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New 20 watt amp from Schitt Audio


EmilC

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The shade feedback amplifier Nelson presented at one of the BAF conferences is a 50 watt class A amplifier that will require a lot of heatsinking. In other words expensive. There were many diyer's on the diyaudio forum that had a hard time getting it to work. A few did manage to do so but it is a challenge. If someone designed and tested a smaller lower wattage one I would be interested and would love to see the schematic. 

 

The BA-1 and BA-2 are two of the best diy ones out there and are not that complicated to build. I have both. Well actually a modified F4 with 2 less output devices then the single board BA-2 and using the BA-3 front end where I will not have to have a linestage with a lot of gain. 

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Just now, ClaudeJ1 said:

PWK used to demonstrate his Mono Klipschorn with a 10 Watt Brook Amplifier to Ear Splitting levels. When I got my Khorn I sold my 200 wpc. amps and got 75 wpc. amps. It was still too much power because I built a Red LED based Peak Voltage detector with a ladder network. When I hit 10 Watt PEAKS (usually 10 to 17 db on good recordings) it was really too loud even then. 2 Watt Peaks were more normal for loud listenting, but usually 2 watt peak readings was all I needed.

The truth of power needs with heritage speakers many do not understand or believe. I could live with a 2 watt amplifier but I have found that 5 watts is the sweet spot in a tube amplifier for my needs. The advantage of 5 over 2 watts is just in the bass. More solid. Brook amplifier with klipsch speaker filled auditoriums in their day. 

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14 minutes ago, henry4841 said:

The truth of power needs with heritage speakers many do not understand or believe. I could live with a 2 watt amplifier but I have found that 5 watts is the sweet spot in a tube amplifier for my needs. The advantage of 5 over 2 watts is just in the bass. More solid. Brook amplifier with klipsch speaker filled auditoriums in their day. 

Nice to meet someone on this Forum who understands this besides myself and handful of others (that I know of).

 

My wish list of all time in Audio is simply for Manufacturers to spec. their amps in DB Watts Per Channel, not just plain watts. This way we could just look at speaker sensitivities and buy however many DB watts needed to get to a "Reference Level" of 83 DB at my Sweet Spot, plus 17-20 DB headroom. This is why I used TI Chip based amps with outboard switching power supplies. Best bang for buck ever on 8 Klipsch Surrounds/Dolby Atmos.

 

More importantly, the entire USA has needed to "Go Metric" for over 50 years and is the only large country in the world that has not, especially for Document Size Standards, but I digress.

 

I have 2 near weightless Sonic Impact amplifiers and fit in the palm of a hand and can run on 8 AA batteries, or the occasional Radio Schack Wall Wart 12 Volt Power supply. My main unit was tested by a Klipsch Engineer in Indy. He said it was a very good 6 Watt amplifier! I wish PWK had lived to see it. I successfully demonstrated my Khorns to the buyer with that Amp and a Sony Walkman CD player using the Headphone Out as Pre Amp signal in 2007.

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From the horses mouth.
 
 
schiit.thumb.png.75dda272165aafa59474ae7a246b7011.png
This is a huge can of worms and I could care less what people think but I've gone back and forth with a few different types of these moderate-affordable type of power cables......and I can say without hesitation that the types I experimented with DID sound different from each other. No question in my mind. The sound quality didn't neccesarily improve with one brand (it actually degraded the sound quality).

My story is that I actually stumbled into this experiment by accident and one thing led to another. One day after checking out a preamp that was loaned to me I couldn't figure out why it was sounding different from what I remembered. After all the investigating, I finally realized that after switching some things around and hooking the preamp back up I accidentally grabbed a different power cord.

Once I realized this, I started comparing all of my power cords. They all sounded/performed the same except for this one in particular. So then I went on to experiment with some moderately priced Viborg and Cullen power cables.

I stuck with the ones I thought made my system sound best. Not something I thought would matter.....but it did and I couldn't deny it....and didn't break the bank.

So now after I got all new PC's every time I listen I sit in the sweet spot wearing nothing but a thong and life is good.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

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32 minutes ago, SWL said:

This is a huge can of worms and I could care less what people think but I've gone back and forth with a few different types of these moderate-affordable type of power cables......and I can say without hesitation that the types I experimented with DID sound different from each other. No question in my mind. The sound quality didn't neccesarily improve with one brand (it actually degraded the sound quality).

My story is that I actually stumbled into this experiment by accident and one thing led to another. One day after checking out a preamp that was loaned to me I couldn't figure out why it was sounding different from what I remembered. After all the investigating, I finally realized that after switching some things around and hooking the preamp back up I accidentally grabbed a different power cord.

Once I realized this, I started comparing all of my power cords. They all sounded/performed the same except for this one in particular. So then I went on to experiment with some moderately priced Viborg and Cullen power cables.

I stuck with the ones I thought made my system sound best. Not something I thought would matter.....but it did and I couldn't deny it....and didn't break the bank.

So now after I got all new PC's every time I listen I sit in the sweet spot wearing nothing but a thong and life is good.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

 

There is only really one "improvement" that can possibly account for you possibly hearing any sort of difference and that is if you had a ground loop with the standard 3-prong grounded cable and switched to a cable that did not have the dedicated safety ground which removed the ground loop. Or, because during the day your power from the mains can change and for whatever reason the gear you have is sensitive to power line issues and you are hearing that as a coincidence. The latter is a complete stretch but I will not rule it out. Other than that there is absolutely no way a power cable can make any sound difference. If you don't listen to me listen to the company that engineered and built your amplifier (Schiit), I assume they kinda know a thing or two about these things also no?

 

It's great you enjoy them and that's all that matters. There are so many people researching these sorts of things that end up reading these threads while searching for information and it can't hurt to get opinions on the matter for both sides of the topic. I respect your opinion as it is totally valid to only report what you think is happening and what you are hearing and feeling on the topic.

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There is only really one "improvement" that can possibly account for you possibly hearing any sort of difference and that is if you had a ground loop with the standard 3-prong grounded cable and switched to a cable that did not have the dedicated safety ground which removed the ground loop. Or, because during the day your power from the mains can change and for whatever reason the gear you have is sensitive to power line issues and you are hearing that as a coincidence. The latter is a complete stretch but I will not rule it out. Other than that there is absolutely no way a power cable can make any sound difference. If you don't listen to me listen to the company that engineered and built your amplifier (Schiit), I assume they kinda know a thing or two about these things also no?
 
It's great you enjoy them and that's all that matters. There are so many people researching these sorts of things that end up reading these threads while searching for information and it can't hurt to get opinions on the matter for both sides of the topic. I respect your opinion as it is totally valid to only report what you think is happening and what you are hearing and feeling on the topic.
Have you ever listened to and compared different PC's to each other?

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

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1 hour ago, SWL said:

Have you ever listened to and compared different PC's to each other?

 

Many times on many different systems. I have even gone further than that to also take all sorts of measurements to compile as much data as possible like cable electrical properties, drop across the cable, temperature of the cable, and all the typical measurements at the output of an amplifier.

 

I have a Shunyata Venom right here that does look great, has a solid connection and it was gifted to me for helping a fellow audiophile. He wanted me to "try it in my systems", I didn't want to be rude and of course took it and did my normal comparison vs my "stock" cable to no avail of any improvements except for visual. This isn't the first time someone has gifted me a fancy cable. I haven't kept one so I probably won't keep this one, if I can sell it at a reasonable price to someone else that will get enjoyment out of it that is great as long someone is making good use of it and cherishes it more than I would. Some of my friends still believe in them so they let me borrow them to test and "audition". It fascinates me honestly, it's not like I haven't tried to hear or measure a difference. I would love some actual data to corroborate the phenomenon but no such luck.

 

Looking for a Shunyata Venom power cable slightly used? 😜

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2 hours ago, SWL said:



So now after I got all new PC's every time I listen I sit in the sweet spot wearing nothing but a thong and life is good.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

I generally don’t read long posts but “thong” caught my eye and grabbed my attention. So with these new power cables how long are you able to sit in the “sweet spot” wearing only a thong? You might also find an association between quality power cords and hemorrhoids - 

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I generally don’t read long posts but “thong” caught my eye and grabbed my attention. So with these new power cables how long are you able to sit in the “sweet spot” wearing only a thong? You might also find an association between quality power cords and hemorrhoids - 
Yeah, the thong/leather recliner combo is becoming an issue.....

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

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Well, there's still magic left in these power cords. Last night I had such an amazing listening session my thong caught on fire welding my buttcheeks to the leather recliner now I gotta buy a new one.

Probably need some new PC's with a little less magic in them.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

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40 minutes ago, SWL said:

Well, there's still magic left in these power cords. Last night I had such an amazing listening session my thong caught on fire welding my buttcheeks to the leather recliner now I gotta buy a new one.

Probably need some new PC's with a little less magic in them.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

Up until this, I was really enjoying this thread...LOL

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If power cables can employ filtering and active noise cancelling, like the iFi Supanova, then surely they can provide some benefit, even with 50 year old wiring in the walls. That's kinda like saying adding a water filter at the end of 50 year old water pipes will make no difference...

 

I bought an iFi Nova power cable and can't say I heard a difference, though I didn't swap it in and out, back and forth either. But even still it satisfies my fear of missing out and it looks cool, like a piece of audio jewelry, which is how I've always treated cables. Audio jewelry. If it adds to your enjoyment and you have the money, spend it! 

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18 hours ago, henry4841 said:

The truth of power needs with heritage speakers many do not understand or believe. I could live with a 2 watt amplifier but I have found that 5 watts is the sweet spot in a tube amplifier for my needs. The advantage of 5 over 2 watts is just in the bass. More solid. Brook amplifier with klipsch speaker filled auditoriums in their day. 

 

Do you feel the same thing is true for a Class A SS amp?

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4 hours ago, CWelsh said:

 

Do you feel the same thing is true for a Class A SS amp?

There are not that many low wattage Class A SS amplifiers to choose from. Right now I am using the SE V-fet Nelson Pass project with around 10 watts and I an not loosing anything with it. I have built the ACA amplifier but it has been years since I listened with it. Tubes and transistors clip very differently so I am going to say 10 watts with a class A SS amplifier. Quality watts are more important than quantity watts when it comes to our horn speakers. At the present time I am listening with an outstanding A/B amplifier project called the Honey Badger with 150 watts a channel. I do have it biased so that the first few watts are class A so I am probably listening with just a few of it's watts in class A. It is a fantastic design that would be thousands in an retail amplifier. Driving a Ferrari on the interstate 55 MPH is what I liken it to but it sound excellent. 

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1 hour ago, henry4841 said:

There are not that many low wattage Class A SS amplifiers to choose from. Right now I am using the SE V-fet Nelson Pass project with around 10 watts and I an not loosing anything with it. I have built the ACA amplifier but it has been years since I listened with it. Tubes and transistors clip very differently so I am going to say 10 watts with a class A SS amplifier. Quality watts are more important than quantity watts when it comes to our horn speakers. At the present time I am listening with an outstanding A/B amplifier project called the Honey Badger with 150 watts a channel. I do have it biased so that the first few watts are class A so I am probably listening with just a few of it's watts in class A. It is a fantastic design that would be thousands in an retail amplifier. Driving a Ferrari on the interstate 55 MPH is what I liken it to but it sound excellent. 

When I auditioned my Forte llls at the dealer, he powered them with a re-capped 125 wpc Adcom and they blew me away. I'm using an upgraded Marantz 1060 and have more than enough power to hurt my ears. I'm thinking, however, that the day will come when I want to try something different. I think I would enjoy building a pair of ACAs to run as monoblocks, but wonder if more power would be better (a bit of FOMO, maybe?). I don't think I will ever spend a bunch of money on a variety of amps just to have options, but I do have a Rotel 100 wpc X 5 sitting in storage that I may haul out to experiment with...maybe try bi-amping...who knows.

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2 hours ago, henry4841 said:

At the present time I am listening with an outstanding A/B amplifier project called the Honey Badger with 150 watts a channel.

 

You must be on DIYAUDIO(dot)COM  because I made a Honey Badger also. I sold it when I started building the SlewMaster amps.

 

I still have several extra unpopulated boards for the Slewmaster if you are ever interested in building one let me know.

 

Question, you said you built Nelson's SIT amp but I thought they were push pull but you are saying it's SE? Do you have a link for the SIT amp you built that is SE?

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3 hours ago, henry4841 said:

There are not that many low wattage Class A SS amplifiers to choose from.

I guess the Schiit amplifier-I assume it's the 20 watt (10+ class A) Aegir-mentioned in the the title of this thread qualifies? It's interesting, not everyone agrees 10 watts of class A power is enough-even for Klipsch Heritage speakers. Well, it is a subjective experience, isn't it?

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