luca looks at me and says: "not bad at all"! but the real jolt was when the horns began to push, he turns to me, the little smile had disappeared and with a face of wax, he exclaims: 'WORSHIP INCREDIBLE IF IT SO WELL SOUNDS!!!! what a spectacular picture and what realism!!! Ok all well and good, but if a fault should occur who can I turn to, well I explain that my preamp is over 30 years old and has been working since then without any problem and anyway Sarath is always very helpful. I premise that I do not have and will not have any special treatment from Sarath Dissanayake, I just wanted to highlight its wonders, I have owned equipment such as Shindo Lab, Audio Tekne, Audio Note, AR etc. in 40 years of passion I have never felt the emotion that this preamplifier is giving me and to think that it is old, a prototype, who knows how the top model sounds! I don't dare imagine...........I hope this story has been interesting, if you happen to have one of Maestro's preamplifiers at hand, don't miss the chance to listen to it, I didn't believe it either, but now it's in my system and as soon as I have the chance I'd like to listen to his new equipment...