You can give it a try but it is going to have to be a good one to beat an Elna S.
You and I pretty much have the same impressions. The F6 is the most revealing amp I have ever heard. Everything in the audio chain better be as good as it or else you will think it is the amp. The F6 is a fantastic amp and was my favorite over the other 2 FW's I have built but this M2 is now my favorite. I compared the M2 with my favorite SET this morning. Both are very good but totally different. The M2 is better high and low and a great sounding smooth mid-range too. The SET is delightfully smooth in the mids with a great all around sound as well. It comes down to personal taste and what one likes at the time and mood they are in and to which I want to listen to at the time. Equally good but different is the way I am going to describe the 2 right now. Rockers will definitely prefer the SS sound. Being my latest build I went straight back to listening to the M2 after doing a short comparison. I am one happy camper.
I am beginning to wonder where Aleph J fits in this mix....I do have the assembled boards and outputs....
Russellc
I think I am done building amps for a while! Next project, (beside some speakers I would like to build), is the Pumpkin-Shunty Boards/kit I have that's been sitting in a drawer for too long.
At least the chassis will be somewhat less expensive, Maybe this...I cant remember how tall heatsinks for this preamp are, maybe it will not need to be this tall.
Pesante 3U – diyAudio Store (BETA)
Even with 10mm faceplate and milled handles it isnt that expensive. Time to reread those threads.
Russellc
At least the chassis will be somewhat less expensive, Maybe this...I cant remember how tall heatsinks for this preamp are, maybe it will not need to be this tall.
Pesante 3U – diyAudio Store (BETA)
Even with 10mm faceplate and milled handles it isnt that expensive. Time to reread those threads.
Russellc
I know that feeling, 'done building amps for a while'
Just build one last VFET amp and then I also want to do more with speakers, with different topologies...
You have an impressive list of amps
Pumpkin/Shunty is a nice combo indeed. I think you can easily put it in a 1U or 2U. For a preamp I like small chassis...
Just build one last VFET amp and then I also want to do more with speakers, with different topologies...
You have an impressive list of amps
Pumpkin/Shunty is a nice combo indeed. I think you can easily put it in a 1U or 2U. For a preamp I like small chassis...
Sure sure
And as i clear space among the various (almost!) complete amps I must agree...
And as i clear space among the various (almost!) complete amps I must agree...
I am beginning to wonder where Aleph J fits in this mix....I do have the assembled boards and outputs....
Russellc
How can you not just swap those Aleph J boards with one of the other boards in one of your finished amps just to see if maybe you like it better? If I already had the boards curiosity would get the better of me. Just clip the wires and do not try to remove them for boards and it would be no problem reinstalling the original boards back. The BA3 would be the one I would use in fact I just did that with this M2 build. Mine was a SE BA3 which did sound very good but this M2 sounds much better with my speakers.
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Zen,
Can you please share your LTSpice model of the M2?
Would be very helpful as I wouldn't know how to model the transformer to start with.
Thx.
I like keeping my amps whole, I have all of them operating. If I were to switch one, it would not be my BA-3. In many ways, it is still a favorite. Plus, it runs 32 volt rails. If anything, F-6. I will just wait and get a chassis for it. I would consider a swap if one of the amps cooked! I do have a set of heat sinks I could Frankenstein into an Amp....or if and when DIYstore has pre drilled and tapped heat sinks available...would make switch out easier. Hate to waste keratherm!
Russellc
Hi Russelc,
I'm in the same boat as you. I built the AlephJ before the F6, but didn't have the heart to pull the boards because it sounded so nice, so I built a new chassis and PSU for my F6. The F6 became my favorite. Now I have the M6 boards stuffed and complete so I'm thinking about pulling the Aleph boards, a nice cheap way to hear the M2.
Paul
I'm in the same boat as you. I built the AlephJ before the F6, but didn't have the heart to pull the boards because it sounded so nice, so I built a new chassis and PSU for my F6. The F6 became my favorite. Now I have the M6 boards stuffed and complete so I'm thinking about pulling the Aleph boards, a nice cheap way to hear the M2.
Paul
I know the feeling about fooling around with a perfectly good amp. That is the reason I waited and thought about it some time before I replaced resistors and brought my dc offset down from, not really a problem, .85mv. I finally decided if a problem came up I could solve the problem. Nothing too expensive to replace in a M2 board so I zero'ed my offset. Hey they all sound good but different. Be Brave, you can always swap them 2 or three times. If I had J boards I would definitely find a way to hear them. My Aleph 30 had some of the best highs I have ever heard at the time but that was a few years ago and many other amps.
I did a mistake not having morning coffee today , so my dumb head is both dumber than usual and aching
so , I hope that I'll do that for you (there was no need to have xformer implemented in my M2 sim file) later , after few hours of sleep
better that way than to spot Tesla Coil in sim file tomorrow
