FirstWatt J2

[Nelson Pass]

Originally Posted by HVfanatic

Looking forward to hear Nelsons comments... We all have to buy J2 amps to suck out the secret...

The secret is that I can drive you into frenzied curiosity over
a simple voltage reference.

[Nelson Pass]

Originally Posted by DQ

the F2 has much higher distortion figures than both F1 and J2. I'm not asking for a very detailed comparison, I guess I would just like to hear that the F2 is not overshadowed by this new star from a sound quality point of view, that they are at least comparable

I just opened an unexpected arrival from Jon this morning. It
appears to be an F2 with expectations of having a JFET
installed. It appears that he saw the distortion curve difference in
the F2 example.

It's worth noting that I am considering some other tweaks
on this as well.

[R-K Rønningstad]

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

The secret is that I can drive you into frenzied curiosity over
a simple voltage reference.

Yeah, don't start a guesswork like the John Curl Blowtorch thread, guys! How many angels can dance on a needle tip? I would expect Nelson to use a reference he had handy, not searching the world for the Holy Grail of voltage references. Hehe....!

[Zen Mod]

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

The secret is that I can drive you into frenzied curiosity over
a simple voltage reference.

resume that I'm guilty

Originally Posted by R-K Rønningstad

Yeah, don't start a guesswork like the John Curl Blowtorch thread, guys! How many angels can dance on a needle tip? I would expect Nelson to use a reference he had handy, not searching the world for the Holy Grail of voltage references. Hehe....!

luckily , they aren't of same breed

[R-K Rønningstad]

No, I did not mean to compare any persons, sorry.

But that discussion/guesswork almost was (is?) whether resistors should be 332 or 330 ohm, almost that level. And that is missing the point, I believe.

-rk

[Zen Mod]

Originally Posted by R-K Rønningstad

No, I did not mean to compare any persons, sorry.

.....

-rk

I know ....... but I just couldn't resist

edit: do not worry - NP knows who's resident black sheep ......

Originally Posted by R-K Rønningstad

........
But that discussion/guesswork almost was (is?) whether resistors should be 332 or 330 ohm, almost that level. And that is missing the point, I believe.

-rk

agree ; that's why this time I (almost) passed ;
if nothing else , that saves me throwing/writing tech. nonsense , as usual ...

[labjr]

Originally Posted by Nelson Pass

I just opened an unexpected arrival from Jon this morning. It
appears to be an F2 with expectations of having a JFET
installed. It appears that he saw the distortion curve difference in
the F2 example.

It's worth noting that I am considering some other tweaks
on this as well.

It appears he heard the J2.

[johnsonad]

Santa came early this year and there is a beautiful new J2 playing in my living room

I've only an hour on it so far but it sounds great! The presentation is different from my Aleph 30. The J2 is more forward and a wider sound stage. It is QUIET compared to the Aleph 30. More to follow after we get to know each other better. And I'm not going to open it up so please don't ask

[Jon Ver Halen]

Originally Posted by DQ

Thanks a lot. What about the rest of the audio performance (mids, highs, dynamics...)? You called the F1 "more accurate", but the F2 has much higher distortion figures than both F1 and J2. I'm not asking for a very detailed comparison, I guess I would just like to hear that the F2 is not overshadowed by this new star from a sound quality point of view, that they are at least comparable.

It has actually been awhile since I plugged the F2 into the system, so detailed comparisons are not to be made. In general, my recollection is that the F2 is not as clean as the F1, and not as sweet as the J2. It seems to me that a single ended version using the J-Fet of the J2 should have merit, which is why I asked Nelson to upgrade mine. After hearing his simple power J-fet SE amp at Burning Amp, I feel even stronger that this deserves to be explored.

Hopefully, my F2 will receive a transplant, and I will report back later.

[Melon Head]

Yes keep us up to date