Hugh's secret herbs and spices
hi guys,
having read all the posts regarding non-professional reviews i've decided just to post my thoughts regarding my recent upgrade of my aksa 100 (this is not a review
).
i originally bought the non nirvana aksa 100 in january and was absolutely amazed at the sound quality this amp gave my system. many of the amps that are mentioned on audiocircle i have never heard and i cannot give a comparison between the aksa and them. i do however own an n.e.w. dc-66 battery amp, the rrp of this amp was $3000us/$6500au. unfortunately the amp is in need of repair and isn't working at the moment.
i bought the aksa 100 as a back up for this amp and i have previously mentioned i have been that impressed with it and i haven't even bothered having the n.e.w. repaired (the batteries alone will cost $560au).
a couple of months ago i took the aksa to an audiophile friend's house to demonstrate it. he was suitably impressed with the performance but a couple of ppl indicated the high's could have been a little more refined for their tastes.
fast forward to about 1 month ago and i had a bit of spare cash and decided i would purchase the nirvana upgrade. unfortunately i'm not very handy and i had intended to attempt the nirvana upgrade myself. i replaced the output wire in the amp and accidently broke off the binding post on the amp board. i immediately decided i wouldn't try the nirvana myself and enlisted the help of my friend who assembled the aksa for me
i've had the aksa completed for one week and it has about 30 hours on it. i can easily tell that the top end is more refined and seems to be extended. the bass has better definition, the soundstage seems similiar as before but is more 3 diminensional. overall the aksa sound is not ss or tube but is pure unadulterated analogue, the sound is very entertaining and i really enjoy it
. i am not one of those persons with golden ears and struggle sometimes to hear differences between cables etc and i could easily hear the difference between the stock and nirvana versions.
the amp has cost me $1700 au to build which includes $350 (labour sorry i can't solder), $150 for laser cutting the some plates for the chassis and powder coating. if you are handy with a soldering iron obviously the costs will be considerably reduced. as a comparison of pricing a couple of years back i bought an n.e.w. 20.1 for $1500 au the aksa absolutely creams that amp hands down.
do yourself a favour don't spend kilo buck $$$$ on impressing your friends with a well known brand amp.
i believe the nirvana improves the sound of the amp by about 15 - 20% . the nirvana upgrade is $150 au
regards
rocket
btw i have no interest or affiliation with the manufacturer i am only a customer.
