[BobRex]

That's more or less what's suppose to happen with new products, no?

Not necessarily.  To bring out a newer low power unit that is superior to your flagship offerings is not typical SOP.  Unless of course there is a new flagship in the offing.

[mannishjoy]

Ever wondere what absolute sound was? You won't anymore if you order a CA-1. Frank was not kidding when he stated it can compete with the Uber premium price bracket!

[DecibleDude]

  I can't speak for VA, but I know with cameras ( because I'm a lifelong photographer) lower end models frequently surpass the higher end ones when introduced. In any event I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, because even their least expensive Set 120 control amp sounds better than anything I've ever owned before, and I've owned a lot in the last 70 some years at much higher prices.

[avahifi]

Our best amplifiers for inefficient speakers remain our M225 and M750 bridged differential mono units.

Our best amplifiers for reasonably efficient speakers are our brand new NP1 and CA1 designs.

Our goal was to offer great equipment for all at any price range and nobody else does this better.

Frank

[rlee8394]

Looks like there is plenty of room to install an XLR connector to drive them in bridged differential mode. Should be good for around 150 watts per amp.

Ron

[Tom Alverson]

Looks like there is plenty of room to install an XLR connector to drive them in bridged differential mode. Should be good for around 150 watts per amp.

Ron

You would have to use this only on higher impedance speakers.  If you bridge an amplifier each channel of the amp sees 1/2 of the speaker impedance.  Frank has already stated that this initial design is thermally limited.  This is probably due to the devices that are used having a higher thermal resistance between the actual chip and the metal tab.  Putting a larger heat sink on them only helps so much.  I'm sure they are working on higher powered designs already based on how happy they are with the sound of this new circuit.

Tom

[rlee8394]

Tom,

True on the impedance issue. I wonder what the output devices are?

[DecibleDude]

I think they're mosfet's, but I'm not sure.

[rlee8394]

I see where AVA is charging a 15% restock fee for the SET120 products. Guess they want to concentrate on the new CA1 and NP1 products.
No mention of a power MosFet output stage like on the other amps. Internal photo in this thread doesn't look like MosFets. Look sort of like chip amps.

[poseidonsvoice]

I see where AVA is charging a 15% restock fee for the SET120 products. Guess they want to concentrate on the new CA1 and NP1 products.
No mention of a power MosFet output stage like on the other amps. Internal photo in this thread doesn't look like MosFets. Look sort of like chip amps.

One can speculate of course, but my guess is it is an application of the TDA7294. On Figure 3 in the link provided, you will see it has a Mosfet output stage within the chip.

Best,
Anand.

[Mary]

I see where AVA is charging a 15% restock fee for the SET120 products. Guess they want to concentrate on the new CA1 and NP1 products.
No mention of a power MosFet output stage like on the other amps. Internal photo in this thread doesn't look like MosFets. Look sort of like chip amps.

We had to add the 15% restocking fee to the SET 120 series amplifiers because we have had people order them to compare them to the new amplifiers and then return them under the 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Frank has always provided great products at low prices and does not build a lot of profit into his products. He wants everyone to enjoy music. Thus, every 30 day satisfaction guarantee we receive we not only loss the credit card/PayPal processing fee, but then we no longer can sell the unit as new and have to discount the unit even further.

Sorry

[Jeff_From_Michigan]

We had to add the 15% restocking fee to the SET 120 series amplifiers because we have had people order them to compare them to the new amplifiers and then return them under the 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Frank has always provided great products at low prices and does not build a lot of profit into his products. He wants everyone to enjoy music. Thus, every 30 day satisfaction guarantee we receive we not only loss the credit card/PayPal processing fee, but then we no longer can sell the unit as new and have to discount the unit even further.

Sorry

Mary,

That's so sad but true.  I hear people all the time saying "Just order it, they have a return policy". I cringe when I see a company offering a generous return policy, because sadly, I know people who window-shop like this regularly. (Comparison shopping like you mentioned or ordering a tool to use one time and return it are a couple of examples.) Now, returning a product because a customer doesn't like it or it doesn't meet their expectations is one thing.  But having a company go through the process of taking returns and all of the resultant losses that you mentioned because the customer bought that product knowing that there's a good probability that they will be returning it seems beyond the pale to me. 

With that said, I guess that's the price of doing business consumer-direct. 

AVA products are and always have been priced fairly. Hopefully the internet window-shoppers don't ruin that.

[Rocket]

Hi,

AVA products have gotten better and better over the years imo. One of the best deals in hifi the world over.

Cheers Rod

[AllanS]

With that said, I guess that's the price of doing business consumer-direct. 
AVA products are and always have been priced fairly. Hopefully the internet window-shoppers don't ruin that.

That’s why I don’t have any problems with restocking fees.  Add return shipping at consumer rates and tire kickers have to think twice. 
That said, it can also have a chilling effect.  I throttled back on auditions when I started tracking how much it was costing.

[TomBo]

Return? AVA gear? This concept is foreign to me.

[rlee8394]

One can speculate of course, but my guess is it is an application of the TDA7294. On Figure 3 in the link provided, you will see it has a Mosfet output stage within the chip.

Best,
Anand.

Not sure it is a TDA7294. Spec sheets says you can bridge two of them but with the speaker Z, should not drop below 8 ohms. Looking at the  NP1 photos, there seems to be three devices per channel.

-Ron

[poseidonsvoice]

Not sure it is a TDA7294. Spec sheets says you can bridge two of them but with the speaker Z, should not drop below 8 ohms. Looking at the  NP1 photos, there seems to be three devices per channel.

-Ron

Agreed. But they may not be implementing it based on a spec sheet. Note there is an opamp on the front edge of the board. My guess is that this is part of a nested feedback circuit.

Again, all speculation. It’s Frank’s IP and I hope he makes music with them!

Best,
Anand.

[1965]

No speculation needed……this is literally the first sentence in the description since day one. 

The NP1 Power Amplifier is the first stereo power amplifier to use Audio by Van Alstine's class-defining Advanced Nested Architecture (ANA).

[s.a.l.]

I just ordered an NP1. I was so impressed with the SET 120 that I just went in and bought this one. I am very, VERY much looking forward to this.

[DecibleDude]

 I wonder how the built in phono preamp compares with their separate one.