Thanks Johnny,
I appreciate it!
It took a lot of time and effort, but even 18 months later I'm very happy with results. I listen every day to it, all my customers are delighted, and I think it's my best musical amp!
I'm working on a headphone amp now, I see a future selling them because higher population and a growing Asian middle class where listeners like their music delivered in a quiet space in their head......
Hugh
I appreciate it!
It took a lot of time and effort, but even 18 months later I'm very happy with results. I listen every day to it, all my customers are delighted, and I think it's my best musical amp!
I'm working on a headphone amp now, I see a future selling them because higher population and a growing Asian middle class where listeners like their music delivered in a quiet space in their head......
Hugh
Spoke to Hugh today on the phone and I must say he is a wonderful bloke, a true gentleman and very humble!
I might be swinging by to have a demo this weekend, all depends on my Wife allowing me to go out and play. I'm so excited but I'm scared at the same time, I might like the Maya & Saksa too much!!!
Cheers mate!
I might be swinging by to have a demo this weekend, all depends on my Wife allowing me to go out and play. I'm so excited but I'm scared at the same time, I might like the Maya & Saksa too much!!!
Cheers mate!
I am very interesting about your impressions.
Take some of your favorite and very good recordings and tell us if you get excited -and how much in front your system- when you hear them.
Classical, jazz, acoustic, live... do not hip hop!
Tonight in AC forums I wrote:
Take some of your favorite and very good recordings and tell us if you get excited -and how much in front your system- when you hear them.
Classical, jazz, acoustic, live... do not hip hop!
Tonight in AC forums I wrote:
I want EMOTION.
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I am very interesting about your impressions.
Take some of your favorite and very good recordings and tell us if you get excited -and how much in front your system- when you hear them.
Classical, jazz, acoustic, live... do not hip hop!
Tonight in AC forums I wrote:
I want EMOTION.
I spoke to my wife last night about the trip. Well I lie, I said there is a guy not far from us and he makes beautiful amplifiers we should go have a listen sometime. I have to ease her into it because she gets bored with my hobbies. So I plant a seed first then I leave it for a bit then when the time is right I continue with stage 2, something like let's go there this Sunday. If I sense any resistance I can always sweeten it with we can get a nice meal at a restaurant for lunch before hand, oh yeah by the way I'm buying an amplifier too! Lol.
So today I got to Demo the SAKSA85 and MAYA200 at Hugh's. I was impressed by both amplifiers but I didnt know to what degree. It's hard to make judgement with different equipment in a different strange room. What was clear is the MAYA200 is on another level when compared A to B with the Saksa85, the SAKSA85 held it's own though, yes there is a difference.
Hugh let me borrow a spare SAKSA85 for a few weeks, which is nice of him and true to his character being honest, humble gentleman but not lacking in confidence because he knows what he has built is good.
As you can see I carefully put the amplifier in my boot.
Setup at my house....
FLAC Music - Usb Stick - Oppo UDP 203 - RCA - SAKSA85 - Kef Ci5160rl-thx reference speakers (4 ohm speakers)
I played a variety of Flac music from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Eurythmics, Deadmau5, Death Cab For Cutie, Oasis, Tron Legacy Soundtrack, Interpol, Pendulum, Artic Monkeys, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Kid Cudi. No classical, Jazz or vinyl at this stage (tomorrow perhaps lol).
I started with Pink Floyd and the Oppo connected to my Rotel 1585 200w per channel amplifier to get a base set for my ears. I played only 2 songs and then got bored so I hooked up the SAKSA85. 10 seconds into the first song I said #%$# off as my young 2 year old son sat next to me! I didnt expect it to be better than my Rotel that retails for $4,000 locally and it was immediately noticeable! Soon I was like this is too good to be true, surely it has a weak point but it handled all my music. Last test was Deadmau5 - Strobe and played it with clear seperation & depth.
But for me I was most amazed was when I had my head down uploading photos of the amplifier, my setup and what I was doing to my Instagram account and I would suddenly be interrupt by amazing sounds from songs that should easily pass through one ear and out the other ear but yeah they stopped me dead like a deer in headlights, they tickled my ear and brain demanding I pay attention and these were lesser known songs, song you skip. This is why I love this amplifier it opens up your music library and doesn't lock you in to a particular style of music.
It has great control from low volume to high volume and this is an issue I've noticed with some amplifiers, most notably Primare.
If I had to say which commercial brand amplifier is similar in sound characteristics to the SAKSA85 it would be Cambridge Audio.
I couldn't fault it so far after day 1. It does everything well its bass ch goes hard and up to the mid range it has nice grunt, the tone is amazing. But it's well balanced overall, it does everything really well. Seriously best amp going. If you need an amplifier then no need to look anymore, I fully endorse it and it reminds me of my conversations today with Hugh and his confidence in what he has designed and built.
Hope all I typed makes sense. It's getting late here and I'm typing it all on my phone.
Hugh let me borrow a spare SAKSA85 for a few weeks, which is nice of him and true to his character being honest, humble gentleman but not lacking in confidence because he knows what he has built is good.
As you can see I carefully put the amplifier in my boot.
Setup at my house....
FLAC Music - Usb Stick - Oppo UDP 203 - RCA - SAKSA85 - Kef Ci5160rl-thx reference speakers (4 ohm speakers)
I played a variety of Flac music from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Eurythmics, Deadmau5, Death Cab For Cutie, Oasis, Tron Legacy Soundtrack, Interpol, Pendulum, Artic Monkeys, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Kid Cudi. No classical, Jazz or vinyl at this stage (tomorrow perhaps lol).
I started with Pink Floyd and the Oppo connected to my Rotel 1585 200w per channel amplifier to get a base set for my ears. I played only 2 songs and then got bored so I hooked up the SAKSA85. 10 seconds into the first song I said #%$# off as my young 2 year old son sat next to me! I didnt expect it to be better than my Rotel that retails for $4,000 locally and it was immediately noticeable! Soon I was like this is too good to be true, surely it has a weak point but it handled all my music. Last test was Deadmau5 - Strobe and played it with clear seperation & depth.
But for me I was most amazed was when I had my head down uploading photos of the amplifier, my setup and what I was doing to my Instagram account and I would suddenly be interrupt by amazing sounds from songs that should easily pass through one ear and out the other ear but yeah they stopped me dead like a deer in headlights, they tickled my ear and brain demanding I pay attention and these were lesser known songs, song you skip. This is why I love this amplifier it opens up your music library and doesn't lock you in to a particular style of music.
It has great control from low volume to high volume and this is an issue I've noticed with some amplifiers, most notably Primare.
If I had to say which commercial brand amplifier is similar in sound characteristics to the SAKSA85 it would be Cambridge Audio.
I couldn't fault it so far after day 1. It does everything well its bass ch goes hard and up to the mid range it has nice grunt, the tone is amazing. But it's well balanced overall, it does everything really well. Seriously best amp going. If you need an amplifier then no need to look anymore, I fully endorse it and it reminds me of my conversations today with Hugh and his confidence in what he has designed and built.
Hope all I typed makes sense. It's getting late here and I'm typing it all on my phone.
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Without expensive shipping, customs and 21% VAT, living in Australia, MAYA200 must be very tempting. My big room and the equipment is kidnapped by TV and family. And worst: do not like my musics. To a second system, Saksa85 seems more aproppiate. I envy you.
Kef Ci5160rl-thx
KEF Ci Series - Ci5160RL-THX - Custom Installation - United States
KEF Custom Install THX Speaker Review | Reference Home Theater
Wishing to hear your impressions with music that I usually listen to (classical, baroque, jazz, acoustic...) and that are much more demanding than the previous ones.
Yes it seems that Hugh is a good guy but ... I would be afraid that he would give me a hug for how big he is
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ROTEL RC-1572+RB-1582 MkII
[Polish] Wzmacniacze stereo - testy
to English with Google:
Google Translate
Well........ I'm astonished with HatlessChimp's comments..... I have to say that Chris is a gentle giant and a dedicated audiophile, he is actually a little taller than I am, he must be at least 190cms, and very quietly spoken, an impressive young man of 33. Ah, I dimly remember being 33, I had been married one year to my Sri (in Jakarta) and I was spending almost every weekend servicing cars for a little money. A young Army Captain doesn't have much income, but of course I had plenty of energy then.
Chris and I listened to my SAKSA at my home (he lives 90 minutes away from me) and he also really liked the Maya. Of course, my listening area is cluttered, and my speakers are a bit bass shy (transmission lines), but he liked it and I could see he was the digital generation - taking pictures and texting to his wife even as he listened!! I do not have this skill with a cell phone; for me its an inconvenience, have to answer the damn thing.... I like chatting to people face to face. Of course, I don't hear a cell phone very well with other noise around, the usual elderly hearing issues, worsened by heavy use of military rifles.
Yes, Maty T, I am very careful how I hug people, it's comical actually. I have to have a very large motorcycle, for example, because a small machine likes like a giant sitting on a small garden gate... here is a picture of me and friend October last year at my motorcycle!
Thank you Chris, I will bring the Maya to play in your home......
Ciao,
Hugh
Chris and I listened to my SAKSA at my home (he lives 90 minutes away from me) and he also really liked the Maya. Of course, my listening area is cluttered, and my speakers are a bit bass shy (transmission lines), but he liked it and I could see he was the digital generation - taking pictures and texting to his wife even as he listened!! I do not have this skill with a cell phone; for me its an inconvenience, have to answer the damn thing.... I like chatting to people face to face. Of course, I don't hear a cell phone very well with other noise around, the usual elderly hearing issues, worsened by heavy use of military rifles.
Yes, Maty T, I am very careful how I hug people, it's comical actually. I have to have a very large motorcycle, for example, because a small machine likes like a giant sitting on a small garden gate... here is a picture of me and friend October last year at my motorcycle!
Thank you Chris, I will bring the Maya to play in your home......
Ciao,
Hugh
Attachments
Zia,
The ZRX Kawa is the best bike I've ever owned, and I've had a few, starting at 18 with Brit twins. I bought it used three years on in 2004, and it's still in my garage with no cost aside from tyres, chains, filter and oil after 14 years of light use. The Kawa is a sports tourer of 122 bhp but pulls well from 1500 rpm in fifth gear, the torque spread is remarkable - 40kmh to 245kmh in fifth is unusual for something that comes out of the 1/4 traps at 200 kph.
I see many similarities with the mechanical and audio world. High performance in audio is an illusion; as it is in the mechanical world. The psychology of numeracy seduces you into the figures, but they do not reflect the actual operation in day to day use. You need easy use and relaxed delivery, for amps and engines. Too much loop gain and loads of negative feedback delivers the figures, but leaves you cold; the 'drive' is not satisfying. Give me a low stressed design every time; there is no replacement for displacement. That is one of the reasons I use 1040W mosfets in my new Maya, you cannot break them.......
Hugh
The ZRX Kawa is the best bike I've ever owned, and I've had a few, starting at 18 with Brit twins. I bought it used three years on in 2004, and it's still in my garage with no cost aside from tyres, chains, filter and oil after 14 years of light use. The Kawa is a sports tourer of 122 bhp but pulls well from 1500 rpm in fifth gear, the torque spread is remarkable - 40kmh to 245kmh in fifth is unusual for something that comes out of the 1/4 traps at 200 kph.
I see many similarities with the mechanical and audio world. High performance in audio is an illusion; as it is in the mechanical world. The psychology of numeracy seduces you into the figures, but they do not reflect the actual operation in day to day use. You need easy use and relaxed delivery, for amps and engines. Too much loop gain and loads of negative feedback delivers the figures, but leaves you cold; the 'drive' is not satisfying. Give me a low stressed design every time; there is no replacement for displacement. That is one of the reasons I use 1040W mosfets in my new Maya, you cannot break them.......
Hugh
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Thanks for the kind words Hugh.
Back to the SAKSA 85 - plenty of beautiful meaty bass there. Nice tone to it. Nice match with my Kefs.
Sad thing for me is it looks like the DAC in my Yamaha 3050 AVR cant compete with what my Oppo UDP 203 has. Will have more of a play tonight to make sure I don't have some weird settings engaged. But at this stage it looks like the Yammy has an inferior DAC. It's was all good, I was more than happy before with the sound I had but now I've experienced the sound of Oppo + SAKSA + Kef Ci5160rl-thx and now the Yamaha 3050 + Rotel 1585 + Kef Ci5160rl-thx setup just don't cut it anymore for me. Its the only thing with audio once you have bought your system best not to listen to better equipment otherwise you can only hear what your missing out on from there on out. I'm genuinely scared for my ears/brain when Hugh brings around his Maya200 and hook it up to my Kefs!
Back to the SAKSA 85 - plenty of beautiful meaty bass there. Nice tone to it. Nice match with my Kefs.
Sad thing for me is it looks like the DAC in my Yamaha 3050 AVR cant compete with what my Oppo UDP 203 has. Will have more of a play tonight to make sure I don't have some weird settings engaged. But at this stage it looks like the Yammy has an inferior DAC. It's was all good, I was more than happy before with the sound I had but now I've experienced the sound of Oppo + SAKSA + Kef Ci5160rl-thx and now the Yamaha 3050 + Rotel 1585 + Kef Ci5160rl-thx setup just don't cut it anymore for me. Its the only thing with audio once you have bought your system best not to listen to better equipment otherwise you can only hear what your missing out on from there on out. I'm genuinely scared for my ears/brain when Hugh brings around his Maya200 and hook it up to my Kefs!
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The AV and Receivers usually do not have very good DAC to play very good music records. And the DAC technology has improved a lot in few years. The A2050:
[Polish] Amplitunery AV - testy sprzętu
to English with Google:
Google Translate
[Polish] Amplitunery AV - testy sprzętu
to English with Google:
Google Translate
No, Felipe, I do not ride at this speed at all! I have been at 208kph many years ago, but sadly I was overtaken by a Police pursuit car in 1981. My fine and loss of licence was inevitable and caused me to rethink my speedy ways.....
However, to see how these are possible, watch a You Tube of the Isle of Man. Here's Peter Hickman in a virtual ride of the circuit in 2017. Stay with it, it shows how skilled and brave this guy really is:
YouTube
This races your heartbeat, I can tell you. At one stage they come through a small village and high a bump in the road at 250 kph and ALL the bikes lift one metre off the ground. They have to be pointed in the right way when they land, I can tell you, but this is common practice in motorcycle road racing. Those guys are all madmen, and a few lose their lives, it's a game of roulette....
This week I have despatched two Mayas, built up to the transformers which will be put in by their new owners. One to the US, the second for him, and one to Norway. Next week I have another Maya to go to France, the second in the Montpellier area.
Life is pleasant enough as I enter my 68th year. I must thank all my customers for keeping me busy and healthy!
Ciao,
Hugh
However, to see how these are possible, watch a You Tube of the Isle of Man. Here's Peter Hickman in a virtual ride of the circuit in 2017. Stay with it, it shows how skilled and brave this guy really is:
YouTube
This races your heartbeat, I can tell you. At one stage they come through a small village and high a bump in the road at 250 kph and ALL the bikes lift one metre off the ground. They have to be pointed in the right way when they land, I can tell you, but this is common practice in motorcycle road racing. Those guys are all madmen, and a few lose their lives, it's a game of roulette....
This week I have despatched two Mayas, built up to the transformers which will be put in by their new owners. One to the US, the second for him, and one to Norway. Next week I have another Maya to go to France, the second in the Montpellier area.
Life is pleasant enough as I enter my 68th year. I must thank all my customers for keeping me busy and healthy!
Ciao,
Hugh
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Hugh it is so nice to hear that you are doing well and pleased with the life your are living ! This is great ! Also very happy to know that the Maya is selling well and new owners born each day throughout the world ! This must be very satisfying and impart a true sense of achievment in you.
I have been restoring a pair of old classics, they are now almost finished.
These are back from the 80's and very good design : B&W DM2
The tweeter were burned, so was the super tweeter. They got new drivers, and a good polish and wax. They loook as good as they sound now!
I will be putting them into good use, in a cousin's home.
All the best
I have been restoring a pair of old classics, they are now almost finished.
These are back from the 80's and very good design : B&W DM2
The tweeter were burned, so was the super tweeter. They got new drivers, and a good polish and wax. They loook as good as they sound now!
I will be putting them into good use, in a cousin's home.
All the best
