First Watt Amps


There are 3 out there I think and they are different.
Which of them is the best for a 99dB/8 ohm speaker ? I think, the F1 is made for speakers with no cross over, but I am not sure. Are they very different to an Aleph amp ?
Thanks
thomasheisig
I think the Aleph J is the closest to the original Aleph 30 amps. Try 6moons.com, they have been following the First Watt amps pretty close and have some good articles on the amps. Also email Mark at First Watt.
The F1 and F2 are both current source amps, i.e. the work best with crossoverless speakers, as for example Fostex and Lowther drivers. Both F1 and F2 are limited to 100 pieces.

The Aleph is a "standard" (if you can say standard for any of Nelson Pass' creations) voltage source and should work with most (efficient) speakers. There was a couple of recent review posted on Asylum and Audiogon on the Aleph. No production limitation on the Aleph as far as I know.

There is a new F3, which uses JFET output devices.

Best is to contact Mark at Reno Hifi. He does the official distribution of the First Watt amps, and is great to deal with. Highly recommended.

Also check out:

First Watt

Enjoy!

Rene
Restock is right. The F1 and F2 are for single-driver speakers only, the Aleph J is for "normal" speakers. The F3 looks verrrry interrrresting, but it's not out yet AFAIK. I posted the recent review of the Aleph J, and it punches way above its weight class. It's not quite the equal of my super-tweak SET amp at ten times the price, and that's one hell of a compliment to the little Aleph. It's the best small solid-state amp I've ever heard, and the only one I've found that keeps this SET addict wanting to listen for hours.

I bought mine through Reno Hi-Fi, and I second the nomination of Mark as one of the good guys.

My review thread is here:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1132102991
And now for something completely different... Fascinating man, fascinating designs.