This thread is dedicated to a new 125W amp, about to be born at Aspen.
This will use bipolar output devices, with two matched pairs. Some of the brochure information is attached, and I will add to this in the next few weeks.
Beginnings
I walked into my workshop a year ago and surveyed the inventory. Hmmm. Too many bipolar transistors; small drivers (C4793 and A1837), and large outputs (C5200 and A1943). I resolved that I would design an amp using bipolars again - like the AKSA, Lifeforce, and Soraya - so that I would use these excellent semis before I fell off the twig.
Evolution
I examined my hit rate with amp designs. The early bipolars were very successful, particularly the AKSA, the Lifeforce, and the Soraya - and since that I have been able to refine my front end and VAS stages quite a bit more. So, I thought that I would use a singleton input, a buffered VAS, and a hybrid CCS/bootstrap. Yes, that would do it.......
Choosing the power
I have the SAKSA at 85W, and the Maya at 200W. I needed something around 125W, and at this middle power I could use only two matched paired outputs, like the AKSA Nirvana. A superior power supply bridge comprised of UFSR diodes (used in the Maya and SAKSA) has now been added. A more powerful amp would need three or even four matched pairs; that is an expensive and difficult exercise, but matched pairs is practical and a large number of raw devices yield a lot of pairs.
Layout
I have a lot of excellent new cases, built for the SAKSA. I thought a monoblock Titan would be very appealing; you could fit one channel with a 300VA toroid in one box and the thermal dissipation could avoid the expensive heatsink since the box material is single piece 3mm Aluminium.
I created the first pcb, had a few manufactured in Shenzhen, and then slowly stuffed two for my prototype.
Above is the prototype pcb, with the production version being more refined.......
Market Information
This completes my range; from the 85W SAKSA to the 200W Maya. It will be offered very similar to the Maya; monoblock, one large 278x71mm pcb per channel, two independent power supplies each of 52V rails and high speed diodes, and full DC protection for the speakers.
I expect a batch of 30 before Xmas; price is now finalised and will be $USD3k for a complete pair of monoblock pair, plug 'n play. For DIY, the two modules, with heatsinks, will be around $USD1450, mid-price between the SAKSA and the Maya. The surreal presentation, resolution, slam and imaging is stellar, up there with the best high end, and if you have 88dB/watt/meter 8R speakers I can't see any point in using the 200W amplifier.
Thanks for the interest, this Titan is a very good amplifier, I'm quite proud of it.
Cheers,
Hugh
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Hi Hugh,
The pin spacing of C1 suggests that it could be a very high quality MKP capacitor - e.g., one of the legendary WIMA caps you acquired from Rockby Electronics about a year or two ago. Anyway, the Titan should be a VERY fine amp, based on the performance of your previous designs. I'm still using a NAKSA 70 ... a great little amp!
Regards, and have a happy Christmas! Peter
The pin spacing of C1 suggests that it could be a very high quality MKP capacitor - e.g., one of the legendary WIMA caps you acquired from Rockby Electronics about a year or two ago. Anyway, the Titan should be a VERY fine amp, based on the performance of your previous designs. I'm still using a NAKSA 70 ... a great little amp!
Regards, and have a happy Christmas! Peter
My sincere thanks........
To all you August Gentlemen,
thank you for your best wishes, and to you, to YOUR enterprises, not to mention negotiating the silly season which is upon us again but without covid restrictions......
It's been a wild ride this last couple of years, huh?
I hope that the Titan will slip into middle position in my range. I do hope to sell quite a number, it's certainly got more tricks than a monkey on a mile of vines!
Cheers,
Hugh
To all you August Gentlemen,
thank you for your best wishes, and to you, to YOUR enterprises, not to mention negotiating the silly season which is upon us again but without covid restrictions......
It's been a wild ride this last couple of years, huh?
I hope that the Titan will slip into middle position in my range. I do hope to sell quite a number, it's certainly got more tricks than a monkey on a mile of vines!
Cheers,
Hugh
Thanks for your conversation with me earlier today Hugh. I believe I'll be placing an order for the Titan in the new year. That's the system (VTL Reference DAC, TVC pre, B&W DM16 speakers) that currently has my mates Yamaha B2 power amp installed which has caused me to rethink my systems. Just spectacular sound. 125W should be more than enough for my needs for that system and I believe it's the one I'll keep as I move towards retirement.
In the meantime I'll tweak my Pass Aleph Mini in my main system. Planning to replace the silver micas in the power section with Audyn True Copper Max which should add a bit more body and richness to things. If I still need more I'll look at changing the 0.01uf bypasses on the amp boards.... Perhaps with Duelund JDM Tinner Copper or the like. Guess I'll see.
In the meantime I'll tweak my Pass Aleph Mini in my main system. Planning to replace the silver micas in the power section with Audyn True Copper Max which should add a bit more body and richness to things. If I still need more I'll look at changing the 0.01uf bypasses on the amp boards.... Perhaps with Duelund JDM Tinner Copper or the like. Guess I'll see.
I've an amp based around the darTZeel NHB108 circuit on the way which I'll try downstairs.... If unsatisfied then the Titan mono blocks will be the answer. I've wanted to own one of Hughes amps for a few years now and the Titan fits the right price point and the description of the sonics would be right up my alley
Hi Denis,
You could mount the amps on ledge heatsinks but only with extending wires for the output transistors. The connecting holes are at the vertical center of the pcb so that it can be centrally mounted on a 75mm heatsink base. It is not the same as the AKSA/Lifeforce/NAKSA/SAKSA arrangement.
Anthony,
Thank you very much for your encouragement! I am very happy with this design and it includes complete protection too, a change for my 125W amps. As for the world, it is only a little worse than it's always been; the Devonport children accident today is tragic, suspect this is going to change the law on such 'bouncy castle' venues.
Matt,
I'm familiar with the darTZeel, it's a very interesting circuit, actually very simple. There has been a lot of criticism because of the cost, but then the Asian pcbs have made it affordable, and in fact you can buy it fully built now too. Most people are very happy with their clones, actually.
Ron and Anand,
Thank you for your congratulations! I'm still waiting on my first batch from my assembler!
Merry Christmas to all past present and future Aspen members, and good health and prosperity for 2022. Let us hope it's a better year than 2021!
Hugh
You could mount the amps on ledge heatsinks but only with extending wires for the output transistors. The connecting holes are at the vertical center of the pcb so that it can be centrally mounted on a 75mm heatsink base. It is not the same as the AKSA/Lifeforce/NAKSA/SAKSA arrangement.
Anthony,
Thank you very much for your encouragement! I am very happy with this design and it includes complete protection too, a change for my 125W amps. As for the world, it is only a little worse than it's always been; the Devonport children accident today is tragic, suspect this is going to change the law on such 'bouncy castle' venues.
Matt,
I'm familiar with the darTZeel, it's a very interesting circuit, actually very simple. There has been a lot of criticism because of the cost, but then the Asian pcbs have made it affordable, and in fact you can buy it fully built now too. Most people are very happy with their clones, actually.
Ron and Anand,
Thank you for your congratulations! I'm still waiting on my first batch from my assembler!
Merry Christmas to all past present and future Aspen members, and good health and prosperity for 2022. Let us hope it's a better year than 2021!
Hugh
Yes, I’ve had a darTZeel copy before and paired with the right set of speakers it was magical. This unit will have only one power transformer though so no idea how it will compare. Would love to have thunderous bass for the system it’s going in so I half expect that I’ll end up with a pair of your Titan Monoblocks…. That and I’ve always wanted to own one of your amps. I think the Titan fits the price point and wattage requirements for me.
Hi Hugh,
hope you are keeping well and have a happy christmas.
still totally enjoying one of your built saksa85 units in my JBL system. Such good image stability/palpability and balance of detail/smoothness/midrange to treble presence. Bass has lighter punch/impact compared to something like the job225 design. But id say that is due to the speaker amp combo (JBL L96 - 89db sensitivity). Hence your new titan diy boards has me interested. Would love some Mayas, but out of my budget.
How do the titans compare to the alpha nirvana class a modules? I dont listen at loud volumes. Very low to medium volumes (under 90db). Im interested in musical flow/richness/refinement. Stereo clarity/imaging too. Not asking for much! Hah.
Your designs have high gain. Is there a way to lower them a bit so the tube preamps in front of the amp can have more range?
hope you are keeping well and have a happy christmas.
still totally enjoying one of your built saksa85 units in my JBL system. Such good image stability/palpability and balance of detail/smoothness/midrange to treble presence. Bass has lighter punch/impact compared to something like the job225 design. But id say that is due to the speaker amp combo (JBL L96 - 89db sensitivity). Hence your new titan diy boards has me interested. Would love some Mayas, but out of my budget.
How do the titans compare to the alpha nirvana class a modules? I dont listen at loud volumes. Very low to medium volumes (under 90db). Im interested in musical flow/richness/refinement. Stereo clarity/imaging too. Not asking for much! Hah.
Your designs have high gain. Is there a way to lower them a bit so the tube preamps in front of the amp can have more range?
Should probably add, i leave system on pretty much all day, hence my hesitation to run tube based power amps that act as room heaters and expensive cost of replacing power tubes that that have limited hours per tube. Therefore being the reason the lookout for transistor based designs that have the sonic traits of a good valve amp.
preamps used are mainly tube based (modern marantz 7 design, 26/71a dht, vta sp14, stereocoffee ldr).
preamps used are mainly tube based (modern marantz 7 design, 26/71a dht, vta sp14, stereocoffee ldr).
Thank Tuyen,
Very pleased your SASKA does good service, it's a good amp and the result of lots of evolution.
The Titan is a different beast; bipolar output stage and just a bit more slam and impact with 125W. The Class A Alpha Nirvana is very good, but I have not heard it on my usual speakers. I would say that the AN is only slightly more refined, but the bass of the Titan is more powerful.
Tubes are lovely, but they age, they need to be biased up periodically, and they are very expensive in transformers. My preference is always for single ended tube amps, like 845 and 211, but they need at least 600V and the 845 doesn't really come alive until about 1000V. The Titan does offer some of the qualities of a tube amp (as do most amps because of the harmonic profile I build into them) but has the advantage of slam and impact, particularly with very strong bass signal.
Good advice I've seen for years is to use a good SS power amplifier with high quality tube preamplifier. This offers the best of both worlds. The ones you mention are excellent, but I don't know the stereocoffee ldr! This features barista technology??
Happy New Year to you and your family, and thanks for the post!
Hugh
Very pleased your SASKA does good service, it's a good amp and the result of lots of evolution.
The Titan is a different beast; bipolar output stage and just a bit more slam and impact with 125W. The Class A Alpha Nirvana is very good, but I have not heard it on my usual speakers. I would say that the AN is only slightly more refined, but the bass of the Titan is more powerful.
Tubes are lovely, but they age, they need to be biased up periodically, and they are very expensive in transformers. My preference is always for single ended tube amps, like 845 and 211, but they need at least 600V and the 845 doesn't really come alive until about 1000V. The Titan does offer some of the qualities of a tube amp (as do most amps because of the harmonic profile I build into them) but has the advantage of slam and impact, particularly with very strong bass signal.
Good advice I've seen for years is to use a good SS power amplifier with high quality tube preamplifier. This offers the best of both worlds. The ones you mention are excellent, but I don't know the stereocoffee ldr! This features barista technology??
Happy New Year to you and your family, and thanks for the post!
Hugh