The Signature Two is an audiophile moving coil phonostage employing low-noise discrete transistor circuitry throughout - no op-amps or transformers - and offers variable gain and cartridge load impedance.
discrete transistor circuit
The Signature Two's circuit is the culmination of over 25 years experience in the design and production of audiophile phonostages and is a four-stage design using discrete transistors operating in Class A. The first stage is a low-noise design with adjustable load impedance from 32 ohms to 1100 ohms and gain variable from 52dB to 72dB, load and gain being adjustable independently of each other. This allows a very wide range of low output moving coil cartridges to be handled with optimum performance. A proprietory discrete transistor regulator provides extremely clean power to this first stage to allow the circuit to perform at its best regardless of the quality of the mains electricty supply. The second stage precedes the highly accurate passive RIAA network comprised of low-distortion polypropylene capacitors and audiophile MELF resistors. The third stage is another gain stage before the final stage buffers the output for a low output impedance.
power supply
The on-board power supply is a linear design employing a torroidal transformer, generous-sized capacitors and another proprietory discrete transistor voltage regulator with very low noise. The supply to the all-important first audio stage is further regulated to provide the it with the correct voltage with extremely low noise and ripple - lower than possible with the common off-the-shelf monolithic alternatives. Each stage also has its own local decapitors with carefully routed earth tracks to eliminate ground current interactions with audio grounds resulting in a gloriously clean performance which reveals all the recorded detail with breath-taking realism.
UK manufacture
As with all Rothwell products the Signature Two is designed and built entirely in the UK.
