First Watt or XA series

[KeithR]

Keith, could you describe how they sounded different and which XA.5 model you compared to the SIT1? Thanks.

Sorry guys- forgot about this thread.

The FirstWatt sounds completely different than Pass XA- the SIT1 sounds more like SET. It has an extremely transparent midrange with bloom more like a tube amp- but with all the treble and bass extension of a great SS amp. the Pass XA30.5 is ascetic in comparison and a bit harsh in the mids. It sounds more like typical SS and also uses negative feedback unlike the SIT.

My issue with FirstWatt is you still don't get tube-like decay, so when you combine the SET-like bloom with SS decay, I found the continuousness lacking and somewhat weird sounding (I actually prefer other normal SS amps to them as a result- Valvet, Ayre, Dart, etc). I've heard this is ameliorated with a DHT preamp, which I don't have (and they typically cost a bundle ala Allnic). I will say the FW has tremendous bass extension- don't let the 10 watts fool you.

Also- Nelson doesn't personally build the units himself anymore.

KeithR

 

[KeithR]

Cool, thanks for your post. I figured that Fiirst Watt would sound better. The model I'm looking at is the F4. 2 for balanced mono which gets you 100 wpc into 8 Ohms. What are your thoughts on that model? Thanks.

http://www.firstwatt.com/f4.html

http://www.firstwatt.com/pdf/prod_f4_man.pdf

This is probably the most unusual FW amplifier- that said, Srajan said it's fairly soft compared to other designs. I'd trust his opinion on FWs. I considered getting a J2 as it's 25w compared to 10 like the SITs- but it uses negative feedback which I'm trying to avoid.

 

[PeterA]

the Pass XA30.5 is ascetic in comparison and a bit harsh in the mids. It sounds more like typical SS

Thanks for sharing your impressions, Keith. I've never read a review or heard anyone describe the XA30.5 sounding this way. I've only heard that amp once trying to drive a very difficult speaker load. It did not have enough power to adequately drive the speaker.

I own the more powerful XA160.5 and hear a very transparent midrange with plenty of bloom and decay. I find that if those qualities are on the recording, I hear them (for instance on piano and strings). If they are not on the recording, I don't want to hear them because I'd rather not have an amp adding that to the signal.

Do you generally hear a midrange bloom and tube-lie decay on most recordings when listening to SETs? I ask because I have no experience with SETs in my system. I've never owned efficient enough speakers. Thanks.

 

[KeithR]

Peter-

the 30.5 is kinda harsh in comparison - looking at the Stereophile measurements, you can see distortion increasing steadily with frequency. I wonder if that's the reason. i'm not sure if the larger amps do this or not.

i'm not really a SET fan, though have had numerous ones in my room. they have a unique midrange that you just have to hear--it's totally different. i'm really a SS guy now these days, despite a 101db efficient speaker. DarTZeel is my favorite SS amp I've heard so far.

 

[Frank750]

Peter-

the 30.5 is kinda harsh in comparison - looking at the Stereophile measurements, you can see distortion increasing steadily with frequency. I wonder if that's the reason. i'm not sure if the larger amps do this or not.

i'm not really a SET fan, though have had numerous ones in my room. they have a unique midrange that you just have to hear--it's totally different. i'm really a SS guy now these days, despite a 101db efficient speaker. DarTZeel is my favorite SS amp I've heard so far.

I listened to the XA30.5 with Wilson Alexandrias for about a week maybe 2 years ago and it was anything but harsh. Don't care what the measurements might be. Never listened to a SET so my baseline doesn't compare with yours'. The XA30.5 was filling in for ARC REF 610s at the time and did so very nicely. Of course, as always, only my opinion.

 

[PeterA]

Peter-

the 30.5 is kinda harsh in comparison - looking at the Stereophile measurements, you can see distortion increasing steadily with frequency. I wonder if that's the reason. i'm not sure if the larger amps do this or not.

i'm not really a SET fan, though have had numerous ones in my room. they have a unique midrange that you just have to hear--it's totally different. i'm really a SS guy now these days, despite a 101db efficient speaker. DarTZeel is my favorite SS amp I've heard so far.

Thanks for the clarification. You seemed to lump the XA30.5 in with the typical SS sound. I have not found this to be the case, and reviews generally imply that the XA.5 series does not sound like typical SS. I had read your comments to be a bit negative on the XA30.5 and SS in general, so I'm now quite surprised that you are a SS guy.

I have not heard a DarTZeel in my system, though I have read good things about them.

 

[KeithR]

Thanks for the clarification. You seemed to lump the XA30.5 in with the typical SS sound. I have not found this to be the case, and reviews generally imply that the XA.5 series does not sound like typical SS. I had read your comments to be a bit negative on the XA30.5 and SS in general, so I'm now quite surprised that you are a SS guy.

I have not heard a DarTZeel in my system, though I have read good things about them.

Actually I'm not. I'm ONLY saying the 30.5 in comparison to the SIT1 is quite different. The SIT1 is much more open in the mids with a more natural top end, but it has some shortcomings as well. When you hear how open it is, you think the other is a bit harsh by comparison. Is that more clear? No doubt I would rather own a 30.5 instead of a typical Krell, Levinson, Spectral amp etc. That said, the Dart is much better than the Pass imo- but not sure you could drive your Magicos well enough with one though?

 

[Dave_A]

Ok guys, I've moved on. I'm looking at Class A Accuphase and maybe McIntosh right now. But by all means, continue this discussion.

 

[LL21]

Ok guys, I've moved on. I'm looking at Class A Accuphase and maybe McIntosh right now. But by all means, continue this discussion.

Let us know what you choose. If you are looking into Class A Accuphase and McIntosh, you may wish to consider Gryphon. Difficult to find, worth the search imho. I have heard good things about Clayton Audio, but distribution is very thin and I do not know anything about their long-term track record.

Other than that, relative to other Class A SS like Boulder, I am told Accuphase and McIntosh have a decidedly warmer approach...have heard McIntosh but never auditioned seriously and not heard Accuphase. Heard wonderful things about both. If you can try Gryphon or can find Clayton, you may wish to investigate. Good luck.

 

[Dave_A]

Let us know what you choose. If you are looking into Class A Accuphase and McIntosh, you may wish to consider Gryphon. Difficult to find, worth the search imho. I have heard good things about Clayton Audio, but distribution is very thin and I do not know anything about their long-term track record.

Other than that, relative to other Class A SS like Boulder, I am told Accuphase and McIntosh have a decidedly warmer approach...have heard McIntosh but never auditioned seriously and not heard Accuphase. Heard wonderful things about both. If you can try Gryphon or can find Clayton, you may wish to investigate. Good luck.

I will. Yeah, no US dist. for Gryphon at the moment. I'm also considering one of the bigger Brystons as I said in the other thread. I've heard Accuphase 4-5 years in a row at CES. I wouldn't call it real warm per se. A little bit, maybe. I found it dynamic, transparent, and very robust. I haven't heard too much McIntosh, and as you know, they use their speakers at their demos at CES and other shows. Thanks, I'm gonna need it!