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Post by firebottle on Feb 12, 2022 9:23:41 GMT
Brilliant, great news.
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Post by hifinutt on Apr 19, 2022 14:13:12 GMT
Been happy with an F3-which 'suits' my full-range Ocellia Calliope perfectly. Good with horns too, which don't need many watts, just purity. i see a nice one in classifieds on pfm [ joe henry clone ]
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Post by ijrussell on Apr 24, 2022 11:23:31 GMT
I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when Edd delivered a couple of new toys for me: A Whammy headphone amp/pre amp and an F6 amplifier, both using diyaudio boards. I love DIY Pass Class A amplifiers and have been missing the Aleph 60s I sold a few months ago. Had a quick listen last night after the bakeoff and all morning.
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Post by alit on Apr 24, 2022 11:42:58 GMT
Had an F5 built by Nick Gorham, great amp and I regret selling it.
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Post by hifinutt on Apr 24, 2022 13:07:19 GMT
I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when Edd delivered a couple of new toys for me: A Whammy headphone amp/pre amp and an F6 amplifier, both using diyaudio boards. I love DIY Pass Class A amplifiers and have been missing the Aleph 60s I sold a few months ago. Had a quick listen last night after the bakeoff and all morning. wow thats exciting Ian . yes i love them too . just wish he would put more xlr in as my bel canto pre defo sounds better with xlr . never tried the F6 . are these aleph amps ? he puts A3 on heading www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134070909904?hash=item1f373fbbd0:g:bdQAAOSwIwdiRfXU
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Post by hifinutt on Apr 24, 2022 13:07:53 GMT
Had an F5 built by Nick Gorham, great amp and I regret selling it. yes my F5 monos sound superb with tannoy eaton legacy
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Post by ijrussell on Apr 24, 2022 13:53:50 GMT
I had a pleasant surprise yesterday when Edd delivered a couple of new toys for me: A Whammy headphone amp/pre amp and an F6 amplifier, both using diyaudio boards. I love DIY Pass Class A amplifiers and have been missing the Aleph 60s I sold a few months ago. Had a quick listen last night after the bakeoff and all morning. wow thats exciting Ian . yes i love them too . just wish he would put more xlr in as my bel canto pre defo sounds better with xlr . never tried the F6 . are these aleph amps ? he puts A3 on heading www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134070909904?hash=item1f373fbbd0:g:bdQAAOSwIwdiRfXUYes, the amps in the ebay link are Alephs. There are slightly newer Aleph designs (A5) which my 30s and 60s used and they have XLR and RCA inputs. I've wanted an F6 for quite a while having heard the real First Watt version.
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Post by hifinutt on Apr 24, 2022 16:40:53 GMT
ah thanks ian . hope to get a pair when finances improve ... however with all these gas and energy rises it wont be soon !!
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 27, 2022 18:48:40 GMT
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Bigman80
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AA Founding Member & Bigbottle Audio Creator
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 27, 2022 19:10:35 GMT
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Post by antonio on Jun 28, 2022 6:01:47 GMT
Stop looking at the Classified's and ebay, if only I could adhere to my own advice, this was the year I wasn't going to spend anything, although I have just about balanced the books, it all @jandl's fault.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 28, 2022 7:11:22 GMT
Stop looking at the Classified's and ebay, if only I could adhere to my own advice, this was the year I wasn't going to spend anything, although I have just about balanced the books, it all @jandl's fault. Lol....good advice that no one will listen to!
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Post by macca on Jun 28, 2022 8:26:17 GMT
As soon as I cut out hi-fi spending a load of stuff I fancied came up. I'd probably have at least 4 more pairs of speakers now if I hadn't finished work. Just the way it goes.
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Post by hifinutt on Jun 28, 2022 9:39:38 GMT
yes just a small matter of mortgages to pay !!! oh and its 39kg !!!! even heavier than my sadly missed msb s200 !!!
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 28, 2022 10:05:34 GMT
yes just a small matter of mortgages to pay !!! oh and its 39kg !!!! even heavier than my sadly missed msb s200 !!! Haha, fair enough.
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Post by hifinutt on Jul 27, 2022 15:18:26 GMT
loads of first watt clones seem to be appearing !!!
used the bel canto c5i as a pre amp with the first watt F5 clones . have to turn the vol up to about 80 [out of a 100] to get decent sound . whereas the pre 3 vbs is about 60 . i think thats because i use the xlr inputs on the pre 3 . anyway its a very decent sound . more grunt than the a85 . although the a85 is still very enjoyable
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Post by sq225917 on Jul 27, 2022 22:04:46 GMT
A mate has a set of 100w F5 turbos, they're like a gentle, slightly softer krell ksa. Not quite as sparkling in the treble but still, very liquid, a very good set of amps.
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Post by hifinutt on Aug 14, 2022 18:17:41 GMT
Well had to abandon the f5 monos in my loft listening room , its about 29 degrees in there and the f5 raising it quite a bit !!!
Back to the cool running very capable a85 !
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Post by hifinutt on Feb 10, 2023 10:25:07 GMT
some interesting criticism of JH clones on one forum . wonder if its correct . this is the F5 from JH f5 clone jh 2 by , on Flickr poster writes Those Elnas don't look genuine for starters! The wires from the switch would pick up maybe a 3rd of the noise that they do now if they ran over the top of the traffo. The multiple 5W resistors between the 2 capacitor banks are nasty generic rubbish and will be noisey, better to use a single 12W wire wound/ non inductive item. One of your XLR inputs is wonky. Nylock nuts won't hold torque at elevated temperatures, the traffo should be as far as possible from the active circuit (it's not). The 2nd pic is just 4 pre purchased modules wired together in a box The problem is that most people have no clue what they are looking at, or what good sound actually is. The F5, if properly built will measure great, but it's an un-dynamic / boring listen.. The M2 is far, far better, as is the Aleph, but a well engineered Le Monstre will delegate them all to the skip. and Those 'orange label' Elnas look very similar to some 'Kendeils' that I recently bought: pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/yellow-label-kendeil-caps.276216/Large Elna caps should have matt metallic gold lettering and a rounded edge to the can top. The can top is not covered and is cut with a unique to brand bow/ arrow as a venting mechanism. The font is also wrong and the '6' & '3' of 63V should have a large gap between them, suppliers do these things to catch out the fakers. www.hificollective.co.uk/sites/default/files/2021-10/elna-audio-8200uf-63v-350_0.jpgI'm even suspicious of the 2 off Wima MKS4. They should have (more) rounded corners /edges and be a slightly faded red / almost pink. The surface finish should be matt and they should have little tabs/ feet that hold the cap away from the board.
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Post by hifinutt on Feb 10, 2023 11:28:58 GMT
the poster also says Your PSU capacitors are fakes, your rectifiers are not heat sinked. Your PSU board is secured with Nylon lock nuts that will undo themselves when used inside a hot enclosure. That illuminated power switch that you mentioned is 0.58 pence on Ali Express and has no safety certificaton whatsoever. They are not intended for 240V ac use!! £0.58 50%OFF | 1 pc 12mm/16mm Black Push Button Switch Waterproof illuminated Led Light Metal Flat Switches with annular power mark 3V 12V 6V a.aliexpress.com/_mtfrz7u
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 10, 2023 22:22:25 GMT
hifinutt Those amplifiers are obviously not up to the standard of Joe's previous work, so I kind of feel like the quotes are lacking a little bit of context because I don't actually know what the amps are. Are they being advertised for premium cost but being stuffed with knock off parts? Are they advertised on the cheap and described as such? The PCB with the Elma caps on are definitely stuffed with fake parts. I know exactly where that board is from. However, just because it's a fake branded cap, that doesn't mean it's no good...just not what it's advertised as. The resistors will be poo, but again, nearly everything electronic from china is stuffed with cheap parts. That's why it's all so cheap. I'm very curious to know what these amps are being advertised as.
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Post by ijrussell on Feb 10, 2023 22:55:32 GMT
That doesn't look anything like an F5; it looks more like a Class D amp. I think that F5s are single-ended only - the Alephs support balanced. More generally, Joe Henry doesn't use fancy parts by default, just good-quality parts.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 11, 2023 6:35:01 GMT
That doesn't look anything like an F5; it looks more like a Class D amp. I think that F5s are single-ended only - the Alephs support balanced. More generally, Joe Henry doesn't use fancy parts by default, just good-quality parts. I have to agree. I've not seen a poor quality component in JH amps, so those pictures are quite out of character. Need some context.
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Post by macca on Feb 11, 2023 9:07:59 GMT
quoted thread is here pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/joe-henry-amps.276946/I see Ollie already found it. Not going to pretend I know anything useful about amplifier design but I don't like the way it is all crammed in there. What's wrong with using a bigger case? The whole Nelson Pass thing seems to me like the usual 'Cult of the Designer' bullshit' that the rubes fall for every time. I feel embarrassed for reading some of the nonsense people write about this sort of thing. Plenty of people can design and build an amp that is completely blameless, and have done thousands of times. The idea that NP is designing something special that no-on else can is just risible to me. Buy a Denon PMA350 for a hundred quid off of eBay it will sound fine and no worries about fake components or safety.
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Post by hifinutt on Feb 11, 2023 9:23:19 GMT
yes these are my F5 monoblocks . they are not being sold . i find them pretty superb and reliable but wanted your expert opinion on these postings . they feel weel made and work well P1070665 by , on Flickr P1070663 by , on Flickr F5 clone JH by , on Flickr JH F5 by , on Flickr
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Post by hifinutt on Feb 11, 2023 9:25:03 GMT
That doesn't look anything like an F5; it looks more like a Class D amp. I think that F5s are single-ended only - the Alephs support balanced. More generally, Joe Henry doesn't use fancy parts by default, just good-quality parts. gosh Ian i am so sorry that is indeed my class D amp !!! my apologies . i will delete it
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 11, 2023 9:31:07 GMT
quoted thread is here pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/joe-henry-amps.276946/I see Ollie already found it. Not going to pretend I know anything useful about amplifier design but I don't like the way it is all crammed in there. What's wrong with using a bigger case? The whole Nelson Pass thing seems to me like the usual 'Cult of the Designer' bullshit' that the rubes fall for every time. I feel embarrassed for reading some of the nonsense people write about this sort of thing. Plenty of people can design and build an amp that is completely blameless, and have done thousands of times. The idea that NP is designing something special that no-on else can is just risible to me. Buy a Denon PMA350 for a hundred quid off of eBay it will sound fine and no worries about fake components or safety. Well, I wouldn't buy a Denon...but I see what you're saying. NP was possibly the first guy to vocalise the idea of ensuring less distortion at low power as a sensible idea. Hence the "First Watt" branding. His argument being that most people only use a few watts so it's more important to make the amplifier as good as possible over those first few watts. He gained popularity and recognition through some reputationally good amps. Notably the earlier Threshold stuff. In reality, the DIY sector is where he has really hit it off. He has released what I'd describe as "tasters" of his full designs and has done so freely....he doesn't charge anything for his designs and he doesn't ask for anything. He supports builders and is a frequent poster in DIY. I respect that about him. I wouldn't swap a 686 for anything PASS or First Watt.....but credit where it's due, his amps have been extremely popular and people do seem to enjoy them. People also enjoy Marmite.....just to put that into context lol
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Post by electronumpty on Feb 11, 2023 9:59:51 GMT
I think NP has given a huge amount to the DIY community so respect to him tbh. I've never heard a power amp of his but suspect that like any hifi they will suit some more than others as is the way with all things.
Never heard or seen a JH design but many on here that are much more tech savvy than me (and respected as such) have seen his work and commented on how good it is.
seems good enough for me but the photos don't look like any JH work I have seen before and I have followed his ebay shop with a lot of interest due to my own pending power amp project.
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Post by macca on Feb 11, 2023 10:09:02 GMT
quoted thread is here pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/joe-henry-amps.276946/I see Ollie already found it. Not going to pretend I know anything useful about amplifier design but I don't like the way it is all crammed in there. What's wrong with using a bigger case? The whole Nelson Pass thing seems to me like the usual 'Cult of the Designer' bullshit' that the rubes fall for every time. I feel embarrassed for reading some of the nonsense people write about this sort of thing. Plenty of people can design and build an amp that is completely blameless, and have done thousands of times. The idea that NP is designing something special that no-on else can is just risible to me. Buy a Denon PMA350 for a hundred quid off of eBay it will sound fine and no worries about fake components or safety. Well, I wouldn't buy a Denon...but I see what you're saying. NP was possibly the first guy to vocalise the idea of ensuring less distortion at low power as a sensible idea. Hence the "First Watt" branding. His argument being that most people only use a few watts so it's more important to make the amplifier as good as possible over those first few watts. He gained popularity and recognition through some reputationally good amps. Notably the earlier Threshold stuff. In reality, the DIY sector is where he has really hit it off. He has released what I'd describe as "tasters" of his full designs and has done so freely....he doesn't charge anything for his designs and he doesn't ask for anything. He supports builders and is a frequent poster in DIY. I respect that about him. I wouldn't swap a 686 for anything PASS or First Watt.....but credit where it's due, his amps have been extremely popular and people do seem to enjoy them. People also enjoy Marmite.....just to put that into context lol His reputation as a competent engineer is unimpeachable I agree, but he was nothing like the first person to suggest that low distortion was a good idea, not unless he was designing amplifiers in the 1920s and I don't think he is that old. The whole 'First Watt' thing is just marketing. Everyone does that (how else do you distinguish your products from the hundreds of others?) so no slight to him there. It's a common misconception that low power amplifiers sound better/sweeter/more natural than those with hundreds of watts which is the gallery 'First Watt' plays to. Seems to me these days his whole thing is about getting people interested in electronic engineering and DIY builds which is great but it doesn't mean he is offering anything special in terms of sound quality. Just fairly simple circuits an amateur can put together and will result in an amp that is perfectly acceptable for most use cases. Funny really, I was reading that old thread about the Epos ES14 and thinking that was from a time (late 1980s) when the whole 'cult of the designer' thing was just getting going. Epos were a new company trying to sell wat was a relatively expensive but ultimately pretty crude speaker and they had Robin Marshall giving interviews to anyone who would listen (IIRC he was even interviewed in the Guardian - or maybe The Observer). Doesn't take much for the uneducated punter to latch onto this stuff. Like with Formula One - the drivers are now far more of the focus than the cars. How many people who bought a Threshold or a Nakamichi amp back in the day did so because it was designed by NP? I'd guess no-one. The bullshit came later when someone realised they could use it to sell more product.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Feb 11, 2023 11:08:48 GMT
Well, I wouldn't buy a Denon...but I see what you're saying. NP was possibly the first guy to vocalise the idea of ensuring less distortion at low power as a sensible idea. Hence the "First Watt" branding. His argument being that most people only use a few watts so it's more important to make the amplifier as good as possible over those first few watts. He gained popularity and recognition through some reputationally good amps. Notably the earlier Threshold stuff. In reality, the DIY sector is where he has really hit it off. He has released what I'd describe as "tasters" of his full designs and has done so freely....he doesn't charge anything for his designs and he doesn't ask for anything. He supports builders and is a frequent poster in DIY. I respect that about him. I wouldn't swap a 686 for anything PASS or First Watt.....but credit where it's due, his amps have been extremely popular and people do seem to enjoy them. People also enjoy Marmite.....just to put that into context lol His reputation as a competent engineer is unimpeachable I agree, but he was nothing like the first person to suggest that low distortion was a good idea, not unless he was designing amplifiers in the 1920s and I don't think he is that old. The whole 'First Watt' thing is just marketing. Everyone does that (how else do you distinguish your products from the hundreds of others?) so no slight to him there. It's a common misconception that low power amplifiers sound better/sweeter/more natural than those with hundreds of watts which is the gallery 'First Watt' plays to. Seems to me these days his whole thing is about getting people interested in electronic engineering and DIY builds which is great but it doesn't mean he is offering anything special in terms of sound quality. Just fairly simple circuits an amateur can put together and will result in an amp that is perfectly acceptable for most use cases. Funny really, I was reading that old thread about the Epos ES14 and thinking that was from a time (late 1980s) when the whole 'cult of the designer' thing was just getting going. Epos were a new company trying to sell wat was a relatively expensive but ultimately pretty crude speaker and they had Robin Marshall giving interviews to anyone who would listen (IIRC he was even interviewed in the Guardian - or maybe The Observer). Doesn't take much for the uneducated punter to latch onto this stuff. Like with Formula One - the drivers are now far more of the focus than the cars. How many people who bought a Threshold or a Nakamichi amp back in the day did so because it was designed by NP? I'd guess no-one. The bullshit came later when someone realised they could use it to sell more product. No, he wasn't the first, but he was the first to vocalise it....ie market the idea.
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