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My Maya 200

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I had wanted to buy one of Hugh's amplifiers for a number of years, and a few months ago decided to take the plunge.
At that time I had a Classé CA-2300 which I sold off to put this one together.
The Classé was the best solid state amplifier that I have ever had or heard. It bothered me that it was made in China though, and that I would have to put it on a pallet and send it to a service centre to have the voltage changed over in the event of a move overseas.

Dealing with Hugh was a joy and he generously helped me through any of the difficulties that I had.
I ordered the transformers from SumR in Canada and the case from a vendor in China. Yeah, I know, selective repudiation right? I'm ok with some of the parts being made in China, but not all of them.

Anyway, getting the case was a nightmare as it arrived defective even though it was perfectly packed. I was given pre-production, reject faceplates, not once, but twice after I complained and received a replacement! In the end I repaired one of the defective faceplates, re-anodized it and moved on. The case itself is a perfect size for the Maya 200 modules! I wanted a small case with excellent cooling. After a whole day playing music the case and heatsinks are just warm.

So, do I miss the Classé? Not one bit. Really. This amp is musical and has grunt! Now that it is together I will bring it into my old employer's shop and compare it to the Mcintosh, Classé, Hegel and Mark Levinson amps that they have. I am betting that the guys there are going to be in for a surprise.
This is a great amp.
 

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Hi Fitero,

A beautiful build!! Very nicely done with classey (?) metalwork and careful, detailed fitting. I offer your congratulations, and thank you very much for your positive comments about the purchase and the sonics of the amp. You took a risk with Aspen; I'm very pleased for you (and me!) that it come off so well.

Lovely work.......

Hugh
 
Nothing there, BSA, I have not put it on because to be honest I'm supplying enough demand!! I know, I know, my website is not good, but when I find a good 16 year old with web skills I will change it!

I do have some photos, however, attached of the modules! I sell the modules mostly, but build the entire amp (my preference for full warranty) though a delay is involved. If you live in Victoria and visit Melbourne from time to time, let me know and I will organised an audition.

Thanks for your interest!

Hugh
 

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:D
That's a great problem to have - too busy sellin' 'em !

Would love to audition the SAKSA85 which would be appropriate for the active monitors I am planning for the studio.
God knows how I could ever afford four A-grade stereo amps but a guy needs to dream, right?

Cheers !
blakkshepeaudio
 
Wow Fitero !! Congrats !! I really love what you did , it is indeed very similar to mine!
The BIG difference being...yours HAVE the Mayas in it....mine are just empty boxes :)

Was that a re-anodization of a "Mark Levinson" clone made in china ?
The end result is very nice....i like it ! Specially the clever side mount of the trannies, it looks like a professional job.

And Hugh deserves some good looking fascias for his amps...he truly does.
All the best,
Filipe
 
Thanks for the kind comments Hugh and Filipe.

Yes, the case is a nice Chinese made unit labeled with the Mark Levinson logo. I hate the fake logo but like the enclosure. I spent an hour or so sanding the etched logo and words off the front. I then had my buddy machine a recess for Hugh's logo, then soda blasted the whole thing to prep it for anodizing. The anodizing cost $30.

I too like how all of the AC is kept in the centre between the aluminum . I mounted the transformers with big nylon bolts and trigger a 25A relay to power on the amp with that big 20A switch in the front.

"And though she be but little, she is fierce."
 
And for the curious; the binding posts and rca jacks were sourced through Amazon and are the currently favored, low mass, tellrium copper affairs that work very well.

Apparently the Taiwanese company is the OEM manufacturer for many companies.

This is the company: aeco.tw
 
Today I had the chance to bring my Maya amp into work and compare it to some other gear that was on hand. I had not powered any other speakers other than my JBL 4367's, so I was curious to hear it powering something else.

The favorite gear at the store is the Classé stuff. We didn't bother hooking it to the McIntosh stuff, as other than the 275 and the tube preamp, the average impression of the rest of the Mac gear is generally"meh".

The speakers used were the B&W 802D3's. We started off listening to the Classé amp and preamp to get an idea. After a little bit we replaced the Classé CA-2300 with the Maya and played the same tracks again.
Four of us did the listening. One is a drummer in a local band, two are salesmen at the store and we are all Audio enthusiasts.

To sum it up because I'm not much of a writer, the Maya was more musical, engaging and overall revealing of harmonic content than the big Classé amp. The only area where the Classé was subjectively superior to the Maya while playing the B&W's was perhaps the overall bass output in that room. The quality and tone of the bass as well as everything else was superior on the Maya though. Of course the Classé is 50% more powerful at 300WPC compared to the Maya's 200WPC.

What a fun morning! What a great amplifier Hugh!!! I feel so fortunate to have it.
 

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Well, Pierre, this is a revelation, thank you very much for taking the time and effort to take on a compare in a very unusual AB test; I would never have an opportunity of trying the Classe amp, almost none in Oz, so your words are manna from heaven!

The tonal structure, clarity and spatial qualities of the Maya will push it above many amps using conventional topology. I am aware that bass is very difficult to emphasis on audio amps; it seems to be a very complex, subjective issue, not easily related to the circuit design. I take that point on board, but you note the quality of the overall presentation of the bass, as well as the mid and top, is still outstanding. I honestly think that the Maya is my masterpiece (and a lot of help from good friends in the background!), but it would only be arrogance to imagine that it could not be even better...... that's the nature of high end audio, and long may it remain, because it is an intellectual and practical bar that constantly rises as we take our eyes of it!!

How much is the Classe, Pierre? I have the feeling it's an elegant version of the beautifully built Bryston top model, is that correct?

Ciao,

Hugh
 
Hi Hugh,
The CA-2300 is $7500USD here. Of course, there is a new model arriving in a couple of months,(with a corresponding price hike) so don't rest on your laurels!

I think the disparity of the perceived bass output between the two amps is more attributable to the huge difference in power between them. The B&W's are power hungry and truly blossom when played with big burly amps.
I have played my JBL's terrifyingly loud with the Maya without apparent strain. The neighbors can attest to the huge bass output.

The drummer who was present for the comparison commented several times how realistic the drums and bass guitar sounded. He had never heard better according to him.

The Persian carpet makers would intentionally add a defect to every rug that they wove to remind themselves that only our creator makes perfect things. The rest of us can always do better.
 
i had a similar issue of less bass compared to my rotel. my usher speakers are also power hungry and low efficiency 86db. then i did some experiment with speaker placement and i have found the bass cancellation happens with previous placement. as all who heard maya
i am also very happy with the sound quality . compared to rotel now the bass is only 10% less but the quality of bass compensates for this.
 
Today I had the chance to bring my Maya amp into work and compare it to some other gear that was on hand. I had not powered any other speakers other than my JBL 4367's, so I was curious to hear it powering something else.

The favorite gear at the store is the Classé stuff. We didn't bother hooking it to the McIntosh stuff, as other than the 275 and the tube preamp, the average impression of the rest of the Mac gear is generally"meh".

The speakers used were the B&W 802D3's. We started off listening to the Classé amp and preamp to get an idea. After a little bit we replaced the Classé CA-2300 with the Maya and played the same tracks again.
Four of us did the listening. One is a drummer in a local band, two are salesmen at the store and we are all Audio enthusiasts.

To sum it up because I'm not much of a writer, the Maya was more musical, engaging and overall revealing of harmonic content than the big Classé amp. The only area where the Classé was subjectively superior to the Maya while playing the B&W's was perhaps the overall bass output in that room. The quality and tone of the bass as well as everything else was superior on the Maya though. Of course the Classé is 50% more powerful at 300WPC compared to the Maya's 200WPC.

What a fun morning! What a great amplifier Hugh!!! I feel so fortunate to have it.

I have helped with a lot of aspects of the Maya amplifier and know it quite well. I always felt it could hold it's own with many of the considered best amplifiers. I've always also liked the big B&W speakers like the 802's. Nice to know the Maya performed well with these speakers as the B&W's are a considerable price multiple of the Maya.
 
As a testament to Hugh's great knowledge, my tweaked
Aksa 100 has not sweat driving my ML Odyssey speakers
to full volume and why am I still using the Aksa which I've
2 sets, there's something beautiful in Hugh's design.
Will try out the Saksa when Im done with my tweaks.

Cheers & enjoy Hughs wonderful design
 
Filipe why the wait?! Those beautiful cases are still empty?!!! The store is supposed to begin carrying Sonus Faber speakers....I am not looking forward to it as I don't need the temptation at this stage of my life.

Curiously, even though the store I work for sells B&W speakers mostly, I have never cared for them up until the new D3 series. I don't find them musical. The new D3 series I like however. I always preferred the Dynaudio or PMC speakers that we also sell/sold.

It is interesting and comforting that you too have noticed the same thing I did with regard to the bass output R.Suresh.
 
May I share a little tweak with you guys. If you find that your speakers
have less bass pls raise it up fron the floor start with 50mm high.
Try it without prejudice & you be the judge. For stand mounted speakers
do the same but instead of from the floor raise the speakers from the top
plate where the speaker rest on.

Cheers
 
Thanks for the suggestion sumotan. I always thought that the closer the bass driver was to the floor or wall, the more the bass output. In my case however, I don't need more bass. I made crude 19cm risers for my speakers which I believe made the output more pleasant.

The room that I did the comparison in has always been very hard to make bass in, regardless of speaker placement. Other rooms in the store are much better. However, the Maya made slightly less bass with those speakers than the 50% more powerful Classé. I'll take quality over quantity.
 
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