[DSK]

Though there is already a LifeForce thread, it is full of more questions on availability and trade-in details etc etc than on impressions of what the amp sounds like. This thread is for those who are interested in what the new LF sounds like and other auditioners/owners are encouraged to post their thoughts here.

Last week I was lucky enough to audition the LF55 in Hugh's system (which I know quite well) for a few hours and then in my own system for a few days. I have been using an AKSA 100N+ in my system for the last couple of years, since upgrading to it from a Plinius SA100 mk3 amp (100wpc, class A) that I bought several years earlier after it outperformed amps from Electrocompaniet, Perreaux, Rotel, Arcam, Musical Fidelity etc. My source is a Bolder modded SqueezeBox2 with Bolder Deluxe power supply (replaced my Sony SCD-XA777ES SACD player), pre-amp is a modded AKSA GK-1 (replaced a BAT tube pre-amp), speakers are modded Ambience Ultra 1600 SE's (with Hovland XO's). Room is 19' x 24' x 9' ceilings with a few room treatments.

Upon installing a new component I usually hear 2 or 3 major differences within the first few minutes then listen longer to ensure that these differences are indeed improvements, and to identify other less obvious differences. The aspects that first hit me with the LF55 were: bass; dynamic headroom/effortlessness; purity across the audible range; openness and imaging.

It was immediately obvious that this amp has plenty of grunt. Bass slam and detail were superior to the 55N+ and possibly even the 100N+. The palpability and detail of the bass was improved and we heard chords in the bass that were not noticed previously. The sense of the venue acoustic during dynamic orchestral passages was very impressive and there was no congestion or flattening of the imaging or soundstaging. The performance continued in a completely open and unhindered manner, very impressive. The LF55 gave the impression that it could knock down a brick wall just by breathing on it, a sense of power and majesty that is not evident from my 100N+ and gives the appearance of greater dynamic range. On one Mighty Sam McClain recording there are vocal peaks that audibly distort with the 100N+ and other amps. I had figured that it was on the recording given that it was my only CD that does this, but it is on an audiophile label and this seemed strange. However, played through the LF55 at the same or even higher volume, the distortion disappeared!

Strings and vocals are more lifelike than the N+ with a beautiful balance between the body and breathiness of voices. Percussion and guitar plucks are also better, their initial attack is cleaner and they float up more effortlessly in a quieter soundstage, sounding more pure and 'in the room'.

I have a couple of CD's that I don't tend to listen to very much as the female vocals are slightly bright and I find them irritating after a very short while. Again, I had put it down to the recordings. Again, the LF55 stripped away the brightness and hash to leave a wonderfully smooth, pure and beautiful voice. It does not do this by 'smoothing over' things, reducing transparency or giving up detail. Instead, it provides even greater transparency and detail, removing the slight hash and edginess that had caused irritation and hidden some of the detail and presence.

In a nutshell, the LF55 is a more refined sounding amp than the N+ with a wonderful transparency and a beautiful purity. No grain, no peakiness, just silky smooth and pure. The macrodynamic performance of a much larger amp, with the microdynamics, inner detail and poise more typical of a smaller one. The LF55 just disappears, leaving the performers in front of you, with palpability and presence I have not heard before (even from a $60k tube based system).

It is worth noting that my Ambience ribbon hybrid speakers, though excellent performers, are not the last word in dynamics. The fact that the LF55 was so impressively dynamic and effortless is therefore all the more impressive.

As good as the 100N+ is, hearing Hugh's flagship tube hybrid Glass Harmony monoblocks in my system revealed greater harmonic completeness and organicness, to a degree that I had never heard from a solid state or digital amp. My long term goal was looking like it would be a tube or tube hybrid amp .... not any more    Bring on the LF100 

EDIT: For completeness, I should mention that my early assessment stands:
AKSA stock amp   7.5/10
AKSA N+ amp       8.5/10
LifeForce 55 amp  9.7/10

I also forgot to mention that the LF55 does piano better than any amp I've heard, same for the realism of sticks and hands on drum skins.

[Hegemony]

I have an LF55 in my system with about 120 hrs on it now.  I also run a GK1 preamp and an unmodded 6000ose cdp.  A very modest system by anyones standards.  I previously had a 55N+.

I basically agree with DSK in my perception of the amp.  Given I am comparing with the 55N+ rather than DSK's 100N+ I am a little more impressed with the slam, bass and authority this amp imparts than DSK might be.

The first impressions for me included increased tight generous bass extension, much improved transients, slam the 55N+ could only dream about, improved clarity, purity and delicacy in the mids but especially the highs, and an effortless ability in relation to dynamics.  You are never scared this amp is not going to get over the next challenging part of the composition you are playing.  I find this has increased my listening pleasure greatly as I no longer listen for those few notes or sections the 55N+ struggled a bit on. 

The LF55's much increased ability to more accurately recreate complex orchestral peices and heavy rock music was a revelation.  The 55N+ definitely has its limits when it come to these compositions, the LF55 is considerably more accomplished.  It is easy to pick out individual instruments in the orchestra and the LF creates space around each.  There are not many CD's in my collection on which the LF55 has not revealed elements of which I have not heard before, across all genres.

The LF55 seems to create a feeling of 'thereness' for the music, the image is tighter and more focussed than the 55N+. The 55 N+ excelled at jazz, and accoustic type music, I feel the LF55 is better in every respect at these genres.  Norah Jones 'come away with me' blew me away, truly amazing sound.

My speakers are Klipsch brand which were cheap at the time but not my preference.  They are reletively efficient speakers and as such I sometimes found them to be a little fatigueing in their detail.  The LF sounds very smooth however and appears to have almost completely removed the fatigue, without removing purity, clarity and detail.

Please bear in mind I am no professional, my langauge is sometimes inadequate to portray what I am hearing in any meaningful way.  In summing up I would say the LF55 is absolutely the best amp I have ever heard, it is truly an all round amp with very few limitations in terms of music genre, it is in a different league to the 55N+ from my comparison.  The 55N+ excelles in a few Genres, the LF excells everywhere + some. 

My only criticism would be "why did it take you so long Hugh??" but it is definitely worth the wait.

Russ

[aurelius]

Are you sure you're not a paid stooge Mr DSK?  You would be hard pressed to write a more compelling review

I have an 8 channel 55N+ Orion system.  I hardly feel I need more bass... the dipole woofers are amazing, but I am a midrange detail and smoothness junky with tonal "rightness" being my holy grail.  The Orions (drivers and cabinet)  have rewarded me greatly with every improvement I have thrown at them (mostly ASP) Why do you taunt me so?  

[DSK]

Are you sure you're not a paid stooge Mr DSK?  You would be hard pressed to write a more compelling review

I have an 8 channel 55N+ Orion system.  I hardly feel I need more bass... the dipole woofers are amazing, but I am a midrange detail and smoothness junky with tonal "rightness" being my holy grail.  The Orions (drivers and cabinet)  have rewarded me greatly with every improvement I have thrown at them (mostly ASP) Why do you taunt me so?  

I didn't mention that although I run the Ambiences full range (but with ports stuffed), I bring in a very tight, fast subwoofer underneath. The LF55 was so much stronger in the bass than my 100N+ that I will re-measure (with ETF5) the subwoofer integration when I get my LifeForce and possibly lower the sub's gain and/or XO frequency slightly.

... a paid stooge... I wish! Sadly, I couldn't give my money to Hugh fast enough when I heard the LF55.

I wish I could suggest that you perhaps just upgrade the 55N+ you use for bass, but the LF55 is so much better in the mids and highs too. Like the ribbons in my Ambiences, the tweeter and magnesium midwoofer in your Orions will certainly let you hear the improvement. In fact, I would think that the LF55 would be a sensational match for SEAS mag drivers as the mags reveal any and every weakness upstream and the elimination of the (comparatively) solid state sound of the N+ would be a revelation. Sorry ... 

[AKSA]

Hey Marcus Aurelius!!  Can I put my hand up here?   

I am the paid stooge around this forum......  sadly there's no stooge like an old stooge!!   

Yeah, yeah, it took too long.  Sorry.  It took me three years to reach this point!! 

Thank you Darren and Russ for the fine reviews.  I'm incredibly pleased you like the amp!   

Martin has the 100W LF on audition for a week from one hour ago.  We await his comments on the new, more powerful model!

Cheers,

Hugh

[TimS]

Hi Hugh

What are the chances of putting a LF 55 on tour as you did with the AKSA N+ 100 in the States so we can get a chance to listen to this beast ourselves ?

cheers

Tim

[AKSA]

Hi Tim,

Check your PM........

Hugh

[rookster]

Can anyone comment on how the LF55 compares with the 55N+ when driving Aksonics?

Is the improved bass drive as noticeable with the Aksonics, or more noticeable with a speaker that can go lower than the Aksonics?

Bottom line, would the Aksonics be a limiting factor to fully appreciating the capability of the LF55?  I do appreciate how good the standard Aksonics are.

Perhaps it may re-ignite the interest in the upgraded Aksonics that I spoke about a couple of months ago. 

I desperately need to finish my GK-1 and 55N+ so I am up to speed with everyone else.  I ask a lot of questions, but don't offer a lot of experience.

[AKSA]

Michael,

Martin has a 55N+ and spent a week with the LF55, so he might have something to say here.......

Marty?

Cheers,

Hugh

[rookster]

Hugh,

Thanks for the quick reply.  I will await a reply from Martin.

[SuperMart]

Hi All,

Martin here, by popular request. Can't a feller settle down and listen to a LF 100 in peace?

Hats off to DSK and Russ for their LF55 impressions. Both represent my experience entirely having shelled out for the LF55 upgrade a week ago. "Upgrade" is hardly the word really - more like going from a standard to the top of the range model. I was intending to write a report on both models but it seems like my LF55 thoughts have already been eloquently expressed. What I will add is that I am an ABC FM fan and I have a nice (Musical Fidelity Xplora) tuner and dedicated though basic extrnal FM aerial. The LF55 produces sound akin to a CD source through the tuner - quite an achievement.My wife, who has sat through countless "Sit down and listen to this darl" scenarios, has taken to bopping and singing around the room and that's before I've pulled the cork out of the bottle.

To answer Rookster's query in relation to the Aksonics I can confirm that they are well equal to the task of faithfully reproducing the full sonics of both the LF55 and now the LF100. Granted I also run a separate sub but most of the added bass performance appears to come from the upper bass region. In short, I'm very impressed with the abilities of the Aksonics with both LF models and I don't feel any need to look for improvements in my speakers - quite the contrary.

I should mention that my front end is an Empirical modded Sony DVP S7700 transport and an EA modded P3A DAC - the very latest mods apart from a Superclock. Steve worked miracles on my P3A and it sounds great. The cool thing about the LF55 was that it took my system to a whole new level. It still suprises me that a power amp improvement can have such a marked improvement on an already good system.Preamp is an Aksa Swift.

I've only listened to the LF100 for a brief period but standby for another massive improvement over the 100N+. I've long enjoyed the scale of the 100N+ but now it comes with all the wonderful characteristics of the LF55. I'm trying to trip it up but at this early stage it surely seems to be an Aksa with the lot.Detail and dynamics are very addictive. Mid range detail seems to be the stand out at the moment. I've just impressed the hell out of my 28 year old daughter with the slam of New Order's Greatest Hits. "Can you burn that one for me, Dad?" Sadly it won't quite sound the same on her bedroom system..........

I'll post a full review after a long assessment and much switching back to the LF55 for comparison. I won't be parting with my LF55 but I sure as heck love this new monster.

Cheers,   

[DSK]

Rookster,

I agree with Martin that the major bass improvement is in the mid to upper bass, where the slam and detail is.

The improvement was evident on Hugh's MTM's that use small (5.25" Hugh?) midwoofers (the Aksonics were out of commission at the time) and thus have limited extension. Also, as I described earlier, I have the ports on my Ambiences stuffed (6.5" woofers) which means they roll off much earlier, but the improvement was clearly evident.

[rookster]

Martin, DSK,

Thankyou for your replies.  It is very difficult to resist the lure of the LF55.  Good to know my trusty Aksonics will only sound better and better.


Hugh,

If I was to trade-in my 55N+ modules, do they have to be burnt in?  All those Blackgates will take a while.  I should listen to them to fully appreciate the ability of both versions.

[AKSA]

Michael,

No problem.  A trade-in is a trade-in, it merely has to be functional.

Hugh

[rookster]

Thanks Hugh.

[Felipe]

Aksaphiles and Lifeforce lucky owners :

From the current reviews of LF55 and LF100 this amp surely raises the expectations really high. So much that Hugh himself believes that this amp cannot be sold as a kit, but as a finished product and for a very nice $tag attached.

So...i believe it is time to bechmark it properly dont you think ? Maybe this is a job for Hugh to think about, or maybe not, perhaps someone  that has access to High-End equipment !

My point of view is : Before LF , everybody classified the N+ a 9.2/10. Now i see reviews as a N+ = 8.5/10 and the LF=9.7/10 !!??
Not wanting to diminuish the quality of Hugh's new flagship, the N+ didnt just loose quality all of the sudden !!!!
So my thought is....the 9.2 was initially overstated ! It just wasnt well compared to what it exists in the real world market.

So what i think this product needs to be a MAJOR seller is a DECENT review against MONSTERS of SS world !
I am talking about recent amps, with similar or even more output power.

Is the LF really a 9.7 / 10 ? Does it really keep up to the major brands flagships ?
Please do not take this as criticism, i am a happy aksa100N owner...and future LF100. I am just trying to say that a good review SELLS.

All the BEST
Felipe

[AKSA]

Felipe,

What you say is quite reasonable;  it is very logical, and it clearly is necessary to benchmark this amp, particularly in light of the price which is effectively more than the N+ AKSAs it supercedes.

The point about ratings out of ten is well taken.  I actually think if the N+ is 9.2, the Lifeforce is around 9.8.

In this rarefied company, we are talking in marginality.  Very slight enhancements in quality attract a huge dollar premium, just as in almost every other area of consumer product.  Six months ago in Sydney I heard a very highly rated German amplifier - well known and around $US12K - and I was underwhelmed.  A couple of months back I heard a 600W Bryston, and felt much the same.  I've heard 200W Levinsons, and wondered what all the fuss is about.  These are big names, but they don't seem to appeal to me.  OTOH, I really like a friend's Cary 805, using the legendary WE 845 triodes.  in strictly objective, scientific terms, the SET makes me weep every time!

All this indicates that I don't have a particularly commercial ear, and lean towards tubes.  I do like Pass gear, too.  This gives you some idea of how my designs will sound;  there is absolutely no doubt that my philosophy and my ear and my preferences permeate my amplifiers, and this is, in fact, largely what people buy when they get an AKSA, or now, an Aspen Lifeforce.  When you buy a Ducati, a Kawasaki, or a Harley Davidson, you get three very different concepts of how a motorcycle should be, and my products are just the same.

I will give this some thought, and try to get a review and/or comparo.  Would a formal review from an e-zine be a good idea, do you think?

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

Aksaphiles and Lifeforce lucky owners:

From the current reviews of LF55 and LF100 this amp surely raises the expectations really high. So much that Hugh himself believes that this amp cannot be sold as a kit, but as a finished product and for a very nice $tag attached.

My point of view is: Before LF, everybody classified the N+ a 9.2/10. Now I see reviews as a N+ = 8.5/10 and the LF=9.7/10 !!??

Not wanting to diminuish the quality of Hugh's new flagship, the N+ didnt just lose quality all of the sudden !!!!
So my thought is....the 9.2 was initially overstated ! It just wasnt well compared to what it exists in the real world market.

All the BEST
Felipe ...

Hi Felipe,

It seems to me you don't understand "arbitrary" ratings.  So I'll attempt to shed some light on how come a "9.2/10 AKSA N+" can suddenly become an "8.5/10 AKSA N+" when compared to a Lifeforce which is given 9.7/10.

Firstly, the person that that decided to keep all ratings out of 10 is perhaps misguided.  Just like Bo Derek in that famous film of the 70s was classed an "11/10" because the maximum score was "10" - and she was more beautiful, the person who rated the Lifeforce kept the maximum score as 10.

I myself would've said (but I haven't compared them):
* the AKSA N+ is 9.2/10
* the AKSA LF is 10.5/10!

To my way of thinking, you don't have to limit the maximum to "10" ... simply that the initial maximum was 10 but once you find something much better, you can go above 10.

And as far as rating AKSAs and AKSA LFs specifically against all the other amps out there in the "real world market" ... that is an almost impossible task.  I am sure there are amps out there that, in my scale, would rate 12 or even 13 out of 10!  )

I also suspect they would cost at least 10 times an AKSA LF!

To my way of thinking it is very simple.  If you have the money to swap your AKSA modules for AKSA LF modules .. then you will hear something better.  If you don't (have the money) then just enjoy your AKSAs.

Regards,

Andy

[DSK]

So...i believe it is time to bechmark it properly dont you think ? Maybe this is a job for Hugh to think about, or maybe not, perhaps someone  that has access to High-End equipment !

My point of view is : Before LF , everybody classified the N+ a 9.2/10. Now i see reviews as a N+ = 8.5/10 and the LF=9.7/10 !!??
Not wanting to diminuish the quality of Hugh's new flagship, the N+ didnt just loose quality all of the sudden !!!!
So my thought is....the 9.2 was initially overstated ! It just wasnt well compared to what it exists in the real world market.

So what i think this product needs to be a MAJOR seller is a DECENT review against MONSTERS of SS world !
I am talking about recent amps, with similar or even more output power.

Is the LF really a 9.7 / 10 ? Does it really keep up to the major brands flagships ?
Please do not take this as criticism, i am a happy aksa100N owner...and future LF100. I am just trying to say that a good review SELLS.

As others have suggested, quantitative benchmarks in subjective arenas are notoriously inconsistent and not to be taken literally. Everyone has different perceptions and tastes. I have eaten excellent Chinese, Malaysian, Thai, Indian etc food and thoroughly enjoyed them all. They were all different, and I had preferences, but was one 'better' than another in an absolute sense? What would I use as a benchmark?

Reviewers' numerical ratings will be largely determined by their own experience, what they have owned or heard previously. Some will give a rating out of 10 where '10' is the best amp they have heard, others where '10' is the live performance. When compared against the live performance, most would agree that no current amp would rate over 9 out of 10. I figured that most people reading this thread will own, or have heard, an AKSA amp of some description but the vast majority will not yet have heard a LifeForce. The figures I gave were an attempt to give these people an idea of where the LF sits when compared to the stock AKSA and N+ (I haven't heard a Nirvana without the N+ mods). Ignore the 'out of 10' part if you like, the gap sizes are more important than the actual numbers. The figures will reflect my belief that the LF surpasses the N+ by a wider margin than the gap between the stock AKSA and N+. THAT is the important point. Like in world sports, better and better competitors come along and force us to rate harder when compared to a ceiling of a possible 10. I agree, the N+ didn't suddenly start performing worse than it did before the LF. And it is not really a question of it being originally overstated. It is just that the LF is sufficiently superior to the N+ to force a shuffle downwards in scoring out of 10. Only at the end of time, with no future new equipment and the full benefit of hindsight, could we give ratings out of 10 that wouldn't need to be pushed downwards over time ... and only then if we had heard every model!

What is possibly more useful to those readers who haven't heard an AKSA amp of any kind is a descending ranking of amps, preferably including at least one amp that the reader has heard. Of course, the reader may rank them in a different order according to different taste and emphasis on different aspects of performance. If it helps, here is a rating of some amps I can remember offhand that I owned or thoroughly auditioned:
1. AKSA LifeForce 55w
2. AKSA Glass Harmony monoblocks (Tube hybrid) ~40w
3. AKSA 100w N+
4. Audio Aero Prestige monoblocks (tubes) ~40w
5. AKSA 55w N+
6. Plinius SA100 mk3 (Rated 'Class A' by Stereophile FWIW) 100w
7. Elektra Reference 200w
8. Electrocompaniet AW-120DMB 120w
9. Electrocompaniet AW-60DMB 60w
10. ME flagship model (closed down)
11. Bel Canto EVO2 (I think this was rated 'Class A' by Stereophile)
12. Musical Fidelity ???? ~100w
13. AKSA 55w & 100w (Stock)
14. Perreaux P??? ~160w?
15. Rotel RMB100 monoblocks 125w
16. Arcam ??? 100w
Of course without ratings out of 10, such a list doesn't show how close or far apart various amps were (to my ears).

You also seem a little hung up on 'professional' reviews. I agree that a rave review can 'sell' a component. Reviews can also be useful if you can find a particular reviewer whose taste seems to consistently match your own, especially where you are chasing an indication of the performance of a component that you are deciding whether to place on your audition shortlist and can't find locally. However, you must understand that 'professional' reviewers don't necessarily have ears that are more golden than many of our AC inmates. They may have a more eloquent or entertaining writing style, and may or may not have external influences, but they are just another point of reference ... not issuers of unquestionably correct ratings. How many times have you seen a 'professional' reviewer rave about a new component, only to see it widely slammed by the majority of auditioners on the audio forums? They are not hearing the component in your system, in your room, or with your ears.

Once your system is at this level, always audition thoroughly before buying and TRUST YOUR OWN EARS!

[andyr]

As others have suggested, quantitative benchmarks in subjective arenas are notoriously inconsistent and not to be taken literally. ... Once your system is at this level, always audition thoroughly before buying and TRUST YOUR OWN EARS! ...

Great post, Darren!   

Wow, you've listened to a lot of amps in your time!     I am a veritable "convent girl" by comparison, sonic-wise    with not much experience of what's out there.   

Regards,

Andy