My speaker build is about to begin. Originally I was going with Klipsch Jubilee clones but things have changed along the way. I will now build a pair of Klipsch MWM double bins and K402 horns for on top, wirh Crites xo's.
Finished product should be ~ 108db efficient..
Next step will be to build an amp. My dear mate who was a master of SET tube design died a few years ago. Like a fool, I thought he would live forever and sold the 45 SET amp he built me. So now I feel like trying my hand at an SS build.
I have long had an interest in Nelson's designs, but I think the time is right now. Which of the Firstwatt circuits would you recommend for highly-efficient horns, and why? The F2 peaked my interest, but I love 'black' silences..... 108db might make this a noisy choice at idle / pause.
Listening environment is 20' x 30', moderate listening levels at the most. I want an amp and setup completely devoid of fatiguing attributes. Uncompressed, effortless, clean imaging. The speakers will go a long way to delivering this, I am sure, but they will likely be ruthless with source / amp selection.
Very open to wise words - thanks.
Finished product should be ~ 108db efficient..
Next step will be to build an amp. My dear mate who was a master of SET tube design died a few years ago. Like a fool, I thought he would live forever and sold the 45 SET amp he built me. So now I feel like trying my hand at an SS build.
I have long had an interest in Nelson's designs, but I think the time is right now. Which of the Firstwatt circuits would you recommend for highly-efficient horns, and why? The F2 peaked my interest, but I love 'black' silences..... 108db might make this a noisy choice at idle / pause.
Listening environment is 20' x 30', moderate listening levels at the most. I want an amp and setup completely devoid of fatiguing attributes. Uncompressed, effortless, clean imaging. The speakers will go a long way to delivering this, I am sure, but they will likely be ruthless with source / amp selection.
Very open to wise words - thanks.
New Mr. Pass single-ended Sony Vfet kit from diyAudio store in the near future. Diy Zen V9 kit is great candidate as well imho 
http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_zv9.pdf
http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/art_zv9.pdf
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At ~108db, you could probably drive it with a preamp.
I'm guessing it's also easy to drive at 8 ohm or better?
The ACA 1.5 kit would be an easy, quick build. Plenty of support, probably more than normal around here. The sound is just great.
I read a story where someone brought the original ACA to a mostly tube amp listening gathering. Guy waited his turn, which was last. 300b was mentioned as being the prominent tube at the meeting. The 300b owners liked the ACA a lot.
Good luck whatever you choose!
Vince
I'm guessing it's also easy to drive at 8 ohm or better?
The ACA 1.5 kit would be an easy, quick build. Plenty of support, probably more than normal around here. The sound is just great.
I read a story where someone brought the original ACA to a mostly tube amp listening gathering. Guy waited his turn, which was last. 300b was mentioned as being the prominent tube at the meeting. The 300b owners liked the ACA a lot.
Good luck whatever you choose!
Vince
I have built the Aleph J, F6 and M2 and comparing them on my Heresy III and sub setup, and while I like them all for what they do - the F6 is the best match in my setup. Does everything just right, tight and extended, but never harsh. But it's not overly 'tubelike' like the other two amps.
I do not know how it compares to the sound of the commerical F6 though.
You will not be dissapointed with any of these amps. I came from several tube amps - KT88, KT66, 300b etc, and I am not looking back.
I do not know how it compares to the sound of the commerical F6 though.
You will not be dissapointed with any of these amps. I came from several tube amps - KT88, KT66, 300b etc, and I am not looking back.
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somewhere buried in that thread or another is the following endorsement written by somebody who did a comparison with some friends:
"I only such small circuits a class and interest, and DIY Audio population is mostly built: pass Zen with 10W single ended, pass Zen Lite, Zen v4 (something to trick aleph), John Linsley Hood 10W, hiraga le monstre, hiraga 20w, andrea ciuffoli follower in combination with triode preamp or pass Bride of Zen, aleph 3 and 5, mini-aleph.
mjuzu listen to jlh a year and a half and the best results I achieved when I absolutely agreed scheme by using the specific transistors ... hiraga I tried ...
The weaklings:
-ION Obelisk clone Class AB amp: nice sound, good for office or kitchen
Gaincard with LM-1875: nice clear, but a kind of solid state sound
Quad-II. tube amp: nice, but a bit boring and lifeless tube sound
The serious amps:
-Hiraga Le Monster: very nice and strong sound, but nothing special, if not that: You can not believe how can this 8 watt amp to be so strong!
-JLH1969: this is really a very good sounding amp! A reference amp for ever. Very musical sound, one of the best.
-ZEN "classic": nice and very pleasant sound for the ears, but the bass, dynamic, details, soundstage imagineing not so perfect than the ....... see later
ZEN-ZV4: nice and very strong and dynamic sound, but also not perfect like the ......
ZEN-BALANCED 25Watt: nice and brutal strong dynamic and bass etc.. sound! A bit "dark" or sound gloomy. I am afraid I prefer the 2nd harmonic distorsions more ....
Zen-Lite: It is a really nice sounding amp, almost perfect, but the details and the sound stage imagineing and the bass control are not so fine than the ....... see later
-Aleph5: very nice tube like sound with brutal power and dynamic.
SEWA-V1: OK here comes the winner! Nice, soft, warm etc. sound, but the most important what makes this amp unambiguous better than the others are the very strong and really (!) Detailed, controlled bass, mega-brutal dynamic, incredible micro fine details and excellent 3D sound stage. The music simply alive in the listening room!
I have never listened or felt such a presence good feeling!
One more thing: maybe I am sick and perverse, but I like my BOZ very much. It has not so relaxed sound than the BOSOZ but the BOZ's "excited" sound make the details sharper.
Interesting: The ZEN "classic" Zen and the ZV4 liked very much the MF X-10D tube buffer between the preamp and the amps. The improvement was really big with the tube buffer, but my V1 SEWA worked excellent even without the buffer and gave the very nice warm sound!"
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108db ........ give or take 6 of that , it is still overkill ... I mean tricky to deal with
any amp having normal gain will get you in trouble easily ...... thinking of noise and hum
M2 ...... but I will try it with other xformer - CMOQ , as in DEFiSIT , then try it in 1:3 and 1:2 configurations
Aleph J is too much (including Babelfish J , as least complicated iteration) .......
MoFo could be right thing , tweaked M2 next best thing to try , if power/headroom is of importance
any amp having normal gain will get you in trouble easily ...... thinking of noise and hum
M2 ...... but I will try it with other xformer - CMOQ , as in DEFiSIT , then try it in 1:3 and 1:2 configurations
Aleph J is too much (including Babelfish J , as least complicated iteration) .......
MoFo could be right thing , tweaked M2 next best thing to try , if power/headroom is of importance
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Currently there is only a full kit for the ACA. There is a kit of parts to fill the F5 PCB, sans Jfets.
Plans are in the works to have more full (possibly) and partial kits (certainly) in the near future, starting with the Whammy, and moving into the power amps as well, I’d wager seeing things like the Aleph J and M2x. The MoFo would be a great one to do as well.
That said, I’m talking about future projects, not something you can buy right now - but the MoFo is so gloriously simple that getting the proper parts is simple, and the circuit is also quite simple, so there are few parts to get! It’s a very beginner friendly project, and because of how it deals with PSU noise and it’s low (well, no...) gain, it might just be the perfect circuit for your system.
Thread here - Build This MoFo!
Download the original article here (look for download link) - Build This MoFo! | AudioMaker
And check your PM
Plans are in the works to have more full (possibly) and partial kits (certainly) in the near future, starting with the Whammy, and moving into the power amps as well, I’d wager seeing things like the Aleph J and M2x. The MoFo would be a great one to do as well.
That said, I’m talking about future projects, not something you can buy right now - but the MoFo is so gloriously simple that getting the proper parts is simple, and the circuit is also quite simple, so there are few parts to get!
It’s a very beginner friendly project, and because of how it deals with PSU noise and it’s low (well, no...) gain, it might just be the perfect circuit for your system. Thread here - Build This MoFo!
Download the original article here (look for download link) - Build This MoFo! | AudioMaker
And check your PM
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