A Proud New AKSA 100N+ Owner....My Journey!!!

lonewolfny42 · « **on:** 8 Dec 2004, 09:14 am »

Hello All,

It started back on

Jan. 23rd. when I posted my question to owners of the AKSA asking about this amp that I kept reading about. How does it sound ? Is it better than what I own now ? Would it be a wise purchase ? What is it's weakness ? Rocket/Rod helped me along first. Carlman/Carl commented futher about it virtues. I was very interested....but I wanted to hear it for myself. JohnR responds...it's a kit , you have to build it, nobody sends one around... have any *kit* manufacturers done such a thing? . I could not build it, but I could listen to one if one were built. And I was sure others in the U.S. would be interested too !!! And I'd pay to have it shipped back and forth to me from Australia. Hugh Dean was nice enough to consider my request !!! (I think he liked the part about me paying for round trip shipping....seem to remember "that's a corker"

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From that thread the US Audition Tour became a reality. I was the first to listen thanks to both Hugh and Occam/Paul. A quick trip to Brooklyn, and Paul's home, and the AKSA was in my system....it sounded great !!! I finally got to hear what everyone was raving about....and they were right....an excellent amp!!! Now others across the USA are hearing it for themselves....I like that !!!

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build an AKSA. Wonder how long it takes.... what tools I need...I don't have the time or the skills....who could build it for me ? Well with the combined efforts of both Hugh and Carl, the AKSA was built for me. And as they say, the rest is history. It's sounding great in my system...a journey that I'm happy I took.

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BIG THANK YOU to Carl. He offered to send me his AKSA. He built the AKSA I now own. He tweeked it and broke it in for me....and it sounds very, very good !! He's done a lot....THANK YOU !![/list:u]

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Rocket · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 12:00 pm »

Hi Chris,

I'm just glad you like the aksa amplifier. I think the biggest problem with an aksa is that you have to have electronic skills which people like you and i don't possess.

If you have these skills then you should do yourself a favour and build one.

I would also like to express my gratitude to carlman for helping you to complete the finishing touches of your amplifier (i even bought his bugle phonstage from him

). Carl is a top person and i would like to see him posting reviews again

regardless of what he states.

Regards

Rocket

Occam · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 02:34 pm »

WHAT!!! No baby pictures??????

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Lovely.
Congratulations, and kudos to Carl.

Rom · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 02:52 pm »

Hi Lone/Carl,

Congratulations! very nicely done and with a group effort behind it.

Cheers
rom

Carlman · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 03:40 pm »

Wow! I was really hoping Chris would like it. I must say, Hugh did a lot for me. He also kept his work very neat and I simply followed suit and added a few touches.

The most surprising revelation was how much better the Cardas RCA jacks sounded compared to the ones that come stock with the kit. The imaging got a little more accurate and the sound seemed a little richer or fuller...

I used Tara Labs Phase 2 cable for the output wiring, ERS around the torroids, and some sound-deadening material in strategic places. The noise floor is very low. I don't know how but LW's amp sounds about 2% better than mine. I'm going to take mine apart and redo a few things, though. In particular, I'm going to bypass the binding posts with the Tara cable. It sounds the best to me of all I've tried. I'm also going to better insulate the RCA jacks.

I learned a few neat tricks on this build. I really appreciated that. Just add it to the long list of things I appreciate from "Loanwolf"/Chris.

Thanks for the thanks... I'm super-happy you're enjoying it.

-Carl

P.S. No worries, Rod... Reviews will come when I get more time/gear/money/etc...

AKSA · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 09:52 pm »

My warm congratulations to Carl, as Father of the Bride (with apologies to Steve Martin and Nelson Pass). He did a wonderful job of finishing the AKSA 100W N+ for Chris - thanks Carl.

And Chris, congratulations on your recent christening, let's hope you continue to love the sound of the AKSA, and keep it in your stable for decades to come!

Ah, I'm feeling happy! Time for a strong coffee!

Cheers,

Hugh

Rhythm Willie · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 11:21 pm »

Speaking of coffee, thanks Hugh for those strong ones at your local cafe' when I visited you in Melbourne in August - I don't think I slept for the next 2 days.

Just noticed on the picture of Lonewolf's amp there are some "shields" on the circuit board side of the trannies and an earth lead from star earth to one of the heatsinks. Just wondering what these 2 things do.

AKSA · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Dec 2004, 11:46 pm »

Hi Dennis,

Ah, yes, strong coffee and smiling people, the principle joys of life!

A ferrous shield around the transformers blocks propagation of an electromagnetic field during operation. Note that it must be ferrous; aluminium is not acceptable. This is really only necessary at high power outputs, however, when the amp is making a LOT of noise anyway, and probably doesn't do too much in the way of hum reduction!

The wire from star earth to heatsink is optional; this daisy chains to the mains earth. Sometimes the amp is quieter with this connection, sometimes without. If without, the amp is effectively double insulated, which is the standard earthing mode for many power tools, kitchen appliances, and hospital electronics.

Cheers,

Hugh

nature boy · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 01:57 am »

Chris and Carl,

Congratulations on the nuptials and the birth of your bouncing new Nirvana + amplifier. It could not have happened to a nicer couple. Can cloning to create a pair of monoblocks be possible in the not too distant future?

Happy holidays and Chris enjoy your new amp. I am sure it sounds just lovely with that new Juicy Music Blueberry preamp.

NB

JoshK · « **Reply #9 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 02:22 am »

Ok, I have a Q that I am sure has been answered before....so I am lame.

Can the power supply board be sawed in half to make monoblocks out of the AKSA 100s? I have envisioned in my head a design (for which i have all the parts) that will make Blue Circle like mono's.

U4EA · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 02:28 am »

I would bet I will be building one after the audition.

Where did you get the metal around the transformers from? FRS? Seems a bit specialized.

JoshK · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 02:32 am »

it isnt' metal actually I think he is using ERS cloth....check out cryotweak's site (here on AC) for more info on the stuff.

fred · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 03:19 am »

Quote

Can the power supply board be sawed in half to make monoblocks out of the AKSA 100s?

Yep. This has been done.

Al Garay · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 05:19 am »

Josh,

That's what I have. It's great for short speaker cables. No capacitance issues.

Al

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 06:40 am »

Thank you all for the warm wishes !!!

Chris[/list:u]

Rom · « **Reply #15 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 02:46 pm »

Hi JoshK

Quote

Ok, I have a Q that I am sure has been answered before....so I am lame. Can the power supply board be sawed in half to make monoblocks out of the AKSA 100s? I have envisioned in my head a design (for which i have all the parts) that will make Blue Circle like mono's.

Answer is yes

Cheers
rom

Lost81 · « **Reply #16 on:** 9 Dec 2004, 03:07 pm »

Yes.

When I ordered mine, Hugh possessed enough free time at his hands to saw them in half for me.

A simple hacksaw will do the job easily.

You will need to drill a hole for your star ground thereafter, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

You might have to drill additional holes to hold down the PS assembly as well. It is better that you drill them BEFORE you start soldering (to avoid the possibility of mechanical stress to the PCB board during the drilling process which might create bad solder joints).

TAKE NOTE that the polarity of the DC rail outputs of the separated halves of the PCB may be reversed even though their component layout look identical. As such, the wiring of side labeled "2" may be the opposite of side labeled "1."

Make sure that you observe the polarity marks indicated on the PCBs before connecting the internal chassis wires.

Hooking up the power rails in reverse fashion will prove to be costly as many of the electrolytic capacitors on the AKSA 100W are polarized types

Good luck!

Cheers,
-Lost81

soitstarts · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 Dec 2004, 11:31 am »

Quote from: Lost81

You will need to drill a hole for your star ground thereafter, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

Do you have to drill a separate hole or can you just utilise one of the common spades that sit on the same track? I have 1 full board and 1 half board for a 3 channel system. I was thinking of bridging the 2 common tracks between the boards and still just using 1 star Earth. Is this possible? I hope so..

I cut mine with NUMEROUS scores with a stanley knife. I have just finished building a shed out of Hardiplank and old habits die hard...