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An Aksa story.

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Hello Hugh
Greetings to you, and all the rest of the Aksa devotees.

You may or may not remember me. If you do, that may or may not be a good thing. But I do remember you.

It’s been awhile since I looked into what’s new at Aksa and I must say Hugh…you don’t sit still very long.
After reading a bit here and thinking about it for awhile now. I’ve decided to share my “Aksa story”…I hope you don’t mind.

Back in February of 2003 Hugh was kind enough to take a chance on selling several kits, an Aksa 100n (Ver.1.74), a TLPn (Ver 2.0) and shortly thereafter a pair Aksonics (Ver 1.65) to someone who was clearly a novice.
My only electronics experience to that point was to solder some crossover kits for my first pair of truly nice speakers. I had up to that point labored under a false idea of what Hi-Fi was. Needless to say, I was most assuredly…Lo-Fi.
So, my search was on to find an amp and preamp that was quality and affordable…enter Hugh Dean and his Aksa kits.
Hugh, I still have a lot of our email dialogue…my, my, my…the patience of Job!

Well, with that patience and well documented assembly instructions, I did in fact succeed in building a TLPn and an Aksa 100n, in that order.
Being more familiar with wood and not metal, I fashioned the enclosures entirely from lumber, hoping to remedy that at some later date.
I remember the first song I played upon completion. Before the song starts you can hear the singer take a breath (which I had never heard before).
It sounded as though it came from behind me…I jumped! Goosebumps…it was that astounding!
I was beside myself. The fact that I had, with a great deal of help, built something that sounded this good.
I had succeeded in making the jump from Lo-Fi to Hi-Fi, and missed mudding around in Mid-fi altogether.
So you know what I did next? I proceeded to short out an amp module. Not more than 10 min play time and I boned the whole thing up.
Try as we might to fix it thru email, it ended up on Hugh’s bench. He even called it a “headscratcher”. The bright side was that he had found there was yet another way to screw up a module.
Finally after the longest 3 weeks of my life…I was enjoying the Aksa’s. Listening to everything I had. Hearing it all again for the first time.
I then sold the afore mentioned speakers and ordered a pair of Aksonics. Again I was not disappointed.
I then modded, with Hugh’s help, the TLPn with a selector switch and a line out for a sub. The Aksonics have a lower end, especially when tweaked according to the supplied instructions. I just happen to like a bit more.

Well that was it…I was hooked on good audio. So what next …“I know…the car”. So I worked that for awhile, again, success, building on the confidence I had gained from the Aksa projects.
So from there, I was building various speaker kits and even modeling some of my own.
When my brother found me a pair of AR3a’s, I was on to restoring vintage speakers. AR, KLH, Norman Labs, Heco and many others. Whatever the Goodwill and thrift stores offered up, would find new life in my basement…refoam, recap and refinish.
Some sounded good with the Aksa’s and some not so good. Well, then came the castoff vintage receivers and integrated amps, Adcom, Kenwood Trio, and Onkyo’s, etc, to go with the “other” speakers.
Then…then came the tubes…oh my! Now here was something special. A Fisher 800c with all original tubes, save one. Restored! Then a pair of Eico HF-22 mono blocks. Restored! Man, I was in audio nirvana.

I know this may sound very familiar to some of you and maybe you can even relate. But I said all that to say this.

Somewhere in all that excitement, the Aksa’s got rotated out of the audio chain and just sat. I can’t really remember when it happened…it just did. Probably 3 or 4 years ago
I even wondered at one point if someone in the Aksa forum might be interested in buying them. So after finishing the Eico’s, and being short on pre’s, I decided to try the TLPn. It took nearly 3/4 of the volume to get the Eico’s up to listening level, but “wow…that sure sounds nice”.
That’s when I started reading some of the threads here again. Needless to say, some of it got my ire up.

Anyway, I got to thinking about the rest of the Aksa gear and pulled it out. I just looked at it for a while and thought about all that had taken place since that winter of 2003.
I started thinking about how to I might now build those better enclosures. So after carefully checking it over, resetting the Aksonic’s ports and hooking up my best CD player…I fired it up.

That was a week ago and the Aksa’s don’t appear to be leaving anytime soon. I forgot how special these 3 pieces sound together.
Eight years ago I had nothing that was “hi-end” to compare them to, so of course they sounded great.
Now, with some “road” behind me, I can tell you most emphatically that they do sound great!
One thing I’ve learned about audio gear is that they all have their own sonic nuances’.
You may have three hi profile pieces that are great in their own right, but can sound less than desirable together.
The Aksa pieces are like a good, strong family that lives in harmony, each special. But, together, make up a better whole, complementing each other.

Thanks again Hugh for the very cool experience, both then…and now.


Martin Bowles
Enid, Ok. USA
 
Hi Martin!!

Well, fancy you turning up on the Aspen forum after all these years!! It's almost nine years, y'know, incredible!

You've had a long, long journey, and I salute the work and patience you put into it. You are now well informed about high end audio, and know what you are listening to. This takes a lot of hard work to achieve, much like being a pro photographer, huh?? (You can see I remember you like yesterday!)

Since those early days, Aspen has grown, the product line has become more and more refined, and I like to think these days not much can beat my creations. I don't sell kits these days, but I do sell built and tested modules and even plug and play amplifiers, and this releases me from lots of emails and allows me to put even more time into development.

Just today, for example, I made another minor breakthrough; I'm still creative, which frankly surprises me.....

Welcome to our forum, Martin, thanks for stopping, and I hope you stay another nine years!

Cheers,

Hugh
 
I like to think these days not much can beat my creations.


Hugh

Hugh, in response to that quote I would like to ask you something.
I am interested to hear your views on this. How do you make any judgements about the sound quality of your amplifiers? First of all do we agree that an amplifier doesnt have a sound? It clearly does not make any sound on its own it simply takes a signal at the input and amplifies it at the output. So what we hear is a combined result of the different choices of cd players, speakers, room acoustics and so on. There are many possible combinations for any given amplifier. In the quote above you say that not much can beat your amps. What does it mean to compare one amp to another? Do you claim that the differences in sound between one amp and another are consistent no matter what the rest of the equipment and room used?
 
Prof,

At the risk of starting another long winter of discontent, I would say that amps do have a sound of their own. It is subtle, but if you are well accustomed to your source and speakers you can certainly tell the differences between different amps.

I suspect that this is due to the harmonic profile of the amp, the intermodulation distortion produced, and just how it behaves in difficult, transient conditions, such as very loud passages and sharp percussive sounds.

When I see you saying things like 'do you claim' I become very guarded, however, as one thing audio over the years has taught me is that there are no categoric statements.

Cheers,

Hugh
 
That was a week ago and the Aksa’s don’t appear to be leaving anytime soon.

Hi Martin,

Really enjoyed reading your ‘story’ as it rang a few bells. It’s not just threads that sometimes head off to ‘tangent land’.:D

I had reasonable stereo kit for many years before succumbing to the lure of multichannel surround. Great in many ways and of course I still have it for movies etc. but got tired of the compromises it meant for pure stereo music. With me it wasn’t rediscovering AKSA gear, it was more about rediscovering stereo itself but fortunately I did this based on Aspen power and pre amp components that likewise, ‘don’t appear to be leaving anytime soon’.:cheers:
 
Hi Martin

I can relate to that story. Since I built my first AKSA in 2004, I have built 20+ amps and tried several commercial offerings but the AKSA in one form or another always remained my main amplifier.

Due to various reasons, my last AKSA was sold last night and had a final listen today. It has been a great association with Hugh's products from 2004 to 2012.
 
Rom,

Many thanks for the vote of confidence!! Trust you are well and the info highway above Brindisi remains clear!

Lots of mysteries, Kenjie. Let me list them:

#1 It is uncertain to what extent the various harmonics of the distortion profile are objectionable. It is generally held that odds are worse then evens, and higher order is more objectionable than lower.
#2 Some distortion cancellation may be taking place between amp and speaker. Reason: phase of the harmonic might be 180 degrees removed from the phase of the speaker excitation. Of course amplitudes will almost never be identical.
#3 Phase of the harmonics from the amp may have profound impact on subjective perception. This issue remains clouded.
#4 Masking may well be taking place; H2 and H3 tend to mask higher order harmonics and this psychoacoustic phenomenon, as it applies to recorded music, is reasonably well understood.
#5 Multiplicative v. additive distortion mechanisms are probably more complex than we think.
#6 I think the distortions produced by speakers and amps are qualitatively and quantitatively different; speakers, being electromechanical devices, don't do much over the seventh harmonic, whereas amps, particularly AB PP SS amps with hefty feedback generate a very long chain of artefacts into the forties and beyond.
#7 Level is significant for all components including the room.
#8 Phase shifts take place electrically within the crossover of the speaker and this has profound effect an octave above and below the crossover frequency. This impacts sound quality as well, as you quickly find when you play with crossovers.


I agree that amps have lower distortion than speakers, by perhaps two orders of magnitude. But while this should be factored into our subjective perception, I believe it's still possible to distinguish between amp and speaker distortion, particularly if one is thoroughly acquainted with the music, the speakers, the source and the room. But short, twenty minutes listening sessions are unlikely to be the best way to tease out these differences; several days of careful listening with a variety of genres, moods and times might be needed.

Doesn't answer your question, but defines and assays the problem.

Cheers,

Hugh
 
Hello

Excellent explanation Hugh.

I can ad a recent listening experience, at Christmas I was at a friend's house, he is a jazz pianist and he have my old Crimson amp.

We ad the oportunity to use few very different loudspeakers with that amp and a very good cd player. We eard it on a pair of Koss loudspeakers (a mid-fi speaker) and a pair of very good mission, and I eard it on my Dynaudio loudspeaker. Using alway the same music cd's and the same cd player we alway recognized the sound of the Crimson amp (nice soundstage, musicality, definition). We did that same test with a LM3886 chip amp I've made for his wife painting studio, and even with the cheaper Koss loudspeakers, the chip amp sound was easy to pick-up as much less soundstage quality less musicality etc...

I've verify that same thing wen I've listen to my amps at home, my diy amp don't sound like my Radford, my tube Pioneer, my Lifeforce or my Naksa, each of them have their own sound, some may have only little differences but others can be much more differents.

The amp can deeply change the sound of your audio system.

Bye

Gaetan
 
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The thing that hurts me is when I hear people say 'this amp is better than that amp'. What does that actually mean?

Mmmm, AFAIAC, the fact that you have to ask that question means you haven't even passed "Audio 101". :D

Can I suggest that, instead of wasting your time posting on Internet audio forums, you instead go out and listen to as many different amps as you can for a couple of years - and, preferably, when you are comparing a couple of amps, they need to be driven by the same source and feeding the same speakers.

Having spent this time, you will be closer to understanding what is meant by "this amp is better than that amp".

Regards,

Andy
 
I have 2 main objections when it comes to the notion of 'comparing amplifiers'. First, there are many variables perhaps infinite in number such as room acoustics, dac, amp, speaker, cables etc. But there are also an infinite number of speakers, amps etc right? Some of those have 'not been made yet'. How many combinations of variables are there? x^x where x is infinite. A large number in any case. So how can we cut the number of possibilities we consider? By keeping some of the variables constant and pretending they dont vary. So now we only have to consider x^1 number of possibilities. If we have 2 amplifiers then we only consider 2 cases. The second fallacy in my view is one which seems very widespread in society. The idea of comparing one thing to another by pretending it can be quantified by a single number and asking, is X bigger than or less than Y? The answer is either yes or no. Its the false dilemma. False dilemma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Why do I object to this? Its not clear to me how a single number is representative of the emotional experience of listening to music. We need a better definition of 'better' when comparing amplifiers. I dont know what that might be but I do feel that the current one is ill defined at best and at worst, fallacious.
 
Hi Prof,
Let me see if I can help you out a little with your dilemnas.

If you wish to discuss the nature of comparing amplifiers, that is a much larger issue than anything here on the Aksa forum and perhaps you'd be better taking that to another forum like the Lounge or something like that.

It seems to me that you after something about the Aksa amps, for some reason. Now, Hugh sold you a couple older Aksa N+'s, and you didn't like them. Fair enough, everyone has their likes and dislikes. And if you don't like something then it is invariably over priced, irregardless of the price. Fair enough there too. But now that you are trying to sell those no good N+ modules, don't ask to much for them, like maybe about half what you paid for them if that, since you find them to be no good.

You did once ask about other Aspen amp products. Well, I've owned a few and heard the rest. To make it simple and sweet, the amps are all designed by one man, Hugh, and all somewhat have a "Hugh signature" to them. If you don't like the Aksa, then you wouldn't like the Lifeforce or the Soraya's. And you likely wouldn't care for the Naksa's even though they have more bass and some better definition of detail in the music. The Maya is just simply too expensive for you.

Moving along, well, perhaps that is what you need to do. There are many many other amp products for you to consider, and you should move on to them.
You also seem to want something cheap, maybe even dirt cheap. Everyone has their budgets, likes, etc. But remember that if you want something of quality, by anyone's definition, you have to pay something for that quality you desire, unless of course you want someone to give you something.

Hope this all helps you out.

Bye
 
But there are many variables arent there? Audiophiles dont just compare the sound of amps, they compare the sound of speakers, dacs, cd players, recordings and even cables.
My objection is that when we do the comparison, we keep all other variables fixed. Not only is this the simplest comparison you can do, its only one among many. Yet this practice continues among the audiophile community.

Sorry, whenever I compare amplifiers, I simply substitute the new one in place of the old. Nothing else changes. Obviously, you have to keep the other variables constant - and if you do ... you can see how the new amplifier sounds, compared to the old. :) So you understand that, yes, amplifiers can sound different - even ones which Hugh has simply "tweaked" (your words).

Regards,

Andy
 
The following is from a write up on a line stage I built where I could switch between different six tube types.

Audio ratbag: Tube Taster Linestage
__________________________________________________
So the big question is whether you can actually hear differences between the various tubes. The answer is yes, which is not surprising. When I first started to get music to appear at the loudspeakers I quickly shuffled between the various tubes and immediately noticed differences. Gain levels vary, of course, so I needed to adjust the volume to do real comparisons. Actually, I found it works best to resist the temptation to flick around between the tube types. Certain tubes seemed to suit certain music and I seemed to be consistent in my tastes. If I put this in whisky terms, if it’s really cold, wet and miserable outside, I prefer the peaty Islay types like Lagluvin and Laphroag. Otherwise if it’s just plain wet, then Dalwhinnie works for me. If it’s dry, then I prefer Ezra Brooks bourbon. If it’s after dinner, then Pierre Ferrand cognac is the tipple of choice. Variation according to your needs is wonderful.

You will notice I have not said which tubes I prefer. The reason is simple, I don’t want to influence your taste. Build it yourself and then you will know what you yourself really prefer.

________________________________________

Two years ago, a group I belong to held a competition where we each built a 6V6 tube amp for under $200. We had a few entries and all sounded different. We discussed for a while how to judge which was 'better' or 'best', particularly when we got down to two entries. My suggestion actually came from the famous Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter who reportedly said that when judging the pianists in a piano competition, his decision process was quite simple. Do I want to hear this pianist again?

ray
 
I have 2 main objections when it comes to the notion of 'comparing amplifiers'...
Why do I object to this? Its not clear to me how a single number is representative of the emotional experience of listening to music. We need a better definition of 'better' when comparing amplifiers. I dont know what that might be but I do feel that the current one is ill defined at best and at worst, fallacious.

You have objections on the "criteria" used by people... but at the same time you have defined your own criteria when you said "ill defined" and so on. This showed me that what happens here is you are expecting everyone to have a "better" criteria, which is yours. But you were being honest that you don't know what the best criteria might be (this, and your inability to predict how the AKSA should sound, is actually a sufficient reason to be humble and be more careful when giving bad credits to anyone's design).

Some just believe that there is never a convention on this criteria. It's just like food. Nobody can object if somebody prefer A over B (or prefer a saltier food over sweet ones). But you must respect the "preference of majority". If you prefer B over A, you cannot open a B food shop, unless you know that the majority also prefer B.

I myself, pay more attention (than the average) to "fatigue". I always be interested in designs labeled with "low TIM" and such. Why? because I feel lucky that I know that a speaker is more important in achieving what I want to hear. For amps, I rely on good power supply. An a good speaker cannot help a fatiguing amp, so this is very important for me.

As for AKSA topology, it has been proven with widely acceptable characteristics. If it is not your cup of tea, it is not mine either. No bipolar amp is my cup of tea :D (but if I have to have one, I want at least 3 paralleled output stage bipolar).

And when you try to relate amp quality with price, no commercial amps are justifiable. Not Krell, Mark Levinson or Accuphase. I can build the same schematic for a fraction of the price. And better for me is that I can choose, and I know what to choose (I can cook, and I have never been disappointed with my cooking, because I know what I like and I know how to achieve it).
 
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My suggestion actually came from the famous Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter who reportedly said that when judging the pianists in a piano competition, his decision process was quite simple. Do I want to hear this pianist again?

Yes, assuming that the speaker has the required capability (which I believe it does in your case).

Piano music is great, and it is very difficult to reproduce by any sound system. A "hi-end" system is not only have to be able to reproduce piano sound that sounds like a piano but also: it can distinguish an expensive piano, and a great piano player.

I also use male vocal tonality as a mean to ensure that a system (speaker especially) can distinguish between good vocalists and the average ones.
 
I think youre missing my point.

Prof,
You are missing the WHOLE point in your posts. You need to take this discussion elsewhere unless you are going to relate something specifically to an Aksa product.

In case it has escaped your attention, most folks who post on this forum think rather favorably towards the Aspen amp products. If you don't like the one you have that's okay as everyone has their likes and dislikes. But you can't just come here and be negative about the product without something specific other than you feel personally cheated.
Do you understand?
 
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