AudioCircle
Industry Circles => GR Research => Topic started by: S Clark on 17 Jun 2018, 10:20 pm
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There really isn't a good place to put a discussion of small to mid size amps, but they work so well with many of Danny's designs I decided to put it here.
There are lots of designs for amps that are bigger than flea amps, but not in the behemoth class. From 6QB5 tube versions to various chip amps, what do you use and what do you like about them? Is the 8-20 watt range a sweet spot for musicality with a bit of muscle?
I've got several Eico and Dodd 6qb5 amps, and Jeremy's 7297 chip amp that check a lot of boxes for me. What are the others? What do they do well?
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I find Danny's approach of relatively high efficiency, simple crossovers and easy loads really allows tube amps to shine. So much so, that I've got a 2 watt 45 SET amp in my system right now and I realize that I just don't need the 42 watts that my VTA ST70 Octal provides (as awesome as it is, I'll probably end up selling it).
For SS amps, I find that the pure class A First Watt amps are very good, if you can DIY at all they are almost unbeatable.
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Other day I found this 5W SE:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/537540973/silicon-harmony-se-class-a?ref=shop_home_active_2
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Go for a Pass XA25 and never look back.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/pass-laboratories-xa25-power-amplifier
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Other day I found this 5W SE:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/537540973/silicon-harmony-se-class-a?ref=shop_home_active_2
i never thought to look at etsy for amps. Cool
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Try an OTL. Bass will actually make you think it's SS. Transcendent has a few in that wattage range.
https://www.transcendentsound.com/products-.html
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For SS amps, I find that the pure class A First Watt amps are very good, if you can DIY at all they are almost unbeatable.
Tyson, didn't you write that you liked the Folsom as much or more than the First Watt? Am I remembering that wrong?
Gustavo, have you heard the amp you cited?
Greyhound, Can you say more? At quadriple the price of a Dodd or 15X the price of the Folsom, what does it do better?
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I find the little Dodd 6qb5 amps throw a monster sound stage. The Folsom amps have detail in spades with no fatigue-- really amazing amounts of detail. They also have excellent bass control.
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Don't forget the AVA Ultravalve. It has solid state bass and nice highs. Plenty of power and a beautiful build. Tone Audio did a nice review that sums up what I hear, except he can express it much better than I can.
https://avahifi.com/collections/tube-power-amplifiers/products/ultravalve-vacuum-tube-amplifier (https://avahifi.com/collections/tube-power-amplifiers/products/ultravalve-vacuum-tube-amplifier)
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We are throwing out a lot of amps, but little discussion of them. What do you like about them? What did they replace and how are they better?
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Tyson, didn't you write that you liked the Folsom as much or more than the First Watt? Am I remembering that wrong?
Gustavo, have you heard the amp you cited?
Greyhound, Can you say more? At quadriple the price of a Dodd or 15X the price of the Folsom, what does it do better?
I did try out the Folsom out, and it was very impressive sounding and I gave a sort of "hot take" of how it sounded. After listening to it a bit longer, I actually down rated it quite a bit (it was hyper detailed but very in-your-face sounding). Overall the First Watt F5 I had at the time ended up sounding better (a lot better) to me, and then when I built the First Watt Burning Amp 3 (BA3), well it spanked BOTH the Folsom AND the F5. I've heard several other First Watt designs, they are all quite good in their various ways. But for my tastes the BA3 is the home-run product of the FW amps.
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I'll say a little more - Danny's designs are deceptive. You think that they are built to a budget, and thus will err on the side of 'musical' and that is not actually the case.
His designs (regardless of price) are all pretty much dead on neutral and highly transparent. They sound good with budget gear, but scale up extraordinarily well with more refined amps and front end electronics. Which is why they mate so amazingly well with good tube gear. Because of their easy load, neutral but lively sound, and incredible transparency, you hear everything.
His designs are NOT analytical sounding, but they aren't warm sounding either (IME). Which means a nice little class D amp can sound very good. But it will still be bested by quality tubes or quality class A SS amps.
Part of that is personal taste, too. I've never heard a class D amp I've liked better than even a moderately good SS amp, and of course you know that I'm a big time tube lover so even the best SS isn't as good as moderately good tubes IMO. The problem with tubes is that they just don't sound good on difficult to drive speakers. And that's why I am such a fan of Danny's designs, they allow you to hear with a good tube amp is actually capable of.
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I did try out the Folsom out, and it was very impressive sounding and I gave a sort of "hot take" of how it sounded. After listening to it a bit longer, I actually down rated it quite a bit (it was hyper detailed but very in-your-face sounding). Overall the First Watt F5 I had at the time ended up sounding better (a lot better) to me, and then when I built the First Watt Burning Amp 3 (BA3), well it spanked BOTH the Folsom AND the F5. I've heard several other First Watt designs, they are all quite good in their various ways. But for my tastes the BA3 is the home-run product of the FW amps.
I could see how the Folsom could be called "in your face" due to the high detail. There is a reason I use my larger Dodd (6L6GC amp) in the cooler months, but was having a hard time describing why I was partial to it. It's more a difference in style than one being flawed compared to the other.
I should also say that my Folsom is not exactly stock. Jeremy did some modifications that make some differences.
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Not heard this amp, but 5W will demand a very efficient speaker.
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I could see how the Folsom could be called "in your face" due to the high detail. There is a reason I use my larger Dodd (6L6GC amp) in the cooler months, but was having a hard time describing why I was partial to it. It's more a difference in style than one being flawed compared to the other.
Yes, the Folsom does that - everything is pushed forward, toward you. It's an exciting sound. But one that I found fatiguing over time (and also annoying because I've come to love depth in the soundstage). If I listened to mainly rock, the Folsom might be a great little amp. But for me, the much greater level of refinement, tonal balance, depth, etc... all make the First Watt amps just better. Of course they are also HOT and probably not great for a home in the summer if cooling is an issue :)
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We are throwing out a lot of amps, but little discussion of them. What do you like about them? What did they replace and how are they better?
Regarding the Ultravalve, it didn't replace anything, it was just another addition and is the most powerful tube amp I've owned. Unless your speakers are in the mid-90's and easily driven, the flea watt stuff is cool, but dynamics and bass suffer. I love Eddie Vaughn's Carina and a big fan of EL84s (especially the '58-'59 Amperex "d" getters) if you have an application for it.
Check out the Tone review to see if the AVA could be of interest. Also, AVA lowered the price from $1999 to $1599.
http://www.tonepublications.com/review/ava-ultravalve-vacuum-tube-amplifier/ (http://www.tonepublications.com/review/ava-ultravalve-vacuum-tube-amplifier/)
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Tyson
I've owned Aleph J and F5 clones ...'really liked the F5.
Wondering if you've heard an F6 or F7 and how they sound
compared to others in the First Watt family?
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OHenry-- Absolutely. Speakers have to be a match. A 15 watt amp can do great things on a 92 dB efficient speaker and be completely inadequate on a 88 dB one. My Dodd 6qb5 amps are great on a pair of X-Statics, but are insufficient on a pair of N2x. My LS9's need hundreds of watts. My old Altec Valencias and need only a couple of flea sized watts. Every set of speakers I own work best with a different amp--- or so I tell my wife :D.
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Yes, the Folsom does that - everything is pushed forward, toward you. It's an exciting sound. But one that I found fatiguing over time (and also annoying because I've come to love depth in the soundstage). If I listened to mainly rock, the Folsom might be a great little amp. But for me, the much greater level of refinement, tonal balance, depth, etc... all make the First Watt amps just better. Of course they are also HOT and probably not great for a home in the summer if cooling is an issue :)
It's really interesting to see how the 7297 changes from setup to setup. Danny Richie thinks my version is too laid back in the higher frequencies. And some people have preferred it more than the F5, or as just different (all like it more than the ACA). I've actually come to realize how useful it is at diagnosing a system because it simply is not immune to problems up the line, or with the speaker/room/diffraction. The one area it's pretty good at is noise from the AC. So it has merit in the regard of how it shows you a lot, but might make you work a little bit more to tune things in.
Overall at times it can certainly be a bit more forward, but I think it's more realistic that way. I wish you would have heard it after the mod with the binding posts. There have been a few improvements.
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I use Manley Mahi mono blocks with my OB-5s. They run 14 - 41W depending upon how you configure them. Ultralinear or Triode and 3 different feedback configurations. I personally have them set Triode with minimum feedback and this gets me 14W which is plenty for the OB-5s.
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Well I am in the midst of building a whole bunch of amp in this wattage range. I have boards for an First Watt M2, 2-Mod-86, and 2 Folsom amps. I am still collecting parts for the amps. I will see how they compare with my 5W Pass ACA monoblocks. The ACA's work OK for my 90db Boston Acoustics HD-9 speakers in my room at my listening levels. I am planning to change to Jordon Eikonia 2 MLTL speakers which will be less efficient, so we will see how well it works together.
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It's funny, the Pass ACA works better for me than the F5 with Hornshoppe Horns. I use a Hornshoppe Truth preamp with them and they are impressive little guys. I preordered the new single chassis ACA just to see if there are any improvements. The ACA is a great little wonder IMO and has that great class a sound.
Small class d and chip amps scare me as historically they've hurt my ears and the two dimensional sound stage is a turn off. I haven't heard the little Folsom amp, so it must be something special. All the enthusiasm can't be misplaced.
It's all about synergy as usual...
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My amp doesn't do well with the Horn Shoppe Horns.
They do best with low feedback it seems.
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Numbers don't tell the whole story. I had surprising success with a 7 wpc Tripath on 90 dB/w/m floor-standers (rated 30-20,000 Hz, 8 ohms, single driver), but bumping up to 40 watt mono-blocks turned them from polite dinner guests into NFL linebackers in tuxedos. regardless the amp needs to provide a commanding grip on the speakers to improve resolution and develop the full potential out of the speakers.
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I’m with Angaria (Reply #5): “Try an OTL.”
I have Danny’s open-baffle LS-9s (with a 3-stack of 12” servo subs per side) powered by Atma-Sphere monoblocks and the great sound I’m getting from my vinyl-based system now has ruined my hobby. I no longer sleep in a tent next to my mailbox waiting for the latest issues of Stereophile and Absolute sound. I no longer have a “hot-line” for tweaks. I haven’t seen my analyst for months (even though I still hear the “voices”). My wife even agreed to let me have the audiophilia-nervosa detector/transmitter she insisted on surgically removed. Now - - are you sitting down? - - I JUST LISTEN TO MUSIC.
Gasp! Where did I go wrong? I have abandoned a hobby that has been a major sustaining life force for over sixty years. “Oh, he’ll be back,” my friends say smugly. I don’t think so. I believe I have arrived at a point where I am source-limited. I cannot even imagine how my system could be improved. “What if I . . . ?” NO! “But just a little more . . . “ UH-UH! “Maybe I should try to . . .” FORGET IT!
There is a problem, though. One of these days - - probably in the next 5 years or so - - my wife and I will have to move into a graduated care facility. Just no way to beat the actuarial tables. So I’m looking to assemble a smaller system (no headphones yet, please) based on solid-state amplification, digital downloads, and streaming. But that’s the ONLY reason I’m still looking. So you’ll still see me at the Rocky Mountain Audiofest (I live in Colorado) and I’ll still do system hops with audio buddies. And I'll still be checking in at Audio Circle.
But, you know what? Just listening to music ain’t so bad. You guys should try it sometime.
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How about a new little 40 watter? That is only 2db more than a 25 watter. My buddy Rex called me yesterday about a new Burson Bang amp for $600 where you can roll op amps instead of tubes to get the flavor you want. From now till the end of this month you can get 20% off sale if you use the code opasale. It sounds very interesting. Includes a 30 day money back guarantee. :thumb:
Also, you can add op amps for the 20% off sale.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/bang/
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It might be a class A B but the thing about it is you're still using a switch mode power supply. It probably is decent.
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Yes specs say its Class AB, it need a preamp too, resistors are 1% :thumb:
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Over in Cheap and Cheerful they are talking about TPA3251/55 based amps which have more power. Have any of you all sampled these designs? I'm always inclined to go for more power if possible.
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Yes specs say its Class AB, it need a preamp too, resistors are 1% :thumb:
You can also add their Play to the Bang for $999 total for both pieces less 20% till the end of June. The Play is a 2 watt Class A headphone amp-pre-DAC with remote control.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/play/
For the Bang+Fun-$849 less 20%. Fun is a Play without the DAC and remote.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/
Free shipping and 30 day guarantee is included.
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I'd like to provide a little additional information on the Folsom amp. I think there can be a lot of variation in the performance from build to build. For instance, I started testing these chips early on thanks to Scott Clark. I started out listening to one of these cheap assemblies using a Chinese copy of the chip:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Digital-Amplifier-Stereo-Audio-12V-Amp-Board-15W-15W-Dual-Channel-Speak-Car/183256353617?hash=item2aaaee0b51:g:738AAOSw0lVbDYw~
I think you can find versions for under $4.00 still.
It sounded okay, and I could tell there was a lot of potential. But it wasn't anything super incredible. After I stripped everything off of it and used high quality wire and connectors it was completely different.
These chips are super transparent and sound like whatever you feed them. They really lack their own signature. It's everything else that gives them a specific character or sound.
So back to the Folosm amp. The boards, chips, and implementation are excellent. If building more of them I'd go with his kits over the cheap Chinese amps that you can buy on E-bay that use the same chip number. But again not all builds will be the same. Choice of input coupling caps, wire, connectors, and everything that goes into the build will have an effect. So not all builds will in any way be equal. Like most amps I get much different results with different power cables, Uber Buss in the system, balanced power supplies, etc. Everything matters.
I did feel like the top end on this one that I built out was a little softer than the mono-blocks I made using the amps from E-bay. But I think it was because of one of two things. 1) It could be because I used an input coupling cap with the Folsom amp and with my amps there was no coupling cap used. My pre-amp has 3.3uF Jupiter caps in the output and a .047uF Sonicap (for high pass filtering) on one output. So with the Folsom amp there are two coupling caps in the path. I'd like to try by-passing the coupling cap and hear what happens. Mine aren't stable with the 3.3uF output coupling caps of my pre-amp, but are fine with the smaller .047uF caps. The Folsom amp might be fine on the 3.3uF Coupling caps. I don't know. 2) Or it could be that the Folsom amp will continue to open up on the top end when the Sonicap Platinum caps have burned in longer.
I didn't find it at all forward or in my face. It was very smooth and had a nice sound stage. It is fast though and has very sharp detail though. But if I plugged it straight into the wall with a cheap power cable then that might all change.
With my Super-7 speakers I may actually prefer the sound of my small tube amps with some music as the Super-7's are also super fast and have very sharp detail. There is a lot to be said for system matching. My recommendation is to borrow or try all that you can and decide what works best for your system. And I highly recommend giving the Folsom amp a try. As cheap as it is to build, build one for the fun of it, and keep it around as point of reference. It might even stay in your system.
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You can also add their Play to the Bang for $999 total for both pieces less 20% till the end of June. The Play is a 2 watt Class A headphone amp-pre-DAC with remote control.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/play/
For the Bang+Fun-$849 less 20%. Fun is a Play without the DAC and remote.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/
Free shipping and 30 day guarantee is included.
Considering price/value ratio the Odyssey Cyclops is the great winner at just 1K usd.
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When you say “smallish amps” are you referring to physical size as well as wattage output?
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That Odyssey amp is quite big. The Burson is a fairly new design, some here might like to try a new breed. Does the Cyclops include a DAC? Price is now $1095. Any 30 day return policy?
The Odyssey is 110 WPC, not small in power either.
http://www.odysseyaudio.com/products-cyclops.html
And no remote or headphone amp? Free shipping?
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Too good the Cyclops dont include a DAC,
but 110W is too much power to my 94dB FR.
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I've had such a good experience w/the 2 watt SET amp I have with the Super 7's, that I just bought a 20 watt SET amp. Which is funny because I don't actually feel like I ever ran out of power with the 2 watter. But I can't let go of the idea that I "might" run out of power out of my head, and being the compulsive audiophile that I am, decided that a 20 watt amp SET is going to let me chillax a bit during loud/heavy parts of the music :banana piano: :rock:
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When you say “smallish amps” are you referring to physical size as well as wattage output?
What I had in mind was the group of small wattage amps, just bigger than the flea watt crowd. The little SET three or four watt amps get a lot of discussion, but the next group up seems to be overlooked. I was kinda wondering why. My Dodd 14 watt 6qb5 amps do a lot of things right, but they are in a power range that doesn't get much discussion. Simply asking what others experience is.
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I also have a mania for wanting things big, so I decided a 6C33 SE was perfect to my needs :scratch:
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I also have a mania for wanting things big, so I decided a 6C33 SE was perfect to my needs :scratch:
Hey, me too!! I bought the Almarra 318B that uses this exact tube.
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What I had in mind was the group of small wattage amps, just bigger than the flea watt crowd. The little SET three or four watt amps get a lot of discussion, but the next group up seems to be overlooked. I was kinda wondering why. My Dodd 14 watt 6qb5 amps do a lot of things right, but they are in a power range that doesn't get much discussion. Simply asking what others experience is.
I’ve had really great experience with the 30 watt First Watt designs. I’ve always felt the Decware amps would be a good match, too. Or the SEP Fire Bottle designs tha Dennis Had has been kicking out lately.
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My buddy Rex owned a Pass J2 amp but switched to the Rossi LIO. Since then he bought the DAC SMT int. with the 36v PSU. The SMT is his favorite of all time. SMT was going to be put in his desktop system, but he made a mistake hooking up to his main system. It puts out about 40-50 wpc with the 36v PSU. Rex is now seriously thinking about trying this Burson Bang amp with the 20% off special. My friend maybe a little obsessive, but he loves this hobby. :thumb:
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What I had in mind was the group of small wattage amps, just bigger than the flea watt crowd. The little SET three or four watt amps get a lot of discussion, but the next group up seems to be overlooked. I was kinda wondering why. My Dodd 14 watt 6qb5 amps do a lot of things right, but they are in a power range that doesn't get much discussion. Simply asking what others experience is.
Ok got it...Last Feb I picked up a pair of ANK 300b SET Interstage mono blocks 8w. Very nice sounding amps that sound great with my horns.
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.............Or the SEP Fire Bottle designs that Dennis Had has been kicking out lately.
FWIW
Mostly SET for quite a while now.
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A bit out of the power range (these are approx 30 wpc) but there's been a few other's posted here.... Don's contemplating on selling thise K&K Audio 6C33C Set Mono's, Kevin mentions in the following thread they are the best pair he's built.
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=146403.msg1566535#msg1566535
jay
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(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=181683)
S. Clark, I bought this 6 Watt SEP from Frank at Triode Labs (Canada). It uses a pair of EL84's, 12AX7 driver tube and 5AR4 rectifier. It is hand-made with an auto-biasing feature, large Hashimoto transformers and a verity of Mundorf caps (all the fix'ns). I use it to drive a pair of Audio Nirvana 15", Alnico, full range speakers. It's a great combination and fills my room with punchy, accurate sound.
link... http://www.finaleaudio.com/new-page-2/
-Dieter
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I should add the Wolf Ear Audio Kitoki V2 Single End tube amp from Canada. The 2 watter sounded incredible here. The V2 is the newer 5 watter.
https://www.wolfearaudio.ca/products/kitoki-v2-0-5w-single-ended-stereo-amplifier?variant=38476967233
Product Description
5W, Class A Single Ended Stereo Amplifier
All our amplifiers are hand-made with great care and are point-to-point wired.
This amplifier is very minimalist and is made using only the best parts and great design, such as Teflon coupling caps and a stepped attenuator (built in-house) that comes standard with every Kitoki.
It's because of this that the Kitoki is so fast, natural and honest sounding.
Use it with your favorite high-sensitivity speakers with this amp!
Some more info on the design
This amp comes standard with a series-type stepped attenuator (made by us), which is leagues ahead of any potentiometer in terms of noise and accuracy.
The driver tube is a single, very linear 6N6P tube with active loading for maximized gain and linearity!
The output tube uses the EL84/6P15P-EV/6P14P-EV types with a constant current output stage for lowest distortion and consistent results over the lifetime of the tube.
Teflon capacitors are used to couple the driver to the output stages. These come standard with all Kitoki amplifiers. There are no upgrade options for this.
This amp also doesn't use any feedback loops, so the sound is very natural and open.
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(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=181683)
S. Clark, I bought this 6 Watt SEP from Frank at Triode Labs (Canada). It uses a pair of EL84's, 12AX7 driver tube and 5AR4 rectifier. It is hand-made with an auto-biasing feature, large Hashimoto transformers and a verity of Mundorf caps (all the fix'ns). I use it to drive a pair of Audio Nirvana 15", Alnico, full range speakers. It's a great combination and fills my room with punchy, accurate sound.
link... http://www.finaleaudio.com/new-page-2/
That's a nice looking amp and I am a fan of Hashimoto transformers (I have the similar 203U outputs on my SET) but they really don't cut it as a value proposition. $3,500 for this amp is pricy when you can get Dennis Had's latest version of his Inspire Universal for less than half that, even when specifying boutique parts. He doesn't use Hashimoto's, choosing custom-wound outputs instead.
-Dieter
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Also Dennis have a option of bigger output transformers,
for some extra value that I would like to know :scratch:
Know his best feature is not the good sound it certainly has but the many tubes his amps can use.
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My only experiences with low wattage power are the following:
Final Music 6 op chip based battery powered amp, 10 watts per channel.
Bakoon Audio AM12R SS with separate power supply, 15 watts per channel.
and while a little bit more powerful,
Lejonklou audio Boazu integrated, 40 watts/channel.
And these are mostly SS low wattage things, I do have other 2 SET amps, which are not getting the proper pay.
There is something inherently right about low wattage SS stuff...in terms speed, accuracy and excitement..and strangely enough I do get enough of the "body" that most people associate with tube gear.
Another thing that is essential is the pairing with the right/adequate loudspeaker. :thumb:
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What do you guys think about this? http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/318102-aksa-lender-mos-hybrid-aleph-alpha-amplifier.html (http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/318102-aksa-lender-mos-hybrid-aleph-alpha-amplifier.html)
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Rex has given the Burson Bang amp :thumb: :thumb:. He says it has a very large soundstage while being very musical and detailed. Rex is using the Classic 6 opamp in it.
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I find Danny's approach of relatively high efficiency, simple crossovers and easy loads really allows tube amps to shine. So much so, that I've got a 2 watt 45 SET amp in my system right now and I realize that I just don't need the 42 watts that my VTA ST70 Octal provides (as awesome as it is, I'll probably end up selling it).
For SS amps, I find that the pure class A First Watt amps are very good, if you can DIY at all they are almost unbeatable.
Could not agree more. Lately my findings have included several Integrated designs fitting Tyson's findings. K.I.S.S. Tyson try a "50" tube compared to"45" you may be surprised.
charles
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It may not be that familiar in the USA, but the Valvet Audio E2 single-ended class A amplifier is worth checking out:
http://valvet.de/portfolio-item/stereoendstufe-e2/?lang=en
See this review in 10audio:
http://www.10audio.com/valvet-e2.htm
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Could not agree more. Lately my findings have included several Integrated designs fitting Tyson's findings. K.I.S.S. Tyson try a "50" tube compared to"45" you may be surprised.
charles
Might have to wait a couple years for new audio toys. Getting divorced (and paying alimony) sucks.
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Might have to wait a couple years for new audio toys. Getting divorced (and paying alimony) sucks.
There's no way that fits MMM. Ouch. Sorry, man.
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Might have to wait a couple years for new audio toys. Getting divorced (and paying alimony) sucks.
Wow. That's a tough blow. Sorry to hear this.
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Wow. That's a tough blow. Sorry to hear this.
Thanks man. The money part sucks, but having the family split up is even worse. But, apparently I get zero say in any of this. So here we are.
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Really sorry to hear this Tyson, the hardest part is not having a say in it. I can't imagine the additional pain of children being part of the equation.
Hang in there, it will get better in time.
Greg
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Double post, sorry.
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I’ve had really great experience with the 30 watt First Watt designs. I’ve always felt the Decware amps would be a good match, too. Or the SEP Fire Bottle designs tha Dennis Had has been kicking out lately.
The Decware Torii is an incredible amp. They play way above their price point and are dead quiet. I parked my 120 watt tubes amps and have enjoyed the 25 watt Decware Torii and just have no desire to go back at this point. Great bass from a tube amp too. For tube rollers, the Decware likes numerous tubes, so a fun amp to have. IMO........
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Really sorry to hear this Tyson, the hardest part is not having a say in it. I can't imagine the additional pain of children being part of the equation.
Hang in there, it will get better in time.
Greg
Thanks man. I really appreciate it.
There's no way that fits MMM. Ouch. Sorry, man.
Well, thanks to MMM we actually have assets to divvy up. Before we would have only had debts. Still it sucks when I put in 80% of the money to the mortgage AND towards savings/investing AND paid all living expenses, I still only get half. Seems downright unfair. But Colorado doesn't give a shit who paid or who didn't, it's what they call a "no fault" divorce state, so there's a basic formula that's followed with very little care about mitigating circumstances. For example, alimony - I owe her 40% of my salary for several years because I make a lot and she doesn't. Not because she was a stay at home mom. In fact I was a stay at home dad more than she was a stay at home mom. It's because she's launched (and failed/quit) 6 different careers since I've known her. But the courts don't care. They just take a machete and lop off my future earnings.
It feels especially shitty because it feels like I did everything right and I still get screwed. For a decision I don't agree with and that I have no power to change.
And sorry for thread crapping. Maybe a moderator can split off my last few posts & put them in the Personal touch area under a "Divorce Sucks" thread :lol:
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I will tell you that you're doing a billion times better than my uncle, and millions of times better than my friend in LA... It's not fun, it's not good, but I guess be happy that it isn't ugly as hell... cause then you'd be telling us about her blowing up your car's engine, slashing tires, etc...
Sad fact of the matter is that these days women are given the impression separation is highly advisable on a whim. The short-sightedness of it often comes back to haunt them. My mother has dreams about wanting to live in the house I grew up in with my father until X age where she split. She went off and had a career, good one, but now craves the comfort in her dreams that she so willingly tossed aside.
The laws around divorce (varies state to state greatly) and the roll back of effectual prenuptial agreements (many states) has left me as a younger guy thinking 1. I won't get married. 2. She has to either have her own apartment or job, which ever stops alimony/palimony. It's really screwed up because I really like the idea of getting married, but basically the benefits of getting married in the past only apply to being single these days. (except taxes, UUGH)
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Might have to wait a couple years for new audio toys. Getting divorced (and paying alimony) sucks.
Has your wife checked her hormones lately? I know this sounds crazy, but I now know that female hormones, if not balanced, will make any woman go off the deep end. I saw it with my mom, my ex, and the woman I am currently married to. As we get older, hormones play a huge difference in our well being and our relationships.
Male hormones can also be a problem. Nobody is exempt to that. A hormone check on both parties is a lot cheaper than a divorce.
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I paid alimony for years, then child support for another 10 after.
I had the same feelings that you have now back then.
It sucks .....its not fair.....I'm getting screwed....
Fast forward 30 yrs......new outlook,best investment I ever made.
Been with my new wife for 22 years now......rocks.
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Child support is fine. Kids are good. It is the rewards package for women that is a problem... Why not get divorced?...
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Marriage - it's all a big fake :duh:
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I don't believe in love. I don't believe in marriage.
But I do believe in lust!!! :green:
Gene
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Now its too late, I had marriage in 1985 :duh: and paid alimony 10 years.
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I am so sorry Tyson. I know the pain that comes from an unwanted divorce and it is devastating. Can I suggest you seek out wise friends and or counselors that you can share your heart with?
Don't isolate yourself, and don't surround yourself with voices that encourage bitterness.
I wish I could hug you and tell you exactly what you need to hear. Since I can't, I pray that those you love and trust will be able to do just that.
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+1 for Tyson support during stressful times. Been there done that (27 years ago). I Picked much better on the second round. :thumb:
As for small amps. Some truth with the theory. Less out put devices, tubes or solid state = less chances for distortion before clipping. Good designers can compensate with device matching, differential circuits etc. but good clean power takes both talent and money for parts. No cheating that.
I found a happpy place with about 80 Watts into 8ohms and two way 96db loudspeakers. Shocking dynamics at my place indeed. One of the best amps I have in the family is an older bipolar Pass design (forte 1A). Runs hot as a toaster oven though. It has shocked everyone who has ever heard it. There is hardly any parts in the thing, but they are all good sounding parts.
Most of the newer small stuff has not impressed me. Need a stiff power supply no matter how many volts on the rails. That costs money these days.