My latest sit down with First Watt and Pass Labs' Nelson Pass 

It’s also his tone of voice and rhythm of his delivery, very easy to listen to and I think reveals something about his character

My first separates were a 545 amp and 400 pre/tuner. I have since moved on but they were outstanding.

@@jeffreyswanson2207 Right! For sure man :)

There was a time about 30 years ago when Steve and I both got deeply into Adrian Sherwood On U Sound productions.

What high pitched whine? Oh that, it’s my Illudium Q-36 Explosiive Space Modulator.

Nelson's Tesla Coil 👽

I think it’s his test equipment?? When I go to my technician’s workshop there are noises like that from his test equipment.

i Hear it too.

He's in his garage, lot's of test equipment and a couple computers. No amps last time I was there except those being constructed.

I'm interested to know that, too. Devices used in automotive are very switchmode based. Switch mode power supplies and H-bridges for motor drivers need low capacitance and short linear region devices, so they can switch on and off faster and with less dissipation in the linear region. These devices are quite the antithesis of audio amplifier power devices. If Nelson can find a way to operate IGBTs, FinFETs, TrenchMOS, HexFETs, and the new Gallium Nitride (GaN) in Class A he would be make a new future for audio.

It’s just my tinnitus

Haha I was actually about to comment on it and saw this!

@@davidsmithson9236 There ya go! I thought it was _my_ tinnitus...

@GeneralCurtis3LeMay that’s why I purchase the near extinct real Toshiba JFETs directly from DYI audio website to get the real McCoy. I purchased the highest quality components sometimes 10 or in lots of 100 and hand match and balance every component to be used in the left and right channels. If I only need four or even six MOSFETs I will buy a whole production run of the same lot number in quantities of 100 and set them up on a jig and drive them and match each piece into a set of perfectly matched components. Something you can’t get from mass production off the shelf big companies stereo equipment. Learn from Nelson Pass

Right, zoom does weird things to audio. It’s not so great for video either

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac I'm referring to the portion prior to the interview.

But does it matter?

@@offason He explained elsewhere it was accidentally sped up during editing, and no ... it's not a big deal.

I'd say!

I agree. I thought I had sped up playback on RU-vid.

@@petez4608 glad to hear, I already was in doubt as I had moved my speakers and carpet a little. :)

Agreed, and commented about it as well. Steve answered saying Zoom blah blah,... I reiterated no, it's the intro prior to the Zoom portion. Something in the chain was distinctly different. I view/listen via quality in-ears. Oftentimes I consume his content at 2x, and even at 2x I heard the difference, backed off to 1x to double check.

his diy amps are affordable🙂

You're probably right. What could he add to his approach to make it qualify more as engineering and less as tinkering?

@@bradatherton9369 The first thing an engineer does is define a specific list of goals. As this is an area of electronics the goals must be defined in terms electrical engineers understand and they understand a lot. Two things they should understand is that the loads their amplifiers will see are not 4 and 8 ohm resistors. They will be complex reactive loads especially with the screwball crossover networks speaker designers have to use to make their speakers sound the way they want them to. Some speakers will also generate a reverse EMF applying voltage and current back to the amplifier.. The other thing they need to understand is that the source impedance may be fairly high so the input impedance must be many orders of impedance higher so as not to load the source down. If you want to see an example look at the measurements of any Nagra preamplifier in Stereophile magazine. If you are going to use negative feedback take the course first or you won't know what you are doing This is one of the hardest courses for an undergraduate electrical engineering. The textbook I used was written by two air force generals, was targeted at EE seniors and EE masters degree candidates and had more calculus than a calculus textboik. You also need to know how to mathematically model circuits including the electrical properties of tubes and transistors. Finally you need to use test methodology that will determine how your results compare to your goals. So far this industry hasn't developed them, relying instead on methods developed in the 1930s and 1940s. When two things measure the same but perform differently you are measuring the wrong things.

@@markfischer3626 You're detailed response is greatly appreciated. As a senior electrical engineer of semiconductor device physics and control theory applied toward amplifier design I would happen to agree to a large degree with what you stated. I'm happy to invite myself in and expand on a couple points. There is a lot of snake oil to watch out for. Top down design of amplifiers has yet to be fully exercised. Most all commercial/consumer amps are spec-driven, yet I'd say the wrong types of specs are emphasized. Too much global feedback for THD and Damping Factor results in the step response overshoot and garbage for high frequency and transient content. This makes room for the Nelson Passes, John Curls, etc to do their tinkering, and for lack of an alternative, do very well at it. Douglas Self has some really good books on amp design, he does well to characterize the various types of distortion such as THD, IMD, and what gets the least attention but is most important (IMO)- Crossover Distortion. CD is nasty because it is not harmonically related, and the human ear is very sensitive to it whilst a Fletcher Munson study has yet to happen for the most critical characteristics of an amp. For the record, 'audible distortion' is subjective, so if you prefer 'no audible distortion' can you put that into spec form in terms of THD (even and odd), IMD, CD, etc? Rhetorical question, really, just to make a point. I've examined Nelson Pass's work critically and been very impressed by his choices of applying active loading, current mirrors, etc in atypical ways, and my ears agree. Very creative and pragmatic. You made a crack at him as a tinkerer, I can agree but also say he does it with style. The you battered the entire industry, that's when I realized it wasn't a personal attack on NP. I have a similar frustration and want/expect more from it. But the 70s set sail a long time ago, and that was the hayday of discrete amp design. Along came the 80s with monolithic amps for high volume and bye bye went the demand for amp designers to flourish. It's only gone downhill since then. Then came the mp3, and society lost it's chance at having a critical ear due to lack of material that brings out the best/worst in audio gear. Sorry to ramble on, but you really struck a chord. Cheers!

Lots of noise on this Zoom, so I tried to minimize it

He keeps enough parts on hand to handle any repairs.

Pass Labs and First Watt amps are extremely reliable. If there is a problem, other than misuse, they stand behind their products and have a stash of replacement parts.

Zoom

@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac It's probably a condenser microphone. They pick up just about every aound in a room. I definitely would not expect you to send expensive audio equipment to every guest. I thank you for continuing to release content. I applaud you for the way you have adapted in order to do so.

your brain is being entrained by his binaural Tesla coils in the background😂

Ha! Diyaudio . Com reference :)

Yeah, the F8 is downright FUGLY!

your comment makes no sense

@@dinhduynguyen3809 He obviously has NO clue what he's talking about lol

Tone controls are for crappy speakers that need to be adjusted in order for them to sound good.

Tone controls can be quite useful if they're adequately transparent. That said, I've never seen them on an amplifier... and I'm entering my sixth decade in audio. Damn, hard to believe I had to count them out (70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s, 20s). Reminds me, I remember Pass having a DIY 45w class A kit amp I experimented with at least 30yrs ago.

Preamplifiers have tone controls.

@Alex Brinkerhoff I have been considering Raven Nighthawk. Was thinking about Prima Luna but I think Raven is going to be hard to beat. Very difficult to find used ones for sale, that's a strong indicator. Impressive reviews from various sources.

@Alex Brinkerhoff what did you replace it with? I'm considering the Raven Osprey instead of the Raven Nighthawk.

Lol! Well hope u didn’t force yourself to watch the whole thing then! Personally, I very much enjoy listening to Nelson. I learn something every time. I would love to hang out in his workshop for a while.

Nelson is a legend.

We were told to expect the Herb Reichart video this weekend so as much as i enjoy Nelson, this is dissapointing.

@@pkats9093 I didnt watch a second of it.

@@marcusm5127 I'm sure he is. I don't doubt that. But it doesn't make him interesting viewing.