Found a pair of Aleph 1.0 and 1.2 shall I buy?

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peter grillwitt

Member
Joined 2010
Hi,

Two weeks ago I found a little store in Akihabara (Tokyo) who offers a pair of Aleph 1.0 and also a pair of Aleph 1.2.

Unfortunelately my Japanese is only broken (like my English) and therefore I was only able to get some basic information.

I tried to get some detailed information in the internet but it seems that there is not much to find about these amps.

Would you please advise me if I shall buy them and which one.

Price: 1.0 = 5.000 $US; 1.2 = 6.200 $US

My questions:

1. How can I assure that they are real and not "fake"?
2. How long can I use these amps? Are there wear-parts which might become "old" and must be renewed?
3. What else do I have to consider?
4. Are they too expensive? What was the original price?

Thank you so much for your support!

P. S. if someone likes to have them (only if I don´t) I can help you to get them.

Edit Oct. 2012 I am back in Germany and I haven´t bought the Aleph´s. Anyway again thank very much you all for your kind help and your recommendations.
 
Last edited:
Zen Mod

Zen Mod

Official Court Jester
Joined 2003
zenmod.in.rs/
Paid Member
peter grillwitt said:
Hi,

I am Peter from Germany and I live in Japan.

Two weeks ago I found a little store in Akihabara (Tokyo) who offers a pair of Aleph 1.0 and also a pair of Aleph 1.2.

Unfortunelately my Japanese is only broken (like my English) and therefore I was only able to get some basic information.

I tried to get some detailed information in the internet but it seems that there is not much to find about these amps.

Would you please advise me if I shall buy them and which one.

Price: 1.0 = 5.000 $US; 1.2 = 6.200 $US

My questions:

1. How can I assure that they are real and not "fake"?
2. How long can I use these amps? Are there wear-parts which might become "old" and must be renewed?
3. What else do I have to consider?
4. Are they too expensive? What was the original price?

Thank you so much for your support!

P. S. if someone likes to have them (only if I don´t) I can help you to get them.
Click to expand...

1. simple ; spend 30 min. in googling pictures , save them all in one folder and spend hour looking at them ; then just compare these in shop

2. just electrolyt caps ( big reservoirs which you certainly will see in pictures of open aleph ) ; whatever - if amp is not humming in speaker ,when you go to try them , there is still some life in caps . they're cheap to replace , comparing to value/price of amps

3. wallet ?

4. I can't say ; my opinion is that these even have collectors value

P.S. you can only , shipping at you , one day send me those for proper (free ) disposal

;)

grab them and enjoy !

just a reminder , from http://www.passlabs.com/about.htm :

Pass Laboratories, Inc. was founded in 1991 by Nelson Pass. Operating out of his shop at home, Pass developed prototypes of a single-ended Class A amplifier design. At the same time, he and Mike Burley were constructing an in-house machine shop with three home-built CNC milling machines with which to produce the amplifiers when the design was finished.

The first product, the Aleph 0, shipped in 1992. It was a mono-block design rated at 70 watts into 8 ohms, and was unique in using three gain stages of power Mosfets including a push-pull output stage biased by a big constant current source. The amplifier operated as single-ended Class A up to its 70 watt rating and in push pull Class A at higher wattage.

The amplifier was highly acclaimed, and was called the “Amplifier of the Decade” in Stereophile magazine.

At this time, Nelson hired his next-door neighbor, Elena Tong, to help with producing the amplifiers, and she manages much of the company to this day.

A stereo version called the Aleph 0s followed after, along with a preamp called the Aleph P. A larger version of the Aleph 0 called the Aleph 1 shipped the following year, and was a mono-block rated at 150 watts.

In 1994 Pass Labs released a newer Aleph design which simplified the circuit from three gain stages down to only two stages and used a newly patented power current source to bias the single-ended output stage. The new circuitry was incorporated into a revision of the Aleph 1, the 200 watt Aleph 1.2, and smaller models, the 100 watt Aleph 2.
Click to expand...



from manuals:

The ALEPH 1 is a high performance Mosfet single-ended Class A audio power
amplifier, intended for maximum performance in reproduction of music. It is a
simple design, having only three gain stages: input differential pair, cascaded
voltage gain stage, and output followers. All three gain stages are biased by
current sources from the negative supply. The output stage will operate as a
single ended system at lower power levels and will operate as a push-pull
system at levels above the bias point of the constant current source.
Click to expand...

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS
Gain 23.5 dB balanced (50 Ohm Source)
20.5 dB unbalanced
28.9 dB unbalanced with jumper, XLR pins 1,3
Freq. Response 0dB @ DC -3dBat100 KHz
Power Output 150 watts @ 8 ohms 20 Hz - 20 KHz
Distortion <1 %THD
Maximum Output 50 amps ( pulse), 40 volts (peak)
Output Impedance .01 ohm @ 1 KHz @ 8V @ 8 ohm
Balanced Input 25 KOhm, differential (XLR)
10 Kohm, single-ended (RCA)
Common mode rejection 70 dB @ 1 KHz @ .1V input common ground
Output Noise 800 microvolts
DC offset 100 mv after warm-up, balanced mode
Power Consumption 500 watts at idle
Operating Temperature 50 degrees C.
Warm up time 1 hour minimum
Click to expand...


The Aleph 1.2 is a monoblock 200 watt audio power amplifier which operates in singleended
class A mode.
The Aleph 1.2 has only two gain stages which are biased by current sources. Because
of the inherent simplicity of the circuit, it is easy to understand and repair. There are no
adjustments.
Click to expand...

SPECIFICATIONS
Gain 20 dB balanced, 20 or 26 dB bal
Freq. Response - 3 dB at 0.3 Hz, -3 dB at 100 KHz
Power Output 200 watts/ch 8 ohms
Distortion (1KHz) <1%THD
Output Impedance 0.1ohm
Input Impedance 10 Kohm
Input CMRR > -50 dB Typical
Power Consumption 500 watts
Dimensions 16.5 " W x 16.5" D x 10.5" H
Shipping Weight 121 lb.
Click to expand...


pics :

http://www.google.com/images?as_q=&...c=&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=off&as_st=y

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...1.2+"&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
 
Last edited:
P

peter grillwitt

Member
Joined 2010
Zen Mod said:
1. simple ; spend 30 min. in googling pictures , save them all in one folder and spend hour looking at them ; then just compare these in shop

2. just electrolyt caps ( big reservoirs which you certainly will see in pictures of open aleph ) ; whatever - if amp is not humming in speaker ,when you go to try them , there is still some life in caps . they're cheap to replace , comparing to value/price of amps

3. wallet ?

4. I can't say ; my opinion is that these even have collectors value

P.S. you can only , shipping at you , one day send me those for proper (free ) disposal

;)

grab them and enjoy !
Click to expand...

Hi Zen Mod,

thank you so much for your detailed answer.

Would you personally prefer the 1.0 or the 1.2 (not for diposal).

I have one further question: I will go back to Germany in a few years. The amps are 100V amps. Is it possible to change the source power to 230V internally and how high is the effort? Or do I have to use an external transformer?
 
cocolino

cocolino

Member
Joined 2002
peter grillwitt said:
Hi,
Unfortunelately my Japanese is only broken (like my English) and therefore I was only able to get some basic information.
Click to expand...

I wish I could speak Japanese as "broken" as Your English;)

peter grillwitt said:
Hi,

My questions:

1. How can I assure that they are real and not "fake"?
2. How long can I use these amps? Are there wear-parts which might become "old" and must be renewed?
3. What else do I have to consider?
4. Are they too expensive? What was the original price?
Click to expand...

1.) I think the arrangement of the heatsinks composing the enclosure is pretty unique. I`ve never seen heatsinks that could be arranged in this squared line-up where their corners fit together in such a way.

2.) As Zen-Mod said the only wear happens at the electrolytic capacitors. There`re 4 really big caps in the power-supply of each mono amp + a couple of small ones. I guess each of the big ones would cost about 50 Euro (regular market prices, not surplus), the small ones do cost next to nothing.
Unless age the biggest enemy of caps is heat and this amps run hot, so depending on their age and how much they were used this might be an issue.

3.a) a stereo pair of those amps consumes about 1kW at idle (read all the time) ! That means $$ in electricity and heat :redhot:

3.b) if You intend to return to Germany some day, You should definitely consider the weight of those beasts. About 250 lbs for a stereo pair of amps from Japan to Germany might become a considerable cost factor. :tons:

4.) Aleph 1.2 $14,000/pair (1997 in the US)
Aleph 1.0 list price ??? (but likely somewhat cheaper than the 1.2)
I don`t know, I don`t have experience with second hand prices of such gear. Of course it depends on their condition but it will be hard to say in which condition they really are. To me the prices You mentioned appear still a little too steep for hot running amps that might be 13+ years (+ in case of the Aleph 1.0).

BTW: regarding line voltage, this is what the Aleph owners manuals say (for the 1.0 as well as the 1.2) :

The amplifier has three sets of connections and one switch: The first connection and switch is the AC line power system. The amplifier's voltage and current rating are indicated on the bottom. It will be either 240 volts, 120 volts, or 100 volts, all with a 3AG slow blow type fuse.
The frequency rating of the AC line source is 50 to 60 Hz.

So changing line voltage from 100V to 230V shouldn`t be any problem.
 
Zen Mod

Zen Mod

Official Court Jester
Joined 2003
zenmod.in.rs/
Paid Member
peter grillwitt said:
Hi Zen Mod,

thank you so much for your detailed answer.

Would you personally prefer the 1.0 or the 1.2 (not for diposal).

I have one further question: I will go back to Germany in a few years. The amps are 100V amps. Is it possible to change the source power to 230V internally and how high is the effort? Or do I have to use an external transformer?
Click to expand...

let's say that I'll prefer newer - 1.2 ; 2 stage ( not 3 as plain 1 ) and you can even later convert a beasts to J status ( with Jfet input) ;)

so - they're newer and have less stages of amplification

rest is already answered
 
D

dq10

Member
Joined 2005
zeroaudio.it
Hi Peter!

I'm Enrico from Italy.
I actually have a pair of Aleph 1.2, in the past I had also four Aleph 0 mono.
They drive a pair of Hales Transcendence 8, preamp is Atma-Sphere MP1.

Imho, choosing the 1 or the 1.2 follows speaker impedance.
If you have an easy speaker go with 1.2, if you have speaker under 4 ohm go with 1.

Good luck!
 
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