Very valuable input, thanks for sharing! May I ask what kind of speakers do you have?
The thing that has been most captivating for me with the TU-8200 and the FHXL's has been the immense feeling of space they can create in some recordings. The soundstage is not a 2D plane in front of me, but somehow seems to wrap around me. It's uncanny. Now, I haven't used the FHXL's with other amps, so I don't really know if the soundstaging is an attribute of the amp or the speakers. My hypothesis is that it's mostly the speakers, but the amp might enhance or reduce the effect.
I wouldn't want to lose that effect when introducing a new amp. Rather, if it is possible, introduce a bit more detail into it.
Would you say that it's lacking flavor, then? 🤓 Sorry for my nit-picking, your comment just caught my attention a bit.
Thanks for introducing the SLB, looks like a proper alternative for the diyAudio one!
Thanks for the suggestion! How would you describe it compared to the other amps discussed here?
Very much like a good SET amplifier. My feelings are the more output devices the better the sound. Passlabs thinks this as well being most of the offerings have multiple output devices. My thoughts are the BA-1 and BA-2 builds are the closet to Passlab's amplifier diy'ers are going to get. Old designs but still good.
Zen Mod has a bunch of amps that he has boards for. Look for the babble fish varieties. They make for more of an advanced build as there aren't any guides etc.
There is also a Stasis front end and and a few designs for an output stage. I have an old Threshold stasis so I have what I suspect is a good taste of the diy stasis design. Probably a little more expensive to build but a really nice sounding amp.
The First Watt varieties are probably the best for a entry amp as you will have a chassis and a power supply that is flexible and take take the different amps available in the store. The only one that would need special attention would be the F5 turbo series.
I have The Bordeaux by Speaker Design Works (Jim Holtz and Curt Campbell). Easy 6 ohm load and very detailed/revealing of equipment.
The mid and tweeter are open back so there is a rear wave. Sound stage on the F6 and the TU-8200 are comparable. If you want the whole soundstage experience with detailed imaging, check out the BA2018 preamp. That made a huge difference for me.
Build any of the amps mentioned here. If you want a difference sauce, you just have to change the amp board. I recommend getting the largest chassis the DIY store sells with the UMS threaded hole layout on the heatsinks. This will allow you to experiment the most by running dual mono, f5 turbo, laying down inside of the amp to take a nap etc.
This is an intriguing possibility, actually. But how can I do that in practice? Can I really connect the Elekit's speaker level outputs into F4's line ins?Just to throw a spanner in the works, F4.
Use your Elekit TU-8200 as a preamp - load the output with 16 Ohm 5 watt resistors.
You can play with/build different front ends later.
Even if I wouldn't use the Elekit as a preamp, this is a contender. I could build a preamp, using at least partially the components from my existing passive, adding gain with BA-3, Wayne's BA2018, or maybe CCDA if I want tubes in the mix.
Always a good suggestion. The manual does state that driving the F4 with a low-powered tube amp directly is a possibility. While this is interesting, and I might try it, the more probable scenario is that the Elekit will be reinstated at my desk for headphone usage.
I'll soon replace my passive preamp, DAC, Bluetooth module and MiniDSP DDRC24 with the MiniDSP Flex. It tidies up the system quite a bit as it has all my needed inputs built in except for the phono preamp. Meaning that my Hagerman Cornet3 would take the single analogue input that the Flex has, but that's it, sorted. I'm expecting an enhancement in audio quality as well. I'll have to forgo the aesthetics and minimalistic beauty of the user interface of the Khozmo preamp, though, but at least now I think it will be worth it.
How does this relate to this thread then? Well, similar to my current preamp, the Flex won't have any gain. In order to use the F4 I will need to incorporate a preamp. My idea is to implement a fixed gain preamp together with the F4, as I don't want to have volume attenuation in several devices. Make sense?
The output stage of the old BA-3 amplifier is about the same thing as the F4. So, with everything "built-in", you just build a BA-3. I "rolled" preamps / linestages with my F4.... Bottlehead Foreplay, BA2018, ACP+ headphone amp, messed around with a transformer for passive voltage gain... etc.
William, how did the BA2018 work with the F4? I was wondering if it would run out of steam and have a hard time driving the
Nikodemuzz, another thought. If the MiniDSP reduces volume digitally then you may want to make the linestage that you choose an actual preamp.
Nikodemuzz, another thought. If the MiniDSP reduces volume digitally then you may want to make the linestage that you choose an actual preamp.
As far as I understand (which is not far), yes.
Everyday you learn new stuff. 😀
Somehow I'm more excited about the potential of swapping out line stages with the F4 than I am about swapping power amps with a passive preamp. I might be wrong but my expectation is that it will have a greater effect on sound. Please don't bring up the fact that I could be swapping both...
Do you mean because presumably digital attenuators are of lesser quality, or are you thinking something else? It might be a bunch of snake oil, but I did read somewhere that at least in this unit the execution is of higher quality than most analogue attenuators. I do have a high quality stepped attenuator in my passive preamp, which I wouldn't mind using. However, I resent the idea of introducing several volume controls in the system from the perspective of user experience.
The F4 will pretty much take on the character of what you have in front of it. Like the warmth of toobz?....then try an appropriate high gain / high swing tube pre in front, etc. BA2018 is very clean, direct, accurate, lots of resolution. Gain of the BA2018 can be increased easily for your own needs. I'm currently re-working mine, again to get it just how I want. My SissySIT is a beast of an amp SQ wise, currently working out how to best give it that extra 12dB gain for my own system and needs. Also plan to build Tombo56's "Blasphemy" front end, configured to 4X gain and directly driving the Cinemag. Just to see what I like the best. This *** never ends.... 🙂
Yeah I don't see this rabbit hole ending very soon. Employing a tube preamp is an enticing possibility. On the other hand, perhaps I could have my cake and eat it too by building a solid state preamp. That way I still would have tubes in the lineup when I listen to vinyl records, as my phono preamp is the Hagerman Cornet3. Then if I'm streaming Tidal it would be 100% solid state. It would be quite interesting to hear the difference in my favorite music.
Youre already screwed cause youre gonna end up building more than one so start off w/a F4 and a M2 would be my vote
