[Loftprojection]

Would be interesting is any of you proud owners could do some a/b tests with other amps or integrated amps to tell us the differences.  This way we would have a reference of the sound versus something we already know the sound signature.

This Sig30 looks like a killer!

[TheChairGuy]

No, you guys don't sound So Cal .... more like Marin County ! How about some free verse now?

I don't know anyone in Marin County that writes like Richard up here (and I've met Frances and Ed Mayes of 'Under the Tuscan Sun' fame when they lived nearby)...good stuff, my man  

.....and Enzo, if anyone is guilty of shilling the JVC F10 last year and the year before - it was more likely me.  I thought it offered humungous sound quality for $200.00 with My MMG Maggies....alas, it was not built for the long haul, the fan gave up the ghost, and I tossed mine about 6 months ago.  Something I think highly unlikely to happen with the new RWA Signature 30 (besides, Vinnie's 'customer service dept' is apt to be more responsive than JVC's was to issues)

As many have found with these new digi amps, they have some intoxicating virtues (imaging, which is a hard concept for me to previously fathom, is oftentimes uncanny).  

Rave on, fella's.  Congrats Vinnie on what appears to be a real winner  

[clearsound]

Is there a power rating spec into 4 ohms?  2 ohms?  Thanks

[TheChairGuy]

Vinnie, I didn't notice any options for a 2nd or 3rd input availability - is it?

For us vinyl guys...and those that might want AM/FM/Satellite/Whatever-the-hell-else invented in the future  

Thx, John / TCG

[Berndt]

Mr Chair guy, are you driving a set of mmgs with the sig30?
The marin guy slur was quite errudite, btw.

[TheChairGuy]

Mr Chair guy, are you driving a set of mmgs with the sig30?
The marin guy slur was quite errudite, btw.

Yep, I know the Marin comment was in jest...my reply was supposed to sound like a gentle ribbing, too    

I run my MMG's with another amp now...but they are being modded by Sonic Craft (on their way back to me) with outboard crossovers, new SonicCaps and Alpha Core industors.  I have a TEAC A-L700P here to see if they work / can be driven by the ame Tripath chip in the MMG's revised guise...and then will think hard about Vinnie's new Signature 30.

[Berndt]

sorry ot
just picked up some perfect smgs last night for a song.
They are sucking all of my lowfi 100watters dry.

[Jampot]

ndpjr wrote
 I had Vinnie make a dual mono Clari-T that I later had Jensen copper PIO caps installed in and with its battery power and the Jensen caps it was "very" close to the sound of the Korneff and is still the amp I play most of the time.
If I had the Jensens installed in the Teac that Vinnie modded for me .....

Vinnie,

When the work load settles a little could this (the PIO caps) be an option for Teac owners who may have difficulty springing the cash for a Signature 30?

Jim

[Vinnie R.]

Rave on, fella's. Congrats Vinnie on what appears to be a real winner

Hey ChairGuy,

Thanks!  

Regarding driving the MMGs, I'm not so sure how well the Sig 30 would drive them.  Those speakers need POWER...probably a solid 50 watts minimum.  I'm sure it will do the trick at moderate volume levels, but when you want to play at louder levels, 30 watts (from any amp) is probably not going to cut it with Maggies.  I haven't tried it so I could be wrong...

The Sig 30 does not have multiple inputs, so a preamp would be needed or a simple passive switch box.  For example, I suppopse I could offer a simple switch box with a DACT input select switch.  

Is there a power rating spec into 4 ohms? 2 ohms? Thanks

Hi clearsound,

The power rating of the TK2051 chipset does not appear to be spec'd at 4-ohm unless it is ran in "paralled output" mode, where it is spec'd to be 75watts at 0.01% THD+N.  The TK2051 chipset used in the Signature 30 is NOT ran in paralled output mode.  

Regarding being ran with a 2-ohm load, it is not spec'd for this anywhere and doing so is probably not a good idea and will probably cause it to overheat and go into protection mode.  

The Signature 30 is certainly more powerful than the Clari-T (30watts vs. 6 watts) and can drive less efficient speakers to more satisfying levels than the Clari-T can, but it is by no means a monster power amp.  Well, to very high efficiency speakers it probably is  

When the work load settles a little could this (the PIO caps) be an option for Teac owners who may have difficulty springing the cash for a Signature 30?

Hi Jampot,

With the space in the Teac, this is certainly a possibility  



All,

Three more Signature 30s shipped out today and more are being built  

There are also professional reviews that are in the works and I'll mention names soon enough.

Thank again for all your continued support!

Best regards,



 
[/quote]

[RoadTripper]

Now that the subject of what speakers are suited for the Sig30, I have to jump in. I tried my Clari-T on my VMPS RM40s a while back. They worked but just barely. You could tell that there was just not enough power to drive them. In fact, everyone claims the RM40s need a lot of something - watts or amps, not sure which and not sure I know the difference.

But, the fact is, the RM40s sounded most intriguing on the Clari-T. So much so that I hope to get the Sig30 when the finances allow.

My question is given the eff. rating of the RM40 is 92 dB, should this combo work?

[JLM]

Sem,

For the high esteem I hold for both products, I'd guess the available power would still be marginal and THE limiting factor of performance.  I tried a modded Clari-T with my very amp friendly 89 dB/w/m speakers and this was the case.  Moving up to 30 or 40 wpc did provide a major wake up call.  But with VMPS potential dynamic range, multiple drivers, and complex crossovers I would expect things to not go so well.  Going from 6 to 30 wpc adds 6 dB of gain.  In a 2,000 cu. ft. (typically sized American living room) you should be able to touch 106 dB.

[Vinnie R.]

There are also professional reviews that are in the works and I'll mention names soon enough.

Ok, here is the first  

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/redwine4/30.html

[fu_man]

...You have  Srajan quoting  you on his preview of the  Sig 30... that's  a  pleasant  change.  (from the scores of letters  from 'I wannabe like Srajans' who write in congratulating  themselves on now having just sold  their  3m.o. *whatever* so they could  buy the new *whatever* that  Srajan has just  reviewed and loved.)  

Oops, do i sound a little sour.. why actually i am a little   - just  because he never posted MY letter.  I simply,  maybe unfairly, pointed out that the Jamos Reference 909's noted on his site as coming up for review  had  ripped of the open baffle description  on Bert Doppenbergs site.  Not to mention that the speakers  appeared very similar to  Berts  Quasars.  My letter  was however  overall  positive -  i am keen to  read the review, given i  can't  find any on  Berts Quasar  design... plus,  6 Moons has  such a wide spread influence, if the  review  went well this might  influence  sales for  Bert and his much cheaper  DIY option!

Which leads me  back to why I am talking about this on this  thread... a good  review from Srajan may bring good fortune to Vinnie!  
So what i  really wanted to say is congratulations to Vinnie on scoring this review...  Good on Richard and  Dmason for helping this happen... and thanks for the  enthusiastic  reviews  we have all be  waiting to read.

Now to come clean.... I can't  wait to  read Srajans review!  He writes  brilliant, informative and entertaining reviews and I am eager to hear  his impressions of the Sig 30 compared to the Yamamoto and F3.  Almost as much as I want to hear the  Sig 30's themselves- alas  there is no way they will drive my current speakers .. but maybe if i get some  Zu Druids or Gallos Ref 3s?  
(Actually those  open baffles discussed here  seem interesting... that  Darkstar thread is  just so  daunting though.)

So Vinnie,  even though you didn't choose to get your buddy over at Omega Speaker  Systems to design you that  sweet  wooden housing, all the best with the Sig30!

(you will let us know before you put the price up right?)

[murphy11]

There are also professional reviews that are in the works and I'll mention names soon enough.

Ok, here is the first  

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/redwine4/30.html

Is this a pre-review? I didn't see a second page or the review itself.

[Grover]

Is this a pre-review? I didn't see a second page or the review itself.

Yes, Srajan likes to do "teasers" like that.  There will be an actual review posted sometime what will follow the introduction.  
It will be very intriguing to read his comparisons between the Signature 30 and Firstwatt F3.  I saw the F3 at CES in a static display.  What a beautiful amplifier.

[murphy11]

Is this a pre-review? I didn't see a second page or the review itself.

Yes, Srajan likes to do "teasers" like that.  There will be an actual review posted sometime what will follow the introduction.  
It will be very intriguing to read his comparisons between the Signature 30 and Firstwatt F3.  I saw the F3 at CES in a static display.  What a beautiful amplifier.

He did  the same thing with his Melody 1688 review but mentioned at the bottom that part 2 was to follow. I am not a fan of the way he does it now and hope he changes his format. Thanks for the confirmation Grover.

[Vinnie R.]

So what i really wanted to say is congratulations to Vinnie on scoring this review... Good on Richard and Dmason for helping this happen... and thanks for the enthusiastic reviews we have all be waiting to read.

...

Hi fu_man,

Thanks!  Yes, and a very BIG THANKS to Richard and Dmason for posting their initial impressions of their Signature 30s here!  

(you will let us know before you put the price up right?)

But of course!  

Srajan should have the Signature 30 within 2 weeks.  I hope it makes it safely to Cyprus.  Too bad I can't hand carry it!  

No matter if he ends up really enjoying the Sig 30 or not, I'm very thankful for Srajan/6moons interest in trying it.  

[ndpjr]

My Signature-30 arrived Thursday 06-15-06 and it was hard to get past just looking at it. Vinnie did a great job in making it a really attractive amp, very stylish looking and not overly done.
   My components are a modded Jolida JD100A cdp, Red Wine Audio Scott-Nixon DAC and Bob Brines FT1600 MKII speakers. The Sig-30 is "very" detailed and with the Jensen copper PIO caps the sound is very smooth. The Jensens take the harshness off of the highs but do not get in their way, it just allows them to be fully heard without being fatiguing. It produces a nice, clean high and the mids are great, especially vocals. Where some say that the Clari-T was a little shy on the bass they will have no concerns with the bass on the Sig-30. The bass is very strong, tight and clean sounding. The Sig-30 has a overall sound from the bass to the highs that most anyone would be extremely happy with.
   I have a dual mono Clari-T that Vinnie modded as much as possible and got it initially with Auricaps. Last year Vinnie installed the Jensen copper PIO caps and it made all the difference in achieving the type of sound I was wanting. I had heard the term "filled the room with sound" concerning certain amps before but did not feel I had ever experienced it until the Jensens were installed. They gave the music such a full, warm (but not lush) sound that I was sold on the Jensen caps. They accomplish the same for the Sig-30 even though they haven't broken in yet, which took about 200 hrs on the dual mono. I have a Korneff 45SE amp and just
from the initial sound of the Sig-30 it will have all of the great sound of the 45SE with a blacker background, even more bass,speed and detail as it gets more hours on it.
   Vinnie, you did a "great" job with the Signature-30. The combination of parts used, custom board, the look of the amp and the long play time with battery power has made a really standout unit. I think if a person is looking for a more warm, smooth, detailed and fast responding amp then the Sig-30 is definitely worth a try. I believe it will be one of those amps that will be hard for a person to ever part with as it is going to be difficult to find an amp that gives the sound of the Sig-30 with the benefit of battery power and remote control if a person wants it.
   Congratulations Vinnie and thanks.

[TheChairGuy]

As I break in my revised/upgraded MMG's, I'm using the efficient TEAC A-L700P 30 watter instead of my 150watt Class A/B monoblocks.

Got news for you folks...at least in my 12 x 15' room...there's MORE than enough oomph to drive the MMG's is on tap with the stock TEAC.  12 noon on my PAS-4 tube preamp is deafening. I think some 'frictional' losses have been ameliorated by the change out of cap, inductor, binding posts, perhaps making 30 watts more capable than previously...but, so it is.  Sounds decent, too, as it breaks in.

Sooooo Vincenzo, the Signature 30 may well be a good possibility for an amp mate to the baby Maggies. As the one input thingee doesn't quite cut it for me...do you still mod the TEAC? (I noticed it no longer appears on your site).  And, do you now use some meaty caps in the mod  ...that may have been the missing ingredient when I tried LoanWolf's version last year. I see that you employ some trick paper-in-oil caps in the Sig 30 (are you learning some new tricks as you round into your retirement years at the ripe old age of 25?   )

John / TCG

[-Richard-]

Hi Chairguy,

As a former owner of Maggies...1.6's...I think the Signature 30 might
be a killer amp for it...IT IS SO DYNAMIC!!!!!...it charges the air with
a pulsating throbbing presence that turns Jazz vocals and instrumentals
into something extraordinary...and blues and rock&roll is beyond
belief...this is not like any "digital" amp I have ever heard...it seems
to operate in a sonic zone all its own...refined and dynamic at the
same time...very very seductive...and the detail would stimulate your
Maggies to yield everything it is capable of...

The Maggies need a little persuasion to sing at its best...the Signature 30
is very very persuasive!!!!!!

When you raise the volume it doesn't just get louder...the uncanny
transparency of the musical presentation keeps its composure...
which presents a devilish desire to want to hear blues and rock as
it was meant to be heard...I am going to get in trouble with the
Signature 30...even Deb can tolerate music at levels unthinkable
with any other amp...

Hope you are well, Chairguy, and enjoying the unfolding of Spring...

Warm Regards ~Richard~