AKSA amps

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Variac said:
OzMike seems a little too much like Greg Ball for my taste. We'll work this out...

:captain:

Variac


I miss Greg Ball. At least he (like Hugh -- not me) puts his money where his mouth is and actually designs amplifiers.

And I certainly appreciate Carlos' opinion because he's a do'er, not just a talker. (MHO-TIOLI)

..Todd
 
Because Jacco, very intelligent, always very focused i came to read once more.

I am unsubscribed into this thread to avoid problems.

I felt people "too much excited" to my taste...loosing control of their nerves and going to have a "crisis"

Compadre was great.... this is a nice relation and nice word we have in this country.... Jacco can explain, i see that he had close relations with Brazilians..for sure.... i suspect that was very close...ahahahaha!

Maybe a wife from Brazil.... they love those blond Holland and rosed Germans that travells to Brazil and returned married...ahahahaha!

Thank you Variac..... very good moderator...without half words.... be good or Boooom!...... i like that..double barreled on bad folks...with some salt and the shoot must be in the back yard...not to seat for a week!

................................................................................................................

What turns me hardly bothered is that people discuss with enormous energy and passion if this is good or bad when a soldering iron can answer that....just not beeing lazy...go there and install a resistance into the emitter into one channel ...or remove the emitter resistances from one channel and listen...compare and do not fu..... furious discuss this subject.

This is within the range of everyone.... we all can feel that....why to discuss if you can realise by yourself?

Hugh may not return...i think, personally, that will be better to him.

Observing forum, since a couple of years ago...he was smashed, crashed, ignored, snobbed, punished, and a lot of things that would make him perceive that some guys do not like him the way he deserves..... Oh pain!... so nice guy he is..... warm heart man, good family man, a good friend....nice researcher, a good business man..filled with good ideas and do not reserve those...those...those...those....well...those!

regards,

Carlos
 
AKSA & Nelson Pass - Emitter Resistors & Output Impedance

stoolpigeon said:
I am interested in sensible responses to the sycophantic ravings of destroyer X and lineup.

Thanks, stoolpigeon.

I have never heard the english word 'sycophantic' before
but as we can use many words to show our appreciation towards fellows diy-iers,
making weeky contribute of info + schematics, in our place here
I know your thinking is warm and tender.
As Carlos my old friend will know too ( if he still reads this topic ).
Thanks old man, stoolpigeon :cloud9:
I wont forget a shown kindness, because is a rare kind of expression in our society of today.

---------------

Back on TOPIC:

Remember!
Whatever we say, good or bad or what ever else,
it wont make AKSA Lifeforce
better amplifier or a worse amplifier.


Most those who knows about Lifforge
are overwhelmingly united in opinions:
1. Lifeforce is a Good amplfier
2. It is worth the Money
3. It is probably the best AKSA version, so far
4. It has a good Sound
5. It can compete and come out High in compare with other Amps




About emitter resistors, in AKSA or any other power amplifier:
- anyone is free to use whatever value and do some real evaluation.
This is a very easy mod.

1. you buy some suitable value resistors, 0.1 - 1.0 Ohms, rated ~2-5 Watt
2. you try them
3. you will see (hear/measure) if there is any difference
4. you tell us
5. we do the same / we will not do the same

################################


About my own use of emitter resistors,
as I have been involved in such discussions before, at several audio forums, besides diyAudio,
also with other highly regarded & wellknown Amplifier Designers.


To know:
because these MY conditions are different
from Running Class AB + parallel
1. I almost never parallel Output transistors
2. I most often run my power amplifiers in Class A ~1.5-2.5 idle bias.
3. I usally have a separate supply with not much more voltage, than needed = for high Class A effiency
4. Driver stage is at least +5/- 5 Volt higher supplied

Under these condition, output current peaks ~3-5 Ampere
I can accept:
- A voltage drop across Emitter resistors of:
- Max 0.65 - 0.75 Volt peak something
- This value is good for another practical reason:
Easy Clip indication
... by simply use a normal 0.6-0.8 volt base-emitter transistor
across Emitter Resistors for trigger LED to indicate clipping.


😎
Now you do the math:
.... maximal case values:
0.8V / 3 Ampere = 0.27 Ohm
0.6V / 5 Ampere = 0.12 Ohm


My selection of pratical value very often will be:
0.15 / 0.22 Ohm
.. totally, when I use only Single Pair of Push-Pull Devices

AKSA has used here, in this amplifier, if I have got it right, 0.47 Ohm.
I can see nothing bad with this.
He has well explained such benefits,
like 'Linearization' and Good stable bias Control.
(And eventual Drawbacks, too!)
And I would not be surprised if this value of resistors would be good for SOUND, too.

🙂

We know:
that Nelson Pass has built/designed several amplifiers,
with not so low output impedance = lower damping factor
... and the results Pass has gotten has not been too bad 😉
Not if we compare to to the results 😀
of those who know what emitter resistor value is optimal.

These are such fellow members who can spend month after month doing abstract discussions
in the higher level mathematics & physics of Optimal Amplifier matter
...but not present, to us, a single working amplifier or even
A Suggested project / schematic / circuit
that we can actually try to build / Try to work on from.


No harm in endless debate/opinions - but not very productive/useful for anything.
Not if it only stays in the abstract without any Final Conclusion to put to the test.
Onto your working table.

Their thinkings will be merely, only, a whisper in the air, soon disappearing & forgotten.


While a real Nelson Pass ampifier or Bob Cordell amplifier / amplifier project
will be at hand !!!!!!
Like something real and useful, for music enjoyment.





And you ask me,
why we Love Nelson Pass ???



Yes .... because he can do:
both theory & math & as well practical useful things
for us
and share this for free.


Singing and useful music machines.
😎
So will a great number of AKSA Amplifiers be, too.
In many a country around our world!
😎
Whether you like it or not - wont make a difference at all.
Whether me like it or not - wont make a difference at all.
Whether anyone like it or not - will make zero difference.



Regards
lineup
Lineup Audio Observer Weekly
http://lineup.awardspace.com/

🙂
 
Good answer... i was always very curious about that.

Was something very strange.

Very good question.

Do you wanna contact with people Mr. Lineup?

For a while it is "one way trafic"..... and empty road too.

Very strange,

Well...each one of us with our own strange things,... but if you can clear my mind answering that will be interesting.

Related secret data...well....maybe you are the last one to know that everyone already knows your personal data.... also i have discovered, 5 monthes ago, that i was one of the last guys to discover.

That "common friend" we both have Mr. lineup, was not ever really blocked.

Sorry by off topic guys...but that question was great...ahahahha!

regards,

Carlos
 

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Re: Good answer... i was always very curious about that.

destroyer X said:

Do you wanna contact with people Mr. Lineup?

😕
Sorry, but I do not know what you mean.
Sometimes, you are not very clear.
your message is behind your talk, between the lines.


AKSA is more clear. He tells it straight out: No more altruism frome me'
See post above.
Such clear message I do respect! Very much.
If message is negative or postive doesn't matter.
As long as message can be understood.
----

When I did see you had posted, Carlos,
I expected to find a comment
to my explaination how I use EMITTER Resistors
Se my prevoius post.
Surely you would have more than enough practical knowledge
to give a fair comment.
I know you have, my friend.
----

A sidenote here, Mr. Carlos
you havent answered my simple question in 'My Class A Headphone Amp' topic.
Maybe you did not read. 🙂
------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------

A little pice of music to go along, with this post:
Recorded as a duet with Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong !!!
You Can't Loose A Broken Heart


This song is of course 100 times better,
When you listen to song with your Dx-Amp
and not only see these dry words .... these letters, characters

============================================

Don't lose your head
Then lose your guy
You can't lose a broken heart

If you ever break up
Then try to make up
It's tough to make a brand new start

Take a walk
Think it over
While strolling neath the moon

Don't say things in December
You'll regret in June

Weigh your remark
Before you speak
Or you may be sorry soon,

Don't be erratic
Be diplomatic
To keep your heart's in tune

Cruel harsh words
Often spoken
Will upset your applecart


So don't lose your head
Then lose your guy
Cus, you can't lose a broken heart

No, you can't lose a broken heart!

============================================
 
Re: Re: Good answer... i was always very curious about that.

lineup said:


😕
Sorry, but I do not know what you mean.
Sometimes, you are not very clear.
your message is behind your talk, between the lines.

It's rather rare to publish things without wanting any feedback. It has been times when I have wanted to push the "email" button here or at your website but for some reason you don't want to have any personal contact with people. If you don't know that you can email in both directions without revealing your own email address. This is a very nice feature here at diyaudio. Many other forums can't offer that. I don't want my email to public due to spam reasons but since I have turned on "BoxTrapper Spam Trap, all spam dissapeared. This feature requires some action from the one who sends the message and how many of those spammers do that? The instructions are sent to the reply to address :att'n: which is false in 100% of the cases.
 
WoW,
I'm a bit of an interloper on the SS Forum but a regular contributor to the Tube Amp Forum. I design a build a lot of amps and have at least some credibility since I'm an Electronic Design Engineer in my day job.

2 of the many amps I have built are Solid State and are Hugh's AKSA55 Nivarna Plus (with a couple of extra audio jewelry parts) and his Lifeforce 55.

The AKSA 55 N+ I love because it imparts small amounts of 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion (in a sonically pleasing balance) that you get from a tube amp. "Tubelike" is a good description of its sound.

The Lifeforce 55 is simply the best SS amp I've ever heard and I have had no urge whatever to try any fancy audio jewellry or other mods to it. It imparts a sense of effortlessness to the music and its detail is stunning. If I have a criticism of it, it is that it is just a smidge too accurate for my musical taste and so I run it from one of Hughs GK-1 Preamplifiers which includes a tube buffer stage. The marriage of the GK-1 and the Lifeforce 55 is stunning.

Each time I build a new tube amp or even modify/upgrade one of my existing tube amps the Lifeforce 55 goes back into the system for an A/B. It is one of my reference amps (the other main reference amps are an 845 Single Ended Triode Amp and an EL84 Ultralinear Push Pull, parallel shunt feedback amp of my own design I dubbed "Baby Huey" because of its ability to blow away amps rated at 5 to 10 times it's 10 Watt per channel).

I have no hestitation whatever in RECOMMENDING Hugh's amplifiers.

If you want something with a bit of tube like sound and don't want to spend a lot of cash then the AKSA 55 will suit you. The Nivarna and Nivarna Plus upgrade options are just that, upgrade options - they do make a significant improvement to the entry level AKSA 55. (I have to say that because I worked with Hugh on some of the upgrades and was one of the Beta testers for them). The instructions that come with the kit are extremely easy to follow and its been successfully built by many first time DIY'ers. Hugh's support is second to none.

If you want the best and don't mind paying a little more then the LIFEFORCE (either the 55 or the 100) will do the job. I strongly doubt that you will match its performance without spending 10 or even 20 times more - and who wants to do that.

The thread above talked about trading in AKSA 55 Modules for Lifeforce 55 modules (ditto for the 100W). I did'nt go that route. The AKSA 55N+ has things about it that I truely enjoy, so I kept it intact and built a LIFEFORCE from scratch.

Cheers,
Ian
 
Lovely Aussies..... you are always great guys.

The day i faced a bad Aussie i will turn very surprised,

In my country, if you have a designer, alike Aussies have many, people start to try to reduce the designer importance because envy, jellows....not everyone, but we have many samples of those folks in my country.

We call this "the crab behavior"....if you observe the crab, when many of them are trying to climb some stone....the one that is the second position climb into the first one shoulder and put it down!

I see Aussies fair, decent and friendly with their own people, running to support their people, honoring their designers, respecting and never giving schematic copies...hardly decent people you are.

If, someday, because of strange factor i face the need to scape from my country.... for sure, i will land in Australia!

Correct evaluation my friend...Hugh amplifier, in special this one, the Aksa 55....also the lifeforce, have the tube alike sonics.

regards,

Carlos
 
Re: Not more, nothing less than the best of the best amplifiers ever made

square_wave said:
Have any of you guys out here assembled AKSA amps ?
The designs seem to attract lot of respect from the audiophile community.
I have never come across even one negative comment about them.

This new design which is christened 'Lifeforce 55 / 100" is apparently his best effort so far and it is getting fantastic reviews all over.
There are people who have upgraded to this amp from many a branded Audio jewelry.

I wanted to check on the thoughts about them by the DIY community in general.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
lineup said:

No doubt the Lifeforce Amplifier Kit,
designed by our friendly Hugh AKSA Dean from Australia
... is one the best Amplifiers he has done.

😎
And he has done many, many through the years, published/unpublished.
He is a mature and real audio man - with focus on Da Musik 🙂
destroyer X said:

The cream of the cream.
Wonderfull, unbeatable sonics.
Carlos

..... and now we add this post:
gingertube said:
WoW,
I'm a bit of an interloper on the SS Forum but a regular contributor to the Tube Amp Forum.
I design a build a lot of amps and have at least some credibility since I'm an Electronic Design Engineer in my day job.

2 of the many amps I have built are Solid State and are Hugh's AKSA55 Nivarna Plus (with a couple of extra audio jewelry parts) and his Lifeforce 55.

The AKSA 55 N+ I love because it imparts small amounts of 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion (in a sonically pleasing balance) that you get from a tube amp. "Tubelike" is a good description of its sound.

The Lifeforce 55 is simply the best SS amp I've ever heard ....
-----
Cheers
Ian


😎 = COOL smiley
Not often we can see one after the other confirming same opnion.

Not when it comes to amplifiers, where personal taste matters, quite a bit ( = a whole lot! ).
I mean,
Not only taste in sounds matters.
Also taste in circuit technology, tube/mosfet/bipolar/chipamp,
layout features and whatever.
Even colours of capacitors wrapping, colours of resistor and Display LEDs
is clearly a factor ... to some .. if we are to believe what we read in this forum.

But nothing seems to matter in Verdicts of AKSA Lifeforce.
I did not have any doubts before this topic,
but now I KNOW for sure ( sortof 99.5% ):
This is a special amplifier - for Lovers of good Audio sounds


Regards to all happy owners of Lifeforce / AKSA 55
and to the australian designer Hugh
from
🙂 lineup 🙂


===============================================
PS. It has been told before, by other critical observers ( eg. Fred Dickmann! )
that the layout of AKSA PCB is in absolute topclass.
With this means not some fancy colours,
but it means that:
the paths, the rails are laid out to work as optimal as possible.
In short, a work of quality done with great efforts!
We all know what a faulty layout can do .. like hum, groundloops and such problems.DS.
-----------

The Lifeforce board looks like this: (image from http://www.aksaonline.com/ )

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
We all know what defective lay out can do.

Because of that, Dx amplifier was tested by Greg and by me....many samples were constructed and no one fail related grounding.

But, of course we cannot avoid people producing construction errors.

Hugh had a lot of carefull about that....his amplifiers are reliable.

Mine is too..but cannot resist to polarity invertions of something alike.

Hugh amplifiers, Aspens Amplifiers, Aksa units have protection...you can even invert and they do not burn.... (observe D1)

Great units!

regards,

Carlos
 
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