Articles & Reviews
In spite of their high cost and low efficiency, class A power amplifiers have recently been receiving more attention from audiophiles who demand uncompromising accuracy.
A20 AmplifierFLATTERED BY THE opportunity to publish a project circuit, the designer is often beset by seemingly contradictory considerations. On the one hand, it is tempting to design a complex circuit as a demonstration of technical prowess
A40 AmplifierLowering distortion in power circuits without compromising their transient response remains a primary problem for designers of audio power amplifiers.
Cascode AmplifierAUDIOPHILES RECENTLY BEGAN re-examining the performance of every link in the audio playback chain, and before long their attention turned to the lowly loudspeaker cable.
Speaker CablesAudio Amateur has published a number of projects modifying popular kits, usually Dynaco's. Obviously it is much less expensive to use the chassis and power supply, pots, connectors, switches
Mosfet Citation 12The importance of phase response in the audio chain has been brought to greater focus recently by equipment claims of phase coherency, (the output signal has the same phase relationships as the input signal).
Phase Coherent CrossoversTHE STORY BEHIND the A75 power amplifier continues. In Part I, we discussed its origins and direct predecessor, the Pass A40, as well as some general guidelines to follow before initiating such a project.
A75 Amplifier Part 2 (with Norman Thagard)READERS' REQUESTS FOR more power are reasonable, but not interesting enough to justify another article. Hanging some output transistors on the original and beefing up the power supply is best left as an exercise to the reader.
A75 Amplifier Part 1 (with Norman Thagard)After you acquire the devices, you will need to test them. You might consider running lots of tests on these transistors, but only one is essential: measuring gate-source voltage versus current. The greatest variations occur here, and it is necessary to do some matching to get proper performance.
Matching DevicesThere are two most essential principles to audio amplifier design. The first is simplicity. The second is linearity. Einstein said, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."
Zen AmplifierI must say that I have been very gratified by the response to the Zen amplifier from the last issue of TM. Since writing the article I have had an opportunity?to build another 25 copies of the amplifier, listen to it on a larger variety of loudspeakers
Zen Amp reduxThis is the second installment of a trilogy of construction projects centered around the performance obtainable from absolutely minimalist circuitry. Part one described the Zen amplifier, a 10 watt single-ended class A power amplifier using a single MOSFET gain stage.
Bride of ZenSingle-Ended Class A amplifiers have certainly hit it big in the four years since we began testing the first Aleph 0. So is this just another audio fad, or is there something fundamental about this kind of design
Single-Ended Class AThe Zen has proven to be a popular and enduring do-it-yourself amplifier. The design addresses the audiophile's enthusiasm for single- ended amplification, but is even more interesting for its exploration
Son of ZenThe popularity of the Zen projects points out the interest in very simple linear circuits. They are intended to fuel that interest.
Balanced Zen Line StageU.S. Patent # 5376899 describes a new amplifying circuit topology that takes advantage of the character of special matched balanced amplifiers that are cross-coupled to provide cancellation of distortion and noise.
Super-Symmetric AmplificationCarl Sagan observed, "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." If you want to build an audio circuit, you will make the decision as to how much you will actually
DIY Op AmpsAfter 22 years, it appears that quite a few DIY enthusiasts are still eyeing the A40 Class A amplifier design, but are discovering that not a single transistor from this design is still available.
A40 Parts SubsLots of people don't understand electricity, but they do understand plumbing. Hydraulics provides a good analogy in understanding basic electrical flow.
Power SuppliesAs an exploration into the potential performance of a very simple amplifier, the Zen amplifier has succeeded in creating notoriety and some controversy over the last 8 years.
Zen Variations 1Welcome back to the Zen Amp Variations. This is part 2 of many parts in which we explore some of the ways to make a very simple audio amplifier.
Zen Variations 2In Part 2 we developed a new active current source for the Zen amplifier. In this part, we create a power supply regulator suitable for the Zen amplifier projects.
Zen Variations 3The Penultimate Zen is the sum of several incremental improvements to the original Zen amplifier of 1994. Eight years just flies by, doesn’t it? These improvements are contained in parts 2 through 4 of the Zen Variations
Zen Variations 4Sometimes two designs complement each other so well that you are surprised they weren’t invented together. So it is with the X Super- Symmetric amplifier and the Aleph single-ended Class A output circuit.
Like Peanut Butter and ChocolateMost woofers just don’t quite do the lowest octave. You read the specs that say “usable response: 20 Hz – 20 KHz” and you know that the 20 Hz part of it is wildly optimistic.
El Pipe-O (with Kent English)The quality of individual parts is a particular concern to audio “do-it-yourselfers” (henceforth known as DIYers). Many of them lay awake at night agonizing over choices of capacitors, resistors, wires
Mosfet TestingIf you have access to a minimal number of wood working tools, these cabinets are quite easy to build. While they can be constructed with rebate joints or biscuits, we have designed a simple way to assemble the parts by using a small number of simple miters and butt joints.
The J-Low Loudspeaker Assembly (with Dana Kruse)The aesthetic appeal of a single wide-bandwidth loudspeaker driver is obvious in its simplicity. There are no crossover networks, little or no phase shift versus frequency, and a single acoustic source location.
The J-Low Loudspeaker (with Dana Kruse)The Zen Amp concept is an exploration of how well you can make a simple audio amplifier perform. It makes for an interesting illustration of design technique, since more complex circuits are inevitably composed of collections of simple circuits
Zen Variations 5U.S. Patent # 5,376,899 describes an amplifying circuit topology that takes advantage of the character of matched balanced amplifiers that are cross-coupled to provide cancellation of distortion and noise.
Zen Variations 6One of the performance issues raised by the original Son of Zen (Audio Electronics, #2, 1997) was its efficiency figure, which was charitably described as 4% (500 watts in, 20 watts out).
Zen Variations 7f you saw part one of this project (AudioXpress, January 2005), you know that the KleinHorn is a big toy, and you can imagine that it’s hard to resist playing with it further.
The Kleinhorn Part 233 years ago I decided to build a big horn system. Constructed in the dorm library over Christmas break, the result was dubbed The Claw, a straight exponential horn 9 feet long with a 42 Hz expansion curve and a 50 sq ft mouth.
The Kleinhorn Part 1In today’s marketplace, audio power amplifiers are conventionally viewed as voltage sources, delivering a given voltage at the output that is a multiple of an input voltage.
Current Source CrossoversConventional wisdom holds that a pure voltage source amplifier is ideal for audio applications, and generally designers of loudspeakers work to that assumption.
Current Source Amplifiers and Full Range DriversThanks to a nice person on the Pass Labs Forum ( www.diyaudio.com ), I became aware that high current power JFET transistors are again available.
Zen Variations 8During the past few years a number of excellent designs have been published for domestic audio amplifiers. However, some of these designs are now rendered obsolescent by changes in the availability of components
PLH AmplifierIn ZV8 we dipped our toes into the waters of power JFET transistors using the new Lovoltech LU1014D in a simple circuit. The focus of the project was on the JFET itself, and except for a cascode transistor the rest of the amplifier used only passive components.
Zen Variations 9The meters on our amplifiers are different. They reflect the current consumption of the amplifier, and when the amplifier is operating, they don’t go down to zero like the meters on other amplifiers.
Leaving Class ASo here we are in the New Millennium, and thanks to Tom Holman and THX we’ve got lots of gain in our electronics. More gain than some of us need or want. At least 10 db more.
B1 Buffer PreampAudiophiles seem to revel in minor controversies – vinyl vs CD's, tubes versus solid state, capacitor, wires, magic dots... and negative feedback.
Audio Distortion and FeedbackIn Burning Amp 1 we examined an amplifier circuit designed to complement the hardware we gave away to some attendees at last October's Burning Amp Festival in the San Francisco bay area.
Burning Amp part 2The Burning Amp Festival is an event every October in San Francisco. Do-it-yourself audio enthusiasts from all over gather to show off their projects, listen to talks and equipment demos, and rub shoulders with the rich and famous.
Burning Amp part 1Every audiophile understands the concept of the “sweet spot”, that happy balance of conditions that elicits the best possible sound. It can be a particular listening spot, the best positioning of loudspeakers, or the fortuitous combination of components which complement each other perfectly.
The Sweet SpotThe third annual Burning Amp Festival was held in San Francisco last October, drawing a couple hundred DIY Audio enthusiasts, many from long distances.
De-Lite AmplifierA poster of Einstein once said, “Things should be made a simple as possible, but no simpler”. This can apply to audio amplifiers, but if they are evaluated subjectively, the simplicity thing can get a little of of hand.
Arch Nemesis AmplifierThirteen years ago Pass Labs launched the D1, a dedicated Digital to Analog converter for high end audio. It was based on balanced PCM63 DAC chips with a current source output
Zen I/V ConverterIn 1972 I had the good fortune to begin working for ESS, arriving a few weeks before they met Oskar Heil and his air motion transformer design. You can imagine the excitement that followed.
Slot Loaded Open BaffleIn the BA-1 and BA-2 projects we constructed two different amplifiers using very similar input and voltage gain stages (aka the “front ends”), but used them to drive two different Class A Mosfet follower output stages.
Burning Amp part 3In the mid 1970's a special variety of Jfet invented in Japan called a Static Induction Transistor (SIT) found its way into the “Vfet” power amplifiers produced by Yamaha and Sony.
SIT Introduction.pdfFive years ago I launched the F5 power amplifier project which culminated in a production run of 100 amplifiers and a DIY article. It has proven to be a popular design, and as of this writing approaches 2 million views on DIYAudio.com.
F5 TurboSince I first encountered them in the mid '70's I have always admired the JBL L300 Summit loudspeakers. I have always thought these were some of the most attractive loudspeakers ever made, and I recalled that they sounded as good as they looked.
L300 RenovationIn the Volume 0 of Linear Audio I presented a redux of the 1985 Hiraga design, the Nemesis. The article explored some of the issues and variations that accompany the use of a simple single-ended Class A design coupled to the loudspeaker through an output transformer.
SIT NemesisDo-It-Yourself audio is a great activity. Many major audio components are easily constructed and made to perform as well or better than what we see in the stores and at considerable savings.
Amp Camp Amp 1The Burning Amp Festival is a DIY audio event held in San Francisco in October for the past few years. This is a loose transcription of Pass talking without notes but with pictures. Edited for clarity and brevity and to make Pass sound more articulate than he really is.
F6 Talk at Burning Amp Festival 2012When I was young, in the halcyon age of the late 50's and early 60's, I spent my Saturdays at the one of the two local theaters watching “B” science fiction and horror movies.
The Beast With a Thousand JFETsThis is about audio power amplifiers, more specifically about those made with a special type of transistor known originally as a VFET, now more commonly referred to as a Static Induction Transistor (SIT).
Sony VFET 40 Year Commemorative AmplifierThis article is the first of a series presenting fairly simple “Do-It-Yourself” audio power amplifiers using Static Induction Transistors. SITs are a rare breed of transistor which have characteristics particularly desired by some audiophiles.
Sony VFETs part 1This article is the second of a series presenting “Do-It-Yourself” audio power amplifiers using Static Induction Transistors (SITs), also known as VFETs. These are unusual transistors with a characteristic similarity to Triode tubes.
Sony VFETs part 2Thank you all for coming out. I'm out of practice speaking to non-technical audiences, or any audience for that matter, but I get by through having a bunch of pictures strung together to have some sort of arc or lead to some point, which prompt me as to what I'm supposed to be talking about and also distract the audience from my performance.
Talk at CASSome discussion came up recently on www.diyaudio.com in the Pass Labs forum regarding the Genesic GA10JT12, a Silicon Carbide junction transistor. I procured some through distribution and tested them in a single-ended Class A amplifier operating in Common Source mode
Zen With GA10JT12This is an addendum to the “Sony SIT AMP part 2” article is the second of a series presenting “Do-It-Yourself” audio power amplifiers using Static Induction Transistors (SITs), also known as VFETs. These are unusual transistors with a characteristic similarity to Triode tubes.
DIY Sony VFETMany of you are already familiar with Siegfried Linkwitz. I first met him in person at a Burning Amp Festival years ago, and I was able to spend more time with him after I moved to Sea Ranch, where he has a house at the far end of the beach.
LX-mini Analog CrossoverGifted a box of Korg Nutubes by Mr. Miura of Stereo Sound, I worked up a circuit using them. After some experimentation I decided that the original circuit as suggested in the technical data provided was very suitable, and I made only small adjustments to it:
Korg Nutube PreampHistorically, audio amplification has been about the elimination of all forms of distortion. Early on, the premise has been that low distortion is one of the keys to audio quality and this was certainly true back when amplifiers had a lot of distortion.
H2 GeneratorThe very first gain device, the vacuum tube Triode, is still made after more than a hundred years, and while it has been largely replaced by other tubes and the many transistor types, it still remains popular in special industry and audio applications.
The Venerable TriodeMy friend Nelson Pass is an unusually busy guy, and a long time can pass without word from his secret clifftop lab. He’s also bit of a paradox, equal parts artist and engineer, logical and intuitive, chilled-out and frenetic.
FAOW-V2 by Mike RothacherAt the Burning Amp Festival 2017 I presented a version of a preamp using the Korg Nutube dual Triode. It is similar to the example circuit provided by Korg, different mostly in the use of Jfet constant current sources instead of bias by resistors.
DIY Nutube PreampThis article is a revised version of the original H2 article. It reflects the changes that were made to the circuit for the occasion of the 2019 Burning Amp Festival.
H2 Harmonic Generator - RevisedAt the first Burning Amp Festival in 2007, a young attendee, Nelson Brock and his parents Dana and Liz, displayed a nice pair of loudspeakers using the Pioneer Bofu full range drivers in Voigt enclosures.
ACP+In spite of the improvements in efficient Class D switchers, watt-sucking Class A power amplifiers continue to attract high end audiophiles. The breed remains as popular as ever - and why not? Any product of our school system knows that A is better than B, or C or D
Leaving Class A 2019 reduxThis piece was originally presented at the 2019 Burning Amp Festival but was hampered by problems with the projection system. It has been rewritten for Positive Feedback online
The Square LawThe DIY BIAMP 6-24 kit is a stereo analog active biamp crossover circuit designed for high flexibility. Featuring 12 discrete Jfet buffer circuits operated without negative feedback
DIY Biamp 6-24 CrossoverThis article is the first half of the most recent in a series presenting DIY audio power amplifiers using Static Induction Transistors (SITs), aka VFETs. These are special field effect transistors with a characteristic similar to Triode tubes.
DIY Sony VFET pt 1This article is the second half of the DIY Sony VFET amplifier project. You will want to treat this as an addendum to Part 1, and probably need to refer to that for some of the information you will want.
DIY Sony VFET pt 2There are a couple of simplifications in this version. We will take advantage of the regulated 12V supply from a standard (cheap) wall-wart which does not have to be very accurate or quiet, just constant DC, and we will adjust the operating point via a small potentiometer P1 for each channel.
DIY H2 Generator v2The first amp camp goes back almost ten years when a small group of people held the first and only event in Sebastopol California. I had the privilege of designing this little class A amplifier which has proven to be popular among audio DIYers and is currently available in the “store” at www.diyAudio.com
DIY ACA miniLimited as it was to about 180 stereo amplifiers, last year's release of designs around the Sony 2SK82 and 2SJ28 Vfet power transistors seems to have been a great success.
Sony VFET OS2Ten years have passed since the last Speaker Camp Event. I missed it, but I am assured that it was a great success. It featured DIY construction of a Voigt type enclosure holding a Pioneer BoFu 8 inch full range accompanied by a small tweeter to sweeten up the top end.
Speaker Camp 2022About a year and a half ago I released a power supply filter board and thump suppression relay circuit to go with the DIY Sony N channel VFET amplifier kit.
DIY Power Supply Filter and Thump RelayAmong the appreciations of DIYers is stuff that works simply, well, and cheap, not necessarily in that order. This project is an effort to assemble these elements into a discrete gain stage that can be used as the front end for modest power amplifiers or as a general audio gain circuit.
DIY Front End 2022First Watt’s latest DIY offering, the B1 buffer stage, is described by Nelson Pass as “a no-feedback JFET buffer that offers ultra low distortion and noise with ultra wide bandwidth.” Nelson’s article may be found here: www.firstwatt.com
blackdahlia.com - Dick OlsherFirst Watt's latest DIY offering, the B1 buffer stage, is described by Nelson Pass as "a no-feedback JFET buffer that offers ultra low distortion and noise with ultra wide bandwidth."
Enjoy the Music - Dick OlsherWhile my beloved valve power amps are off being repaired, I thought I should have a 'reliable' standby power amp for everyday listening / backup.
greghumphries.comThe First Watt Aleph J is a direct descendant of the Volksamp Aleph 30, itself a descendant of the Pass Labs Aleph 3. The Aleph series was given birth by Nelson Pass and Pass Labs back in 1991.
6moons - Michael LavorgnaFirst Watt isn't a real company, and the F1 power amplifier isn't a real product. Consequently, this isn't a real review. Nelson Pass, who founded the Threshold Corporation in the 1970s and continues to operate the successful Pass Labs, also likes to indulge his more radical side as an audio designer.
Stereophile Review - Art DudleySingle-ended. Class A. Zero feedback. Fully balanced operation with both RCA and XLR outputs. Noise of 1/10,000,000th of a watt. Input impedance of 80kohm. Output impedance of 80 ohms. Constant draw of 100 wall watts. Output? 10 music watts.
6moons - Performance by Nelson PassCurrent-drive or transconductance amplifiers for consumer audio applications are very rare. One example prior to Nelson Pass' current FirstWatt F-1 model was a design by Be Yamamura intended to be used with his single-driver full-range loudspeaker, both of which at the time were imported into the US by Joe Cohen of now Prana Cable.
6moons - Setup by Nelson Passn preparation for my upcoming review of Nelson Pass' new F-1 First Watt current-source amplifier, Nelson asked what speakers I would be using. His whole optimization scheme for the single-driver speaker/amp interface hinges on external compensation networks which are specific to each loudspeaker.
6moons - Introduction F1 by Nelson PassAnd now for something totally different. This report is unusual in that it combines a product review with a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project. There is a very good reason for doing just that , as you will discover shortly.
Enjoy the Music - Dick OlsherThere's one thing I enjoy about single-ended triode amplifiers, although it isn't so much a characteristic of a good SET as the combination of a good SET amp and an appropriate loudspeaker: They load the room convincingly when the music demands it.
Stereophile Review - Art DudleyWhy is an amplifier's first watt so important? Watts are cheap. Don't wurry, be 'appy. In a very fundamental way, the answer to this innocuous question determines the sound of your speaker.
6moons - Srajan EbaenThe F3 surpasses the performance of most tube amps in its ability to remain absolutely quiet while retaining complete control of the lower frequencies.
Tone PublicationsAdvancing the art. That requires a lot more than repackaging proven circuits. Or throwing designer parts and boffo face plates at them. Or hype marketing and hyper pricing. Advancement means following the dark paths previously avoided.
6moons - Srajan EbaenThe X Factor. In today's game, that's what we call gain. What comes in goes out, simply amplified or enlarged X times. If you strap together an active preamp and an amplifier -- the pervasive combo -- you put together two of those factors for X-squared multiplication.
6moons - Srajan EbaenThe e-mail was from papa. Well, not really. But that's how his many DIY fans refer to Nelson Pass on the DIYAudio forum. The thread on how to build a FirstWatt F5 from scratch has developed into 174 colossal pages by now.
6moons - Srajan EbaenSince my review of the F5, it has since become SET man's favorite transistor amp. As such, it routinely appears in reviews and associated commentary. Off-screen, it also pops up in private e-mails as recommendation to inquiring readers.
6moons ReviewNelson Pass. FirstWatt. Kitchen table venture. Surely all this has been active long enough to no longer catch our readers in the dark.
6moon - Srajan EbaenThe J2 is one of the best amplifiers I’ve heard, regardless of the type of circuit used, and it provides an opportunity to own a product from audio master Nelson Pass at a moderate cost.
Sound StageThe First Watt J2 is an absolute honey on amp. Hooked up to my Zu Essence speakers, the sou…
Tone Audio - Steve Guttenberg / Pag. 172Pass Labs amplifiers have inspired more than a few moments of lust in the hearts of veteran audiophiles. Big, beautiful, powerful, and expensive, their sound, according to some, has advanced the state of the art.
Ultra Audio - Vade ForresterI reached out to Nelson Pass of First Watt this summer and asked the “what’s what with First Watt”. By way of response, Nelson agreed to send me a pair of amps — starting with the J2, a 25wpc (into 8ohms) solid state amp
Part-time Audiophile - Scot HullAt the going rate, Nelson Pass would soon eclipse our arsenal to demand a 7th moon. For now we could still play ball. Having accompanied his kitchen-table exploits from the 1st through the 5th F amplifiers
6moons - Srajan EbaenOn several systems including mine, the SIT-2 did not sound like a tube amplifier. It was better in some respects. Nor did it sound like solid-state either. It was better in many respects there too.
Enjoy the Music - A. Colin FloodI'm in the process of spending six digits on a small run of special Jfet power amplifiers, my own version of the 'SI' Vfets you may recall from the Yamaha and Sony efforts of the 70s and related to the Digital Do Main product showcased recently on your site.
6moons - Srajan EbaenThe First Watt SIT-1 is a single-ended Class A monoblock power amplifier that uses a single transistor, no feedback, and no output transformer.
Dagogo - Jack RobertsIn August of 2011 I'd reported on a pre-production version of what since has become known as the FirstWatt SIT-2. That nomenclature stands for Static Induction Transistor 2. The extra words channel amp are implied.
6moons - Srajan EbaenThe First Watt F6 offers a fantastic option to anyone in the market to drive sensitive speakers in the 90db’s/8ohms territory and even picks a compelling fight with speakers that are moderately difficult to drive.
New Record Day - Ron BrenayI just wanted to drop you a note to say how great your coverage of the Munich show was. By far the best I’ve seen. Best, np." This surprise email from Nelson Pass provided the perfect op to inquire about a rumour a reader had shared.
6moons - Srajan EbaenSomething smelt very big fishy. The amps looked like FirstWatt M2, from PCB to chassis to heat sinks to rear panel. But they came from Thailand and were advertised for $850 on eBay.
6moons Review - Srajan EbaenHere’s a paean to the Nelson Pass designed First Watt B4. This is a superb active two-way crossover. I refer you to a Pdf of the owner’s manual from the First Watt web page for design details:
Tom CraggsMy wife and I have spent a fair amount of time listening to the F6 and F7. As you know, the purpose of this exercise is to find an amp that can provide a different musical experience from our tube amplifiers.
Dave BanowetzI wonder how many audiophiles get caught on the “power escalator,” by which I do not mean the one at the mall, but the one in the listening room.
Dagogo - Doug SchroederThere are some definite perquisites from being in the high-performance audio business as long as I have. One of the primary ones has been the opportunity to know some of the “audio legends” and great minds in the audio world.
Audiophile - Steven StoneI’ve always loved listening to music, on the teensy transistor radios I had as a kid, and later with the audio gear I've owned over the years. I learned that with the best gear musical pleasures run deeper.
CNET - Steve GuttenbergAs experienced audiophiles, I’m assuming we all are at least somewhat familiar with Mr. Pass and his work. He’s the chief dude that started companies such as Threshold and later, under his own shingle, at Pass Labs.
Part-Time Audiophile - John RichardsonFor more than fifteen years, First Watt has served as Nelson Pass’ creative playground, allowing him to explore unusual low-power designs with an emphasis on sound quality. Most of these designs don’t rank high in terms of commercial appeal.
The Absolute Sound - Dick OlsherThis is the first time in memory that a distinctly low-power (25Wpc) amplifier has taken top honors, or even placed, in our Product of the Year voting.
Stereophile - Amplifier of the YearEvery time a new audio technology enters the marketplace, a debate begins about its relative merit
Stereophile ReviewThe First Watt series of amplifiers started as an exploration of uncommon circuit designs in a low wattage format...
Positive Feedback - Jeff Hoffman