Like the Super Black Box, the Black Box is also an external power supply amplifier for the integrated amplifiers V 40 (SE), V 50, V 70 (SE), V 70 Class A, V 80 (SE), V 110 (SE) and V 16 Single Ended and the power amplifiers RE 280 MK2, RE 290, RE 320, MRE 130 and MRE 220 (SE).
OCTAVE, with the Black Box technology, offers an instrument to optimizing the OCTAVE amplifier in respect to the speaker. This flexibility is a unique feature of the OCTAVE brand. The dynamic and tonal stability of an amplifier is strongly dependent upon the stability and capacity of the power supply, therefore the Black Box and Super Black Box were developed as external upgrades to the OCTAVE amplifiers’ power supply storage capacitors by increasing their capacitance by a factor of 4 (Black Box) or 10 (Super Black Box), respectively. This is a tremendous benefit if the speaker is difficult to drive. Loudspeaker efficiency is made less critical, while the amplifier is enabled to handle speakers with minimum impedances as low as 2 ohms.
The power supply capacitance increase realized via use of the Black Box or Super Black Box stabilizes current delivery and reduces the impedance interaction of the load. This improves dynamic range, separation, depth, soundstage size and articulation, rendering the musical reproduction clearer throughout the entire frequency range. The amplifier remains unaffected by mains variations and interferences due to the noise filtering characteristics of the capacitors.
| Basic model | Black Box |
| Design | Silver or Black |
| Dimensions | 185 x 100 x 310 mm (W x H x D) |
| Weight | 3.2 kg |
| Cable length | 1m; Special lengths also possible upon request |
| Discharge electronics | Discharge within 2 seconds |