Debut and Model 2

AudioPrism Debut, Debut II and Red Rose Music Model 2

The Debut amplifier was designed by Victor Tiscareno. It was produced by AudioPrism and sold under that label until 1999 when Red Rose Music purchased the company. Upgrades were performed on the amp and it was then sold as the Red Rose Model 2. AudioPrism had an Issaquah and later a Redmond, Washington address. Manufacturing, Sales and Service continued in Redmond after the sale to Red Rose Music until the location was closed and tube electronics discontinued.

General Description

 All configurations were a tube dual mono stereo amplifier incorporating four each 12AT7 and EL34 tubes, two each per channel. The chassis is aluminum with dampened skin and front panel attached. The transformer cover was an option with the Debut, supplied with the Model 2. A detachable IEC power cord was provided. with the line fuse contained in a pull-out drawer within the receptacle

 The amp has one line input per channel. Operating modes are Off, Standby (STBY) and On. It was recommended to place the switch in Standby for 30 second prior to switching to On to allow the tubes to warm up and reduce  turn-on surge due to the large capacitors. A front panel bi-color LED indicates red for Standby and green for On. Each channel had a rear panel switch that allowed floating the channel signal  ground, connecting it to chassis ground or the other channel signal ground to obtain the lowest signal hum.

 The power transformer provided independent windings for left and right channel power supplies, a dual mono configuration. The high voltage windings generated a rectified 500VDC that was regulated to 450VDC for the output tubes and the regulated 300VDC supply of the gain and driver tubes. Additional windings were 12.6VAC for the output tube filaments in series,  rectified 14VDC for the gain and driver tube filament regulators and relays along with rectified 50VDC for the output tube regulated bias. The transformer required replacement to change from 100-120VAC to 220-240VAC

The 12AT dual section triode is operated with one section providing gain as a grounded cathode amp feeding the other section as the phase splitter. The driver tube used each section as a grounded cathode amp with an AC balance control and was capacitor coupled to the output tubes. The output tubes are operated with fixed, individually regulated bias in Ultra Linear mode. The Debut II and  Model 2 had switches actuating relays to also operate in Triode mode and individual fuses for each of he cathodes of the output tubes..

 The 12AT7 tubes used were selected Chinese. Tubes were selected for low microphonics, noise, distortion and 0.25dB  balance between channels. The EL34 were Svetlana in the Debut II and Electro- Harmonix EL34EH in the Model 2. The outputs were installed as a quad matched sets..

Debut and Debut II

.The Debut and Debut II were supplied in an anodized Champagne color with black front and rear panel lettering. It was also optionally available in Silver or Black. The Debut II added the larger power transformer, two circuit boards for Ultra Linear - Triode relays, one each board for the 450VDC reference supply and the four additional 500VDC supply capacitors.

  Also available was the Debut II Silver Signature with upgraded Kimber or Cardas RCA connectors, Cardas or Edison-Price output binding connectors, Kimber KCAG silver signal wiring, HALCO resistors, and Multicap PPFX-S capacitors. Additional dampening was added to the chassis and the front panel thickness was increased. The output transformers were replaced with improved units from a different vendor .

 With the release of the Debut II, the price increased substantially. As a lower cost option, the Antares was released with a powder coated steel chassis and the smaller power and previous output transformers. The additional boards from the Debut II were not installed. The amp was essentially the same as the Debut prior to the Debut II release but with a steel chassis. Sales were poor as the Debut II was significantly better and the choice of almost all audiophiles. It was discontinued after a short time.

  Running changes were made to all units. There was no designation change as the improvements were incorporated until the Debut II was released. Units returned for service had some updates done automatically while upgrades were an option. Upgrading to a Debut II or a Silver Signature was a complete rebuild.  Upgrades and repairs were preformed to the Debut and Debut II by Redmond Red Rose Music

Red Rose Model 2 and Model 2a

 When purchased by Red Rose Music, the amplifier standard color changed from Champagne to Silver and a new front panel installed as the obvious external change. Internal changes occurred as well; coupling capacitors changed from ASC to Multicap and, some resistors were changed. The Model 2 Silver Signature output transformer was incorporated on the standard Model 2 

 The Model 2a was the last change to the amplifier. The output of each main regulated 450VDC supply feeding the 300VDC regulators had RC networks added.  This improved isolation between the output and gain/driver supplies. Also, an open output tube cathode fuse LED indicator for each output tube illuminates the tube socket if a cathode fuse opens. The cathode Micro fuses are top mounted for easy access.