steveinspain
pfm Member
I think that was what hit me, the front to back image and the absolute pin point placing of instruments. Superb cables, and as has been said many times, the more of them you have the better it gets..
EWA pfm tour: ABCaudio demo kit
Just working on some new cables right now, a digital (lies) cable and a everyman cable, that will be better than TQ Black and Black 2. Oh and a new USB cable which is being a bugger to do, sorry about language.
So ask Alan nicely when they are available if they could go on a tour of the UK, (I wish I could).
I go back here at a drop of a pin.
Find the Monster.
So ask Alan nicely when they are available if they could go on a tour of the UK, (I wish I could).
I go back here at a drop of a pin.
Find the Monster.
GruntPuppy
pfm Member
Could I add my name to the list to try the LS-40 speakers cables, please?
ABCaudio
Trade: ABCaudio, representing EWA
'Tis done, my friend.
@Peter Williamson , will you forward these to the next user please? If I can assist, let me know. We look forward to seeing your thoughts!
Peter Williamson
Member
will do
The M-50 has been dropped off with Ooops (sorry, UPS) for rag987.
It's certainly a very good amp with plenty of detail and clarity, along with good dynamics. It manages to do this whilst also being smooth as silk.
(My regular amp is more like finest Egyptian cotton
How was the image, and separation, and what music did you try it with S-Man??
GruntPuppy
pfm Member
The LS-40 cables have been received. I should have them plumbed in by the end of the day, convenient as I'm replacing one of the amps in my system with a temporary stand-in.
My first impressions are of a well-made cable, with carefully thought out packaging. Strong DRG appeal on the box with the logo on the top, I'll be putting these cables into use for the top-end frequencies from 80hz upwards, carrying the signals from an Adcom GFA585le to Snell Reference A5 towers.
My first impressions are of a well-made cable, with carefully thought out packaging. Strong DRG appeal on the box with the logo on the top, I'll be putting these cables into use for the top-end frequencies from 80hz upwards, carrying the signals from an Adcom GFA585le to Snell Reference A5 towers.
S-Man
StrivingON
Well since you ask, the imaging question is actually an interesting one!
Music:
Wailin' Jennys - Saucy Sailor
https://www.wolfgangs.com/music/george-shearing/audio/20020374-2605.html?tid=4862334 track #14 (amazing simple recording from 1959 (what have we been doing for the last 60 years??))
The Clash - Complete Control
Joe Strummer - Tennessee Rain
Webb Wilder - Steppin' Out
Sarah Jarodz - Gypsy
Tanita Tikarum - Twist in my Sobriety (recorded from LP12)
Mary Chapin Carpenter - Stones in the Road (live)
Lots of others but seem to have short term memory loss
System:
RPi with IQ DAC+ and DIY linear PS (don't laugh, this has seen off DACs up to £3.5K)
DIY Active crossover (utilising the speaker rolloff as part of the integration)
Custom bass amp driving a pair of DIY ZRBs (analogue precursor to the KEF KC62) for 10 to 120Hz
Leach lowTIM versus M-50 (for >120Hz)
Murphy CAOW1 with blocked port for >120Hz
Imaging:
The M-50 produced a deep soundstage with good width and height. The Leach produced a very large soundstage with more space around instruments but less obvious depth than the M50.
The M-50 had more presence energy and I wonder if this is responsible for the increased perceived depth. The counter-side of this is that the Leach portrays the body of female vocals better - and on the MCC track this matters!
The Leach didn't have it all it's own way. The Shearing track was fabulous on the M-50, in particular the drums were very realistic and dynamic sounding whilst retaining the lovely resonant "boing" sound of real drums. I do wonder if such a simple and "pure" recording is very well "preserved" by the excellent phase coherence of the M-50 (assuming the sales bumf is right
).There was a very strange incident on the TT track where one percussive sound on the M-50 stood out clear as a bell and very precisely located in front of the soundstage. The Leach portrayed this as much less obvious and in the mix rather than popping out the front. I decided at this point to change the interconnects. After the change both amps sounded very similar and the percussive sound was moderately apparent on both
.I also tried another of my favourite DIY amps (https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/119151-mosfet-amplifier-designed-music.html). This had a very similar tonal balance to the M-50 but was markedly outclassed in terms of clarity and dynamics.
FWIW I have built many 10s of DIY amps and owned/tried quite a few commercial amps. I've been tweaking and developing the Leach for about 15 years. It is a very tough target indeed IMHO, especially as it was been tweaked for my system/room/ears!
Overall I was very impressed with the M-50.
Nice one Colin!
Thank you S-Man, great report back, I need positive and Negative feed back whoops.
I am doing a new design at this moment a much more complex beast, the 2 prototypes sound amazing deep control of bass and sound stage, on coral works the vocal was just so real, and the deep organ was amazing and I am using Royd floor standing speakers.
Now to develop a odd pre-design with MC,MM and line in all balance or unbalance.
The MC stage is one I patented in the late 1970 and was used under licence on Magnum. This version uses component that I could only dream of in that day.
So watch out for it.
The DIYAUDIO site is a good site but can lack a few fine points, but fun to try.
I am doing a new design at this moment a much more complex beast, the 2 prototypes sound amazing deep control of bass and sound stage, on coral works the vocal was just so real, and the deep organ was amazing and I am using Royd floor standing speakers.
Now to develop a odd pre-design with MC,MM and line in all balance or unbalance.
The MC stage is one I patented in the late 1970 and was used under licence on Magnum. This version uses component that I could only dream of in that day.
So watch out for it.
The DIYAUDIO site is a good site but can lack a few fine points, but fun to try.
S-Man
StrivingON
Thanks Colin.
The problem with DIYAUDiO is that the SNR is about -300dB!
After the M-50 had left I was thinking about this image size/shape and tonal balance thing. I decided to swap out the Les W huge 500VA (6" cube) EI-core power transformer for a large 800VA toroid. The Leach amp with the toroid sounds a lot more like the M-50... the upper mids are more "present" and the image size and shape has changed with more precise imaging but a smaller soundstage. I do find that some female vocals e.g. Alison Krauss can be a bit piercing with the toroid in situ. I have no idea which one is more accurate, but I prefer the EI.
This defies logic.
Do you have any thoughts on this?
Cheers,
Dave
The problem with DIYAUDiO is that the SNR is about -300dB!
After the M-50 had left I was thinking about this image size/shape and tonal balance thing. I decided to swap out the Les W huge 500VA (6" cube) EI-core power transformer for a large 800VA toroid. The Leach amp with the toroid sounds a lot more like the M-50... the upper mids are more "present" and the image size and shape has changed with more precise imaging but a smaller soundstage. I do find that some female vocals e.g. Alison Krauss can be a bit piercing with the toroid in situ. I have no idea which one is more accurate, but I prefer the EI.
This defies logic
.Do you have any thoughts on this?
Cheers,
Dave
Thanks Colin.
The problem with DIYAUDiO is that the SNR is about -300dB!
After the M-50 had left I was thinking about this image size/shape and tonal balance thing. I decided to swap out the Les W huge 500VA (6" cube) EI-core power transformer for a large 800VA toroid. The Leach amp with the toroid sounds a lot more like the M-50... the upper mids are more "present" and the image size and shape has changed with more precise imaging but a smaller soundstage. I do find that some female vocals e.g. Alison Krauss can be a bit piercing with the toroid in situ. I have no idea which one is more accurate, but I prefer the EI.
This defies logic
Do you have any thoughts on this?
Cheers,
Dave
Funny enough I have, EI have normally a high winding ratio than Toroidal so the impedance on the Toroidal is lower and this effect damping factors and the speed the caps can be charged on peak demands , also less leakage inductance, therefore no tiny inductors in series with the winding, this cause other problem along with the increase of inter winding capacitance. And primary to secondary coupling of nasty mains born noises, click thuds and digital mains crap.
Interlace Bi-filar winding on EI used often in valve output stage, like the ones Nic Poulson uses design by is ex business partner now retired, Malcolm Langford, a very good transformer designer, together he and I designed the new lighting on the run way at Glasgow. Using a current loop system run in constant current mode (AC) only a 1000Amps. This design of EI is much better better coupling and less winding losses but insolation problems.
There is no easy way I am sorry to say, except maybe Solar and big Pb Acid bats.
Or the Tesla Earth battery.
rag987
pfm Member
Weekend of listening to the m-50 power amp...
The amp sounds very good in my system, the imaging is wide and deep, I could also get a sense of height on some tracks. Ultimately, I felt it was masking some details compared to my existing amp. A clear example of this effect is with Ayub Ogada track En Mana Kuoyo (CD) - quite an open recording and on this track there are some bells at the start and through the track (I don't know what the actual instrument is - a percussive high sound). With the M-50 the sounds tend to merge, with my current amp I can hear tonal differences between strikes and also each strike has a clearer start and finish.
This is an unfair comparison - the current model of my amp retails about 3 times the cost of the M-50, so great showing. Lesson learned for me though - the demo is important, I had been following another thread on Class A amps and how wonderful they sound so my expectations were high. Sadly it does not improve on my AB amp in this case.
Also of note is that the M-50 goes very loud and the 50W did not seem to be a limiting factor in my system. I noticed the hum through my speakers that has been mentioned before. Also the case never got hot, slightly above body temperature on the sides.
System as tested (see my profile for additional info):
SotM SMS-200 Ultra trifecta source
Bryston SP3 pre-processor with cross-over set at 80Hz
Bryston 4B SST power amp > Dynaudio Special 40
Rythmik 12" sealed subs pair
I did not test the M-50 full-range as bass duties are handed over to my subs.
The recent set of listening and demos I have done have cured my upgraditis - I am happy with what I have and will put my focus on getting more music rather than on the equipment.
Many thanks to @ABCaudio and @CJ14 for the products and this great opportunity.
The amp sounds very good in my system, the imaging is wide and deep, I could also get a sense of height on some tracks. Ultimately, I felt it was masking some details compared to my existing amp. A clear example of this effect is with Ayub Ogada track En Mana Kuoyo (CD) - quite an open recording and on this track there are some bells at the start and through the track (I don't know what the actual instrument is - a percussive high sound). With the M-50 the sounds tend to merge, with my current amp I can hear tonal differences between strikes and also each strike has a clearer start and finish.
This is an unfair comparison - the current model of my amp retails about 3 times the cost of the M-50, so great showing. Lesson learned for me though - the demo is important, I had been following another thread on Class A amps and how wonderful they sound so my expectations were high. Sadly it does not improve on my AB amp in this case.
Also of note is that the M-50 goes very loud and the 50W did not seem to be a limiting factor in my system. I noticed the hum through my speakers that has been mentioned before. Also the case never got hot, slightly above body temperature on the sides.
System as tested (see my profile for additional info):
SotM SMS-200 Ultra trifecta source
Bryston SP3 pre-processor with cross-over set at 80Hz
Bryston 4B SST power amp > Dynaudio Special 40
Rythmik 12" sealed subs pair
I did not test the M-50 full-range as bass duties are handed over to my subs.
The recent set of listening and demos I have done have cured my upgraditis - I am happy with what I have and will put my focus on getting more music rather than on the equipment.
Many thanks to @ABCaudio and @CJ14 for the products and this great opportunity.
Cereal Killer
432
Done but nobody was interested so shelved along with many many more ideas.
Cereal Killer
432
Well, you'd have a least one ... I'd like to have tried it!!