I read one of their blogs claiming their high freq 500khz switching supply is quieter than a linear supply. The supply PCB is stacked atop the class AB amplifier PCB. The AHB2 box is tightly packed.
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/ap...audio-myth-switching-power-supplies-are-noisy
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/ap...audio-myth-switching-power-supplies-are-noisy
I see it as the equivalent of modern cars.
It's pretty, it seems very well built, it should probably work well, but there is little chance that it will be repairable
and even less to find a schematic or a service manual.
In addition, I hope that there is ventilation and that they have provided a temperature grade of 105° for the capacitors, otherwise we will talk about it again
in a few years .
And I didn't mention the price...
It's pretty, it seems very well built, it should probably work well, but there is little chance that it will be repairable
and even less to find a schematic or a service manual.
In addition, I hope that there is ventilation and that they have provided a temperature grade of 105° for the capacitors, otherwise we will talk about it again
in a few years .
And I didn't mention the price...
OK, I've has a lot of individual requests for feedback on the AHB2 amplifier - I did offer! I can't answer them individually, so I will post my thoughts here.
I'm not going to post everything, just some of the key differences.
Firstly: AHB2 is a top tier solid state amplifier - for me it sits at the same level as Neurochrome 686 and Pass XA25. Fabs USSA/FSSA and the no longer available FirstOne amps (I think PeeCeeBee is it's successor) also at the same level - probably many others I have not yet owned or built.
For me Neurochrome 686 supplanted the XA25 because it has way better noise rejection - if I had really good mains, and special treatment, then the XA25 might have come out trumps. But do not underestimate the benefits of really good noise rejection - it makes life a lot easier. Alternatively you could build a first watt or pass labs clone yourself and go crazy with the power supply - XRKs smooth like buttah (note it needs extra capacitance afterwards, a Cap MX is not a substitute for bulk capacitance). This DIY approach might beat the commercial firstwatt offerings. You don't need any such thing with Neurochrome builds - an all capacitance power supply, just like he sells, is absolutely perfect. No point spending money on anything else. It's the same story with the AHB2 vs XA25, I would choose the AHB2 if you have poor power. But, AHB2 is very demanding of upstream source, it can be sharp and edgy - if you don't have decent source/preamp it's probably better to go with a Neurochrome or XA25, they're a bit smoother and forgiving.
Many of the first watt amps I didn't get along with - but I now know through experience that Aleph (especially the J version, I've only owned Aleph 3 commercial offering) and M2x are probably the best matches for me.
A lot of the question also relates to what your power needs are and budget - you will need to decide for yourself. I really struggled with Flea watt tube amps, I think most of the speakers I try can work ok with 15-25 watts, but not 8. My personal decision was to try an aim for an amplifier which could support speaker swaps in the future and not be limited to something high sensitivity.
I don't own any of the above amplifiers currently, they've all been moved on - I just like learning and building up my experience. I know now that I really like single ended amplifiers the best. I have also fallen for tube amps (but have to run parallel single ended or larger tubes to match my power demands).
I would happily have any of the above amplifiers again though, whilst they are different, they are competitive with a decent tube amp in many ways. But to my ears I've not yet heard a solid state amp that beats a top tube amplifier - but bare in mind that we're talking absolute top tier here, e.g. Thomas Mayer level of performance - in many cases you might be satisfied with one of these excellent solid state amps. Don't forget the smaller Neurochrome 86 and or My_Ref chip amp amplifiers, you might not need as much power as you think, some builds allow for more discrete components as well, so you can adjust the sound to your liking more.
I'm not going to post everything, just some of the key differences.
Firstly: AHB2 is a top tier solid state amplifier - for me it sits at the same level as Neurochrome 686 and Pass XA25. Fabs USSA/FSSA and the no longer available FirstOne amps (I think PeeCeeBee is it's successor) also at the same level - probably many others I have not yet owned or built.
For me Neurochrome 686 supplanted the XA25 because it has way better noise rejection - if I had really good mains, and special treatment, then the XA25 might have come out trumps. But do not underestimate the benefits of really good noise rejection - it makes life a lot easier. Alternatively you could build a first watt or pass labs clone yourself and go crazy with the power supply - XRKs smooth like buttah (note it needs extra capacitance afterwards, a Cap MX is not a substitute for bulk capacitance). This DIY approach might beat the commercial firstwatt offerings. You don't need any such thing with Neurochrome builds - an all capacitance power supply, just like he sells, is absolutely perfect. No point spending money on anything else. It's the same story with the AHB2 vs XA25, I would choose the AHB2 if you have poor power. But, AHB2 is very demanding of upstream source, it can be sharp and edgy - if you don't have decent source/preamp it's probably better to go with a Neurochrome or XA25, they're a bit smoother and forgiving.
Many of the first watt amps I didn't get along with - but I now know through experience that Aleph (especially the J version, I've only owned Aleph 3 commercial offering) and M2x are probably the best matches for me.
A lot of the question also relates to what your power needs are and budget - you will need to decide for yourself. I really struggled with Flea watt tube amps, I think most of the speakers I try can work ok with 15-25 watts, but not 8. My personal decision was to try an aim for an amplifier which could support speaker swaps in the future and not be limited to something high sensitivity.
I don't own any of the above amplifiers currently, they've all been moved on - I just like learning and building up my experience. I know now that I really like single ended amplifiers the best. I have also fallen for tube amps (but have to run parallel single ended or larger tubes to match my power demands).
I would happily have any of the above amplifiers again though, whilst they are different, they are competitive with a decent tube amp in many ways. But to my ears I've not yet heard a solid state amp that beats a top tube amplifier - but bare in mind that we're talking absolute top tier here, e.g. Thomas Mayer level of performance - in many cases you might be satisfied with one of these excellent solid state amps. Don't forget the smaller Neurochrome 86 and or My_Ref chip amp amplifiers, you might not need as much power as you think, some builds allow for more discrete components as well, so you can adjust the sound to your liking more.