[Florian]

Well i had/have a very very busy week/end. I currently have the Son of Ampzilla here together with the top of the line Vacuumstate RB300 and the top of the line preamplifier here in my home trying them on the RM30.

The Ampzilla is definetly the most WAF friendly amplifier and comes in a cool Star Trek like Blue or Black. The sound is very smooth and milky, very much like a tube with much power. It is not as detailed as the Krell but just makes music and has a great rythm and is for the 4.6K€ definetly a very good buy.

The Vacuumstate RB300b and the Realtime Preamp which cost 24K€ all together (12K Pre and 12K for 2 monos) sound very good and funny enough the 18 tube watts can drive the RM30 pretty darn loud with incredible detail, smoothness and bass. But of course 24K is not a bargain for a mortal person so i look at it from the "purist" point of view.

The Pathos for 2K is a wonderfull unit which is a little warmer than the Ampzilla and just sounds like a very pretty Italien babe  The optics and sound are far better than any 2K amp that i know and he is definetly a great contender.

The mighty Krell has the most details out of all of them and the most brute and controlled force. It is also the most unfriendly WAF amp from the all. He sounds quite analytical and cold, but it really depends on your taste. For a 12 yr old amp this thing is pretty darn good. (and it drives Scintilla's)

Sound Rating:

1. Vacuumstate Equipment  96%   24000EUR  (Pre amp and 2 monos)
2. Son of Ampzilla 90%   4600EUR (power amp single)
3. Pathos Classic One 2000EUR 80% (integrated hybrid)
4. Krell KSA-150 (2000$ used) 80%

Value Rating:

1. Pathos Acoustics Classic One
2. Son of Ampzilla
3. Krell KSA-150
4. Vacuumstate Electronics

-Flo

PS: This is what i think of all of them so far.


!!!! The Son of Ampzilla will drive a 1ohm load with a spk of 74db to about 80-90db range !!!!!

[Florian]

My decision will be between the Pathos and the Ampzilla. But so far i lean towards the Pathos becuase of the Hum in the Ampzilla and the price performance ratio.

-Flo

[zybar]

Well i had/have a very very busy week/end. I currently have the Son of Ampzilla here together with the top of the line Vacuumstate RB300 and the top of the line preamplifier here in my home trying them on the RM30.

The Ampzilla is definetly the most WAF friendly amplifier and comes in a cool Star Trek like Blue or Black. The sound is very smooth and milky, very much like a tube with much power. It is not as detailed as the Krell but just makes music and has a great rythm and is for the 4.6K€ definetly a ...

Ampzilla with the highest WAF?

Never thought I would hear that...

George

[Florian]

Well, hehe compared to all the other ones. Women like Blue here in europe and the Krell looks like some orkish device from Lord of the Rings. The Pathos looks like a nice italien babe and the Vacuumstate looks like an old Accuphase.

-Flo

[Bingenito]

Florian I have to agree with Zybar. I considered the Ampzilla but I could not get past the cheap wanna be Star Trek logo. Trying to fit that into a nicely decorated room and not having the woman complain would not be a trival task.

Hell that thing is so ugly I would not want it in my system woman or not.  

The Pathos Mono Blocks at HE2005 were very nice. Too bad they are only 80 watts. It is also too bad that they did not have them connected to speakers that would showcase their qualities.

[ekovalsky]

Florian I have to agree with Zybar. I considered the Ampzilla but I could not get past the cheap wanna be Star Trek logo. Trying to fit that into a nicely decorated room and not having the woman complain would not be a trival task.

Hell that thing is so ugly I would not want it in my system woman or not.  

I hear that!  Had their cosmetics been acceptable  I probably would have purchased two pair of Ampzilla 2k monoblocks when I bought the VMPS.  They are now avialable in black, which helps a little.  Not sure if they can be head without the trekkie yellow Bongiorno logo, if it can be omitted or overpainted they would be passable.  

James would sell more a lot more of these if he made them available in a plain box, like the H20 and Red Dragon ICEpower amps use.  Probably would be cheaper too.

So Florian, you are having hum issues with the 'Zilla ? Probably a ground loop. I'd suggest plugging everything into a balanced power conditioner, but the transformer may restrict current delivery to big amps. You could also trying lifting grounds.

[Brian Cheney]

I currently run a pair of Son of Ampzilla as monoblocks and the sound is much improved over single amp stereo operation.  I also prefer them to a pair of the A2k monoblocks even thought the latter has about 60% more power.

Ampzillas have transformer hum that goes away in a few days or a few weeks.  My four (I also have a pair of monoblocks) are quite silent.

I can't see the front panel of my amps from my listening chair, so cosmetics do not enter into my decisionmaking.  It's silly to make a choice of audio gear based on looks.  Price and performance reign supreme!

Again, IMHO a pair of Sons runs as monoblocks should beat any SS gear regardless of price in naturalness and overall sound quality.  I use the A2k monos as bass amps and surround channels.

[Bingenito]

2 things...

1. I actually asked if I could buy a pair of Son's w/o the stupid brand

2. I agree with Brian that cosmetics should not be a factor but I have to say that this gear is the only audio gear that I would not own because the brand looks so bad it could be on a 3 yr olds toy box.

Eric hit the nail on the head. This amps would sell like crazy if they could be purchased with a plain faceplate.

This is not product bashing but instead I would consider it constructive feedback, the voice of the customer. If the manufacture cares about the customers interests we should be able to buy what we want. After all it is our money.

[KJ]

It's silly to make a choice of audio gear based on looks. Price and performance reign supreme!

Not to all people.  Cars are the best example I can think of.  If a $50K sports car isn't perceived to have high quality, the fact that it has gobs more power and a lower price than a $80K sports car may not be enough to win the sale.  I imagine the same may hold true in audio.  YMMV.

-KJ

[brj]

It's silly to make a choice of audio gear based on looks. Price and performance reign supreme!

If I was fitting out a private, dedicated listening room, I'd agree with that statement almost completely.  (I say "almost" because if I'm shelling out a significant amount of money for any product - audio related or not - I do expect some minimum level of fit and finish, even if it isn't my prime motivator.)

I would hazard a guess, however, that most of us choose, or are forced, to implement their audio system in some sort of shared, multi-purpose room (living room, etc.).  In that scenario, asthetics almost always have a role to play, especially if sharing that living space.

[Florian]

Well i dont think that they look that bad, its actually pretty cool to have equipment thats not like the typical old style. The build quality is pretty darn good actually and the size and heat displacment is also quiet good. I also like the fact that if i have a queation that James himself answeres them.

-Flo

PS: The only thing holding me back a bit is that selling a awsome 3K speaker with "starting electronics prices" of 4.6K is not the best match. Pathos makes their AMPs from 2K to 4K over 5K to 10K so the range is pretty even,

[TheeeChosenOne]

2 things...

1. I actually asked if I could buy a pair of Son's w/o the stupid brand

2. I agree with Brian that cosmetics should not be a factor but I have to say that this gear is the only audio gear that I would not own because the brand looks so bad it could be on a 3 yr olds toy box.

Eric hit the nail on the head. This amps would sell like crazy if they could be purchased with a plain faceplate.

This is not product bashing but instead I would consider it constructive feedback, the voice of th ...

I agree.

Ampzillas are plain FUGLY!!

I'm surprised the designer doesn't get this message loud and clear.  I'm sure he's heard it before.

So why doesn't he listen?  

[shokunin]

Yes.. the Ampzillas are ugly.  I even told John Casler that once I saw the ampzillas in person, that they didn't look as hideous as it does on the SST  website.  

If I ever get around to veneering the faceplate i made for it, I'll take a few pictures of my "extreme makeover" Ampzilla 2000's

[John Casler]

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

No doubt the AMPzillas look "different" than all the silver and brushed aluminum lines out there, but "ugly", "fugly" and whatever are certainly subjective.

Strangely enough, while I hear comments from mostly those who haven't seen the amp, in person, I am actually starting to like the look.

Here is a shot from a meet we had yesterday.

While some might find the appearance "odd" or "ugly", I don't.

And even weirder, is of the 5 women I have "informally polled" what they thought when they saw it, they all said something to the effect of (shoulder shrug) "doesn't bother me"

And two of their husband/boyfriends are either ordering or have ordered the unit!!

[rosconey]

no doubt that jb is a trekie-that amp just says designed by starfleet with its look

i bet the next star trek movie has a set in the captains chambers for capt kirk

[zybar]

Funny how the two people who "like" the looks are the two people who sell the amps...  

For giggles I showed the amp picture to my wife and she just laughed at it.  She thought it was pretty ugly and it would never have a shot being in the open outside of my dedicated space in "her" house.

George

[Sedona Sky Sound]

I think the US contingecy on this board seems to be missing a very important point: Ampzillas are sold all over the world and the US sense of style can be very different from the rest of the world.  For every amp sold in the US, James probably sells 50 in Asia. In many of these countries, a solid silver faceplate would be considered the FUGLY one. The current faceplates are definitely a combination of James' unique sense of style and what he knows sells in his target consumer markets.

I asked James a few years back why he did not change the looks for the US market. The answer was basically simple: it cost too much to have multiple parts made (and thus the reason why even the black face-plate is a $300 option). Also, the "cheap star-treck symbol" is actally REAL gold and part of the marketing trademark. Having multiple faceplates would detract from that marketing mesage. As such, marketing to the US just does not make a whole lot of sense. Think of it this way, James would have to increase sales by 500% in the US just to make up for a 10% decrease in Asia sales that may result from marketing confusion (ie. US reviews would show a differnet looking product so there would not be immediate brand recognition to non-US readers) .    

As for the hum in the transform, unfortunately that has never gone away in my units at my location. It is strictly a function of the quality of AC signal going into it (DC Offset is the main culpret). I have taken my demo units that hum loudly at my demo room to customers homes and they were close to dead quite. I have had lots of very LOUD talks with Jame on this issue. Since folks in Japan do not have this issue (their power grid is much better regulated) and only 20% of the folks in the US have this problem, his comment was "Why should I use a transformer that is $500 more expensive and has worse performance than the one I am currently using just to fix a problem that will let me sell maybe 5% more product?". While James is an incredible audio designer, first and fore-most he is a businessman. He would not have survived this long in this cut-throat industry if he were not.      

Julian

[Bingenito]

I will not comment on the hum issue since I have never heard the amp but if I could get past the faceplate that would be a concern for me.

[warnerwh]

Julian: That's a great point. Especially in Asia where the tastes are much different than ours, not nearly so conservative.  And I'm sure making different faceplates is very expensive.  I've not seen one in person but going by the pictures I don't care for the looks either.  Every time I look at it the amp reminds me of Star Trek which detracts from the seriousness of the piece imo.  No doubt it's well engineered but I wouldn't want one just on appearance alone.  James does know what he's doing though when marketing in the East.

[ekovalsky]

I find it rather odd that an American high-end audio businessman sells 90% of his product to Asia.  Two ways to interpret that -- he either doesn't want to sell product here, or has no idea how to.