Wow dude ..... I had you all wrong. I watched your channel once or twice and came away thinking you were some arrogant effer that liked to flex by showing off his expensive HI FI gear. I appreciate the explanation of how you came to be where you are. I also appreciate someone finally having the balls to point out that $50,000 for technology 50 years old is bullshit. Great video ...... Can't wait for the next one! Subbed.
Thanks Man, the more you get to know me the more you will understand my intent... to BREAK the mold of the crap the end user gets fed.. ;-) Thanks for your support.. !
I was having this conversation yesterday regarding these amplifiers... Many are just eye candy for those that can afford them, but the technology is nothing new. Thanks for the video Mikey.
Those prices are nuts. I have a Samson Power Amp with a huge toroidal transformer, giant PS Caps, and discreet power transistors on cooled rails. 600 WPC full bandwidth power @ 20Hz-50KHz at maximum distortion of .04% at full power! It is a class A/B. It cost me $400 dollars brand new back in the day and still works and sound amazing! Guys that charge more than $1,000 for an amp with less than 500 watts mono or per channel are just ripping people off because there are idiots out there that will pay premium prices for circuits that are simple and were designed in the 1950's. There is no "Magic" to building high quality Class A or A/B Amps at all.
i think altec lansing was one of the best ever brands as my fathers studio in 1970 had big monitor speakers and after he bought JBL being the L for Lansing , lucky to work with such great names from hi-fi industry or owned their company , i think the main problem as it happened with American and European brands was the low cost of production of japanese brands and copying all the work done by european and american engeniers and then sell it at low price , but i remenber when there were still some european brands as american ones still important in the hi-fi or sound business, the quality was over without a doubt but the finishings start to look cheap as some brands i tested when younger that looked very minimal but quality wise above any japanese brand , i remenber especifically a cassette deck from Blaupunkt the most simple one can imagine one row of leds only to adjust the rec level but the sound quality was amazing good as some 79 philips cassette decks(F series) that looked good and modern in 79 and had a super quality of sound and expensive materials built and next year were the same but all built with plastic and the sound wasn´t there but owning Grundig i remenber some decks ,two head decks that were over later calibration 3 head decks quality of sound from japan as crown from the 70´s power and pre-amplifier were amazing good with JBL speakers and big ones and SAE i have still a cassette deck maybe from 81 that had a receiver with great quality of sound to wich i had cerwin-vega speakers, but all components were black with a nice blue display , i also remenber in the 80´s brands like Sony or Pioneer to sell in the U.K had to have better specifications than in other european countries mostly speakers, english brands had superiority, as in the 90´s i bought a ES Sony integrated amplifier that sounded amazing even the phono input had a superior sound quality and was really heavy but i sold it and a few years ago i looked for one as mine on Ebay and found several but in hifi engine manuals i noticed that they said ,this specifications are only to the amplifiers sold in Portugal and U.K , wich is strange ,for me the 90´s were yesterday as we grow old it seems the years pass very fast, People talk about nakamichi and having a father who was into music and sound quality he owned a big colection of nakamichi components since 1974 till late 90´s they do work well but if you don´t use them that much or all start to work very bad, i remenber buying the dragon when released ,it cost me 700 dollars at the time wich was a lot but i choose it because i couldn´t aford the Teac-Z-7000 and in the first days i thought i had a very good deck this in january of 1983 and by August i stoped it or it had been ruined and sold it , the heat destroys them and by that time one used to record and hear a lot of cassettes, and several times in hi-fi magazines after tested wasn´t even as good as other top decks from several brands but like sting said "history will teach us nothing " and again people talk like nakamichi is the better brand of cassette decks and lucky for the ones who have them, i had all top models working at a 100% already sold 3 of them and received 30.000€´s as i had already mine and still like them like the 680 ZX and the 700ZXL and the cassette deck 1 and the best of all in building quality the BX-2 still working, as all others were repaired for a lot of money by a old nakamichi technician in England. This to say that it´s expensive to keep a brand production in Europe and U.S.A. but quality wise japanese did not made anything better , just have a low cost of production and now they own the market making new components from the cheapest materials and engines they can find, i forget to refer HH scott, which had great quality hi-fi system ,i went to L.A. with a friend in 1978 to buy american built cars that were looked for in Europe and hard to find so for maybe 10 years we filled our pockets with money but the first trip in 78 my dutch friend bought a top of that year catalog integrated amplifier from HH Scott and still today it works with perfect sound but earlier intime i can´t remenber that if belonged to my grandfather or my father but a amplifier looking very old but what a sound ,it´s still a tube amp but by the looks it doesn´t seem that good ,when conected the sound is perfect and it´s a 60´s model, i tried it with JBL speakers ,than with Mission and tannoy also and put a 70´s turntable the SL-1000MKII from technics and a bought recentelly P10 from Rega both sounded like they never had sounded, no matter what speakers were conected and we are talking about a looking like trash tube amplifier from the 60´s american made and i fiorget to refer we conected some philips speakers that were from my first pioneer system in my bedroom and they look bad and very old but when conected ,i couldn´t believe the sound coming from them and i had them stoped maybe since 1973 when i went to Africa to work and after that i think it was the first time i conected them and some say ,hum!japanese how good can it get? they never heard about european or american brands who were the best and still work with quality after almost 60 years
This helps explain why you say some of the things you say to me !!!!!!!! Would like to hear your take on GaN and class D. Many see this as the future of HiFi.
@@OCDHIFiGuy 1. Clarity (lack of veil), 2. Effortlessness (dynamics, no sense that the amp is struggling- usually during complex high energy passages; not talking about SPL necessarily), 3. Long shot wish- Magic match with Maggies.
I've been watching the switching supplies. From personal experience, some of the early audio implementations were very bad. The first I ran into were Sony. Sony introduced a line using them in the '70's. I was doing an amp roadshow at the time. Travelling doing a "High Speed Clinic" from city to city at those actual retail audio stores that existed. It was advertise to bring in what ever amp, integrated, receiver, ... you had and I'd provide a report on it's "Speed". Rise time and Slew rate of a 10Khz squarewave at full rated power into 8ohms. After the 3rd in a row Sony switched PS smoked, I stopped allowing them. It was the only brand I had that problem with. Many produced shitty looking outputs, but survived. Buddy Guy's Legend in Chicago!
@@OCDHIFiGuy I've seen some using it and it working. It makes sense to me even as a hard core analog only guy. Just because we've been stuck with 60hz for voltage conversions back in the day does not mean we need to stay there. Higher frequencies are converted much more efficiently and filtered better. But have lots of it's own problems.
Correct...Nothings changed...My Power Amp is a Rotel RB991 completely refurbed. Helps having two techs within 40 miles that will work to component level.
I gave you the benefit of a doubt..please calm down and I can tell you. Soon im gonna change the direction of the incorrect path of the industry.going back is going forward sortta..old knowledge and build with modern semiconductors and ability.. soon..
@@OCDHIFiGuy. Are you familiar with a car amp brand rockford fosgate? Did you know we made a home amp in the 80s..actually Me and 3 others hand made them..only 50 made. Ill put my hand made amp against anything..modern. except amps powered by 220v 60hz. US.. dont laugh. Dare you to find one and listen
A lawyer told me this once, "You either go to business school and pay the University, or you can go on your own and pay for business school that way. But you're going to pay for business school, whether it's the university or the school of hard knocks."
I would like to help you learn reality..your path is salesman info? I would very quickly show you the path to understanding electronic designs and why they design circuits to cover up the amps weaknesses.. and next..the best amp doesnt necessarily sound the best..it will actually sound worse when a bad recording is played or a speaker that askes for demanding current..
@@OCDHIFiGuy Psyched about these AB amp series. Want to see that Viola Labs internals and hear the talk through. Great series of videos you are proposing!
You are uninformed. I have written rights to that trade name from Eric Abrahams estate. They pirated it. Ever ask the Chiropractor and Turbo mechanic how much money I cost them in legal fees, making them fly to California each time ? Aaaaand guess who is still in the Audio business selling amps .? 🤣 ROFL....they were idiots that underestimated the RAM... CLACK ! lights out...
Thanks, mate, for the shout out🙏 and you're quite correct. I'm paid by nobody and never will be!!!! The moment I start taking money, I may have to compromise my beliefs and principles, and I will never do that. Now, to anyone else reading this, please listen to what Mikey is telling you here. He has the runs on the board. He has done all this, and he is well aware of the manufacturing aspects of building amplifies, including all the pros and cons of the whole process. Great video , Mikey. I really enjoyed this one.👍🎧🙂
Anyway , Layouts tend to look the same as the physics involved hasn't changed for the best location for low noise , sonics and heat flow . BTW very disingenuous and hilarious to keep peddling the Rowland as being special by continuing class AB as this is some mutually exclusive ***t , every SS amp not class D is class A/AB ( domestic Hifi) class H and G mostly used at pro level , so no Jeff is not exclusive here.. Regards
Rowland is totally more advanced than any of the brands mentioned in the video.. Thats WHY I sell it. You know of nothing better. Want to argue this ??
Hi? do you have any experience with Musical Innovation amps and pre-amps. They are made in Norway by a very very very small company. The value of those amps is second to none. The typical high power ab designs newer worked out for me. Imo amps under 50w pr channel output is always best for sound quality.
OCD , I sold and used AB international Amps in the 80’s , so funny to hear about your involvement , the 900 model ran in mono mode we supplied with our Pat. Subwoofer System for studios, 88-91. Regards
Thanks for the great presentation and education. I always lean something from you and appreciate your time and knowledge and dissecting the internals of amplifiers that provide the grunt and magic we all enjoy. I've been an audiophile/music lover since the 70's back when I had the large Advent Loudspeakers driven by a Crown amplifier. Still remember those great sounds, for that time.
usher r 1.5 amp old nelson pass design stil use the mexican party hat but cost 2 or 3k which is your point should not cost much but thanks for this video
Hi Mikey I had a great experience at the very recent Sydney Hifi show listening to the Vitus integrated amp with Audio Soulutions Vigaro 2 speakers. Plus hearing the Gal nitrate amps you talk about. I also engoyed the Soulnote A3 if i have my model numbers right. The amp here has 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms. The disortion figures were nothing amazing either .027 for memory...but this setup had clarity and impact. The speakers deliverd stacks of clean deep hass from only 4x 6.5inch drivers. $15000 isnt mega dollars for a great speaker i dont think. Im sure you Fisher and Fisher speakers are great too. Other high profile companies are probably glad these speakers are not of higher profile. Besides the million dollar system featuing Duntech Halcro and Dohmann turntable. Plus Ypsilon and Cessaro. This system took things to the next level. The dynamics and clarity etc were incredible. Some other very high profile stuff was a little underwhelming in comparison.
@OCDHIFiGuy yeah agree 💯 percent. As much as I love my records and buy too many on a smallish wage I do really see the beauty of streaming....that way I discovered new music...some way older now that I missed then I can jump straight onto Tidal and enjoy. Then hopefully find the cd or the record. Many older titles are hard to find now and when you do can be very expensive. I am a big and new fan of Caroline Polachek...check that song Billions out. Lots going on in that mix wuth some killer bass too. Also I like the mad professor types super passionate about their gear. As you know it costs heaps to exhibit today. Even 21 years ago when a late mate and I did Vegas Alexis Park it cost bags. My friend had a small brand Hollmann Audio we had two pairs of speakers one pair all vintage jbl driver in a 3 box system and a tall floorstanding speaker 3 way with Dynaudio and peerless drivers. I still run these today. Like a cheaper Duntech without the time alignment that is very important. Love what you bring Mikey.
Hey Mikey! Are you familiar with Odyssey Audio or Van Alstine? Both are old school companies that manufacture high quality amps in the USA. Both very affordable.
@@OCDHIFiGuy If my memory is correct (gees, 1970's are a ways back), Van Alstine (of Minnesota) started by modifying Dynaco Amplifiers then introduced his own line. He may have been involved with B&K for awhile, too. Circuit topology resembled Dynaco and Hafler which were higher value American brands. Before going to engineering school, I learned much from building kits from Dynaco and Hafler who made many Class AB amps.
