I am offering for sale my own, one-off version of the Cello Palette Preamplifier.
A few years back, a friend discovered a number of Cello parts and sub-assemblies in a Southern CT warehouse. These included 2 sets of complete printed circuit boards for their Palette Preamplifier along with a few assembly drawings. As I‘d always lusted after the original Palette, I embarked on a project to build up a similar unit to see how it performed. There was no cabinetry in the stash, so I designed and had the cabinets and front panels fabricated to my own specifications. The front panel engraving on the equalizer was as identical to the original as I could make it, with the exception that to avoid possible copyright problems, no mention of “Cello” was made. I decided to call my creation the “Palette Commemorative Equalizer” and accompanying “Palette Commemorative Preamplifier”. All controls and specifications are as close to the original Cello product as I could get.
As the equalizer and preamplifier functions were contained on two separate printed circuit boards, I decided to SEPARATE the equalizer portion of the Palette from the preamplifier section, and therefore used a 10 meter (30 foot) umbilical cable to connect both units. This cable allows the equalizer to be placed right at the listening position so I could make adjustments in “real time”, without moving from the seat. The cable from the equalizer can be unplugged from the preamplifier so that the pre can be used independently..
A file of the original manual is available here:
http://www.matthew-james.net/Manuals
The Stereophile review of the unit is here:
http://www.stereophile.com/solidpreamps/692cello/index.html
Anthony Cordesman also reviewed the unit in the June 1993 issue of Audio Magazine.
The product retains its original 6 band boost/cut capabilities, with the following specifications:
Band 1 – 20 hz boost or cut up to 22dB
Band 2 – 120 hz boost or cut up to 12dB
Band 3 – 500 hz boost or cut up to 6dB
Band 4 – 2 Khz boost or cut up to 6dB
Band 5 – 5 Khz boost or cut up to 12dB
Band 2 – 20 Khz boost or cut up to 22dB
A recent seller of the original product noted that the stock potentiometers (Sfernice) get noisy with age. In this unit, all of them have been replaced with new Ohmeg units.
The (separate) line preamplifier has 5 selectable inputs, with a set of both balanced and unbalanced outputs. The controls are identical to the original preamplifier with a few exceptions. It has a switch to reverse the absolute phase of the outputs (180 degrees) whether the equalizer is in or out of the circuit. This feature was eliminated on the Palette Preamplifier but is included on this version.
Perhaps the most notable addition to this “commemorative” version was the ADDITION OF CELLO’s 59-POSITION STEPPED VOLUME ATTENUATOR found in the parts trove. And from a desire to add remote control, with the help of John Chapman of Bent Audio, I was able to add REMOTE VOLUME CONTROL CAPABILITY – using a stepping motor especially adapted for this application in addition to his “TAP” electronics and attractive remote unit. Finally, I added a single balance control in conjunction with a single equalizer level control, in place of the original two (left/right) equalizer level controls.
This preamplifier is self-powered, with a shunt-regulated supply which can be configured for either 120 or 240 VAC mains power. Please note that it is a line stage only, with up to 20dB (internally selectable) gain. NO tape or phono PRE-amplification was/is included.
Price is $2750 plus shipping. Please note that the pictures show the equalizer unit mounted on the Cello accessory Lucite stand (for mounting the original Palette or Audio Suite). The stand has 4 castors (wheels) on the bottom that makes the equalizer really easy to move around. It is available SEPARATELY.
Thank You
Charles King - stellavox@excite.com
