That's nice - much better looking than the make-shift chassis used before. I'll swing on by the meet to check it out.

Have you had a look under the hood? I'm assuming we're looking at serious SMD construction... that's a lot of gear in a very small chassis.  I'm also very curious about what kind of power supply is stuffed in there!

Great to see something new like this.  I'm looking forward to hearing what people think when they get a listen at the meet.

What's the actual size of this unit?  The pictures don't give such a great idea of scale, it seems really small to be doing so much.

I will ask the designer if it's OK to post photos of the inside. But yes, all the circuit boards have SMD construction. There are a lot of boards stuffed in there too.

This amp is really small compared to the other amps like the WES, BHSE, etc. The designer wants people to learn that size doesn't matter. The proof is in the sound, not the size and weight.

Here's the spec sheet they sent me:

     
      ES-31 HV amplifier parameters

    Output voltage       400 V RMS
    Output power         2 x 3 Watts
    Max. output current       15 mA
    Bias voltage          450 / 600 V
    Gain             300 (49 dB)
    THD 1 kHz , 0 dB       0.0005%
    THD 7 kHz , -3 dB      0.0007%
    IMD 600Hz +15 kHz, -6dB   0.0005%
    Power consumption       16 Watt

    ES-31 DAC / Preamp  parameters

    DAC type         PCM1704U-K
    SPDIF Receiver      WM8804
    USB interface         XMOS, jitter-free

    Digital inputs          USB, Coax, Toslink
    Digital output         Coax (USB to Coax converter’s out)
    Line input         5 kOhm, -12 dBV (250mV RMS) min, +20 dBV max
    Analog outputs         RCA and XLR Line / preamp output (switch selectable)
            RCA Subwoofer out (L+R sum.)
    Analog output level (RCA)   0 dBV nom (+6 dBV max)
    Analog output level (XLR)   +6 dBV nom (+12 dBV max)

    THD 1 kHz , 0 dBV               0.001%
    THD 7 kHz , -3 dBV              0.001%
    IMD 600Hz +15 kHz, -3 dBV   0.001%

    USB sampling rate       up to 24/384 kHz
    COAX sampling rate     44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 192 kHz, up to 24 bit depth
    OPTIC sampling rate      44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz, up to 24 bit depth

    Power supply          100-240V 65W
    Dimensions          10.25 x 7.1 x 2.5 inches (260 x 180 x 65 mm)
    Weight                  3.1 lbs. (1.4 kg)

What's the actual size of this unit?  The pictures don't give such a great idea of scale, it seems really small to be doing so much.

Well, we did have a mini-meet at Marv's house where people heard the prototype version of this amp/DAC. I know it's not much time to spend evaluating gear, but I think overall the feedback was very positive. We had other tube stat amps like the Woo WES and EC Elektra to compare. We also had some DAC's to compare with the Vostok prototype.

You can read about the meet here:
http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,1364.0.html

Anyway, unless people were just being nice and the amp really sounded like crap, I was happy that at least the Vostok amp seemed to "hold it's own" against the "big boys".

But ultimately the proof is in the pudding. I just hope that people don't dismiss it without listening to it because of it's size.

Review units will be passed around to various reviewers or interested parties since we really want people to hear it for themselves.

I was able to do a comparison with a Bryston BHA-1 and BDA-2 using a pair of LCD-3's. To me the Vostok was obviously better all the way around, as it should be given that the price is higher than the Bryston combo.