• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Experiences with First Watt amps?

FauxHall

FauxHall

Super Member
Thinking about a stable mate for my Chi-Fi tube amp and my thoughts turn to a Class A SS unit. Regular Class AB SS units are just not exotic enough! I'd generally prefer new since repair options are limited in this corner of the world although I would jump on a Luxman M-300 if I could find a suitable example.

The First Watt power amps seem to have a dedicated following and great reviews. Plus they are significantly cheaper than the Pass Labs offerings. The local agent seems to have a INT-60 and Heresy IVs to audition in Dubai. The F8 seems to the one to get although the SIT-3 isn't out of the running!

Driven by a Luxman tube preamp and driving Klipsch Forte IIIs and Spendor A6Rs.

Amy downsides to ownership? Limits in performance? Gripes?
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Well, i built a DIY F-5 and absolutely loved it!. If you are up to the challenge, DIY yours too!. Are you familiar with the : DIY Audio forums? THOUSANDS of posts on that very amp!!!.
 
I love my Aleph J, also a DIY build. With efficient speakers, which your Fortes are, it absolutely shines. A FW design may not be powerful enough for the Spendors, but that depends on your listening habits.
 
FauxHall said:
Thinking about a stable mate for my Chi-Fi tube amp and my thoughts turn to a Class A SS unit. Regular Class AB SS units are just not exotic enough! I'd generally prefer new since repair options are limited in this corner of the world although I would jump on a Luxman M-300 if I could find a suitable example.

The First Watt power amps seem to have a dedicated following and great reviews. Plus they are significantly cheaper than the Pass Labs offerings. The local agent seems to have a INT-60 and Heresy IVs to audition in Dubai. The F8 seems to the one to get although the SIT-3 isn't out of the running!

Driven by a Luxman tube preamp and driving Klipsch Forte IIIs and Spendor A6Rs.

Amy downsides to ownership? Limits in performance? Gripes?
Click to expand...
I collect vfet amps so I have the SIT-3 and I love it
single ended pure class A
no NFB
vfet

what's there not to love
 
I've been really interested building an amp and preamp in the future... are there any good higher power designs/kits available?

I'm not sure which one would yield the best results for my applications I've never used a low power/wattage anything... not since some old vintage ~40-50wpc receivers anyway..

Any designs that are DIY that are in the 100-200+wpc range?

Edit: looks like the Honey Badger might be an option.
 
Last edited:
I have built three first watt designs you will be amazed at the sound quality and a couple of watts is all you need in most instances. You could start with the ACA kit then if you enjoy the build look at a M2x or a Aleph J. M2 runs cooler than the AJ .Hope this helps ...cheers
 
mr.muddles said:
I've been really interested building an amp and preamp in the future... are there any good higher power designs/kits available?

I'm not sure which one would yield the best results for my applications I've never used a low power/wattage anything... not since some old vintage ~40-50wpc receivers anyway..

Any designs that are DIY that are in the 100-200+wpc range?

Edit: looks like the Honey Badger might be an option.
Click to expand...
There are kits. In most cases you will need to come up with your own chassis or enclosure though. There are lots of higher powered Class D amps available.
I've seen some preamp kits and amp kits using discrete outputs on ebay. Partsexpress has mostly Class D amp kits. Most of my equipment it tube based now, but I've thought about building a 200wpc or bigger amp using board kits. The preamp kits are generally cheaper with some being chip based. I built one that had bass, midrange, treble, volume and balance for around $20. I added a input board and used a wall wart that put out decent current.
It sounded good. Everything besides the chassis was pretty cheap.
 
I have an FW Aleph J build I have yet to audition for a few years. It's become a "someday" project due to other distractions.
 
As a novice, I built an ACA amp kit. It sits on my garage desk, "controlled" by a Schiit Saga with tube buffer pre. I rather like the combo but don't expect earthshaking volume unless you are driving very efficient speakers. I've used that combo to power DIY Indignias and Elac Debuts to good result despite their inefficiency. Good luck with your choice.
 
Lavane said:
There is the Amp Camp Class A kits. They seem to be pretty popular.

https://diyaudiostore.com/products/amp-camp-amp-kit?variant=7072933085218
Click to expand...

I'm going to be unpopular with this, but I think the Amp Camp Amps are greatly overrated by the fans. Even Mr. Pass himself once said it wasn't designed to be the best sounding amp, it was designed to be easy enough to build in one day and safe enough for a first timer to power up.

I had an M2 copy that sounded really nice and was quite enjoyable but the ACA just didn't impress me at all. As a toy for someone that has $350 to burn, the ACA can be fun just to be able to say "I built that" and you get to name drop when you talk about it. I'm continually baffled by those that gush over its sound and I think there are better options for that price. And I should mention that I'm a big fan of tube amps so I like a bit of harmonic distortion in my music. The ACA has high 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th..... harmonics.
 
Last edited:
FauxHall said:
Two channel, dual mono, I presume?

And not one of quadraphonic 4 channel units like I used to help milk on my grandfather's farm?

I hope impedance is minimal!
Click to expand...
dual mono. Haven't got a clue what impedance is but we like it.
 
invaderzim said:
I'm going to be unpopular with this, but I think the Amp Camp Amps are greatly overrated by the fans. Even Mr. Pass himself once said it wasn't designed to be the best sounding amp, it was designed to be easy enough to build in one day and safe enough for a first timer to power up.

I had an M2 copy that sounded really nice and was quite enjoyable but the ACA just didn't impress me at all. As a toy for someone that has $350 to burn, the ACA can be fun just to be able to say "I built that" and you get to name drop when you talk about it. I'm continually baffled by those that gush over its sound and I think there are better options for that price. And I should mention that I'm a big fan of tube amps so I like a bit of harmonic distortion in my music. The ACA has high 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th..... harmonics.
Click to expand...
I have never heard one. I just posted it because I had run across it while on DIY.
The price a uay seemed a bit high to me for what you get when done.
I prefer tubes myself. Although V-fets can sound very good running class A.
 
botrytis said:
I had a pair of amp camp amps. Nice little kit but really runs hot. Makes my Pioneer M-22 feel like a refrig inside comparing the 2 running.
Click to expand...
Class A amps are going to run hot. The outputs are always on. Technics and others came up with "New Class A" and other fancy names. These designs helped keep the heat down, but weren't true Class As.
 
Lavane said:
I have never heard one. I just posted it because I had run across it while on DIY.
The price a uay seemed a bit high to me for what you get when done.
I prefer tubes myself. Although V-fets can sound very good running class A.
Click to expand...

The ACA can be made cheaper by buying the pcbs and parts and heatsinks separately, but still not super cheap for what you get. I did mine that way and it still adds up. The Akitika GT-102 kit is really a much more serious amp for about the same price but it lacks the name value of Pass. The first watt amps are good but they don't have the complete kit option and tend to have more fine tuning and areas to mess up as well as sometimes hard to find components. I killed an F5 build by matching the layout to the pictures in the build guide where they had a trimmer pot upside down. That was a bad day because then I killed my M2x with a short when I put it back into the case...

I missed out on the lottery for the V-fet kits they came up with. But the V-fets have always been appealing.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom