If we distill the above, we net a fast amplifier, a concept which Ella shares with Goldmund, Linnenberg and other—admittedly non D-class—amps. Steep rise times and minimal phase shift rely on ultra-wide bandwidth. Why a new circuit? "It was impossible to implement our requirements with established gain technologies. They destroyed the power transistors with ultrasonics. They suffered unavoidable parts differences, thermally shifted load lines and small offsets between transistor switching times. Furthermore, we had to consider today's requirement of energy efficiency." It's why the final circuit is called class ND. That's short for Naiu Digital. Attentive readers might recall class T aka Tripath. So... Ella is an analog switching amp with a very powerful switch-mode power supply, 2MHz controller and a filter isolated from its outputs. From the above we also glean that the Naiu Laboratory Ella is the continuation of the Newtronics Ella whose very different precursor was the now long discontinued an+di Revolution range. Would Mircea's third attempt in business be the charm?


Another Charly post filled further gaps. "Mircea Naiu is of Romanian descent and studied IBM computer tech in Bucharest. He eventually was drafted by Siemens Medical to work for a Chinese joint venture in computer tomography. In his spare time he studied the theory and practice of gain circuits. After getting frustrated with traditional approaches, he finally developed what became the Revolution 1. He did so without regard for cost or compromise. This led to a proposed DM95'000 sticker for a stereo amp. I own the only two samples in existence. Their tech is still protected by a 20-point patent. Former Siemens colleague Walter Keller helped Mircea turn his circuit into a final product. Obviously the Revolution 1 prototypes were far too over the top. This led to the half-sized Revolution 2 with a 250wpc power limit. It launched in 1996 and exhibited at the Vienna show. Fully loaded, it demanded DM45'500, still too much for a newcomer. Only five sold. Unfortunately Mrs. Naiu and Keller had by now left Siemens because a distributor had promised turnover numbers which turned out to be over inflated by 99%. It led to the formation of an+di which I soon joined. I immediately recalibrated the 3-year business plan and insisted on more cost-effective models without all the features. I aimed at a DM15'500 price point. an+di already had similar ideas with the Revolution 3 from which we scaled down further the models 4 and 5. About 20 of the latter sold. That was insufficient to cover costs. Investor funding dried up. By late 1997, an+di declared insolvency. I acquired all assets except for the patent. This meant I could only service but never build any Revolution amps."


From sliding bias class A to a novel switch-mode amp, we've now resolutely landed on Ella's turf, with the Romanian revolution long behind us. For completion's sake, there are also the Cruz Audio class D amps based on a similar Mircea circuit from 1999 [above left]. Prior to Cruz, there were Arnold Heres' €15'000/pr StraDa amps for Audio Physic for which Naiu contributed circuitry as well. A good man with a solid idea is hard to keep down? With the branding now unmistakably Mircea's own Naiu Laboratory, it certainly did seem so.