[kyrill]

Is Hans following this thread?
although i live near The Hague i can't let him hear a LF

But if he is interested a pimp up Aksa 50 is a possibility, so when he knows the mother he gets some idea about the son. The LF though, l read is much more transparent?

[AKSA]

Hi Kyrill,

Thanks for your post - I appreciate your concern. 

I've told Hans about posting in the Aspen forum, so I'm hoping he's following the thread.  I believe he's read all the thread to date, let us hope he reads these later posts!!

Daughter, Kyrill, you surely mean daughter?   

Hugh

[andyr]

But if he is interested a pimp up Aksa 50 is a possibility, so when he knows the mother he gets some idea about the son. The LF though, l read is much more transparent?

C'mon, Kyrill - still running AKSA N+s?     You owe it to yourself (at your age, mate ... not too many years left, right!!??  ) to be able to enjoy the LifeForce before you drop off your perch.  Not only is it much more transparent - it kicks the AKSA's butt in terms of bass! 

As my daughter is fond of saying "Pull the Trigger" ... go get yourself some LFs!!   

Regards,

Andy

[hybride]

yeh, here i am (Hans, build in ?64 )

I've been honest to Hugh. As an experienced DIY-er and never heard from Aspen Amps. It feels fairly a bit odd to spend a relative high price for a few prints with a hand full of components. There are a lot of competitors in this class AB area who provide the same stuff (on the eye) for a fraction of the price. But buying an Aspen amp includes a donation for rare valuable intellectual property. Whatever it is I don?t know yet, but from what I read there must be something special with this amp?s.   

Commercial products are all heavenly good on the marketing paper. As a experienced listener I?ve learned (? ) that the price or complexity of a product says nothing about the ability to produce music that touch the soul. The amp, as tail end in the electronic line is, in my case, a bit underestimated. My focus was more on speakers, DAC and source. In the years I listened to several amps like Meridian, NAD, Spinhx, Rotel, Tripath, Hypex, Sugden, Lmxxx, SE 300B, KT84PP, vintage AB amps like TOA, etc, etc. The ?organic factor? of tubes was a discovery and I didn?t experience that ever in any non-tube amp. The Class-d thrilled me in sense of absolute control ability. Can these two be united? The vintage Class AB amps brought a kind of average. But I couldn?t get it out of my head what could be ?the secret? of the organic factor in electronic behaviour of electrons. Lets call it ?the X-factor?, a mysterious thing.

The AKSA and Lifeforce amps seems to have the X-factor. Whatever I have read about, these amps are loved by all the people who have got them in their hands. Very promising. I ordered a Lifeforce 100 now. I am very curious and keep in mind that it always is a matter of personal taste. Thanks Hugh for the nice conversation and I will add these thread with another extended review of my findings. To be continued..           

[kyrill]

Hi Hans
i have send an email ( at least the email icon next to your name)
to be sure
my contact info is
kyrgoo at gmail dot com

but the LF will sound definitely more transparent with much more microdetail
there is an option i believe ( Hugh will know) to have a newer pws pcb which sounds better

I agree the X factor with tubes, helas you need NOS tubes which are getting more scarce by the day, to have the most X factor

A SWPS?? Well that is new for me. I try to avoid them like the plague, but also they ( O Brutus) evolve

[andyr]

yeh, here i am (Hans, build in ?64 )

The AKSA and Lifeforce amps seems to have the X-factor. Whatever I have read about, these amps are loved by all the people who have got them in their hands. Very promising. I ordered a Lifeforce 100 now and will feed it with a audio-dedicated switching power supply from a Dutch company Hypex. I am very curious and keep in mind that it always is a matter of personal taste. Thanks Hugh for the nice conversation and I will add these thread with another extended review of my findings. To be continued..           

Kyrill, can I call you once?

Hi Hans,

Congratulations on your LF100 purchase.     I agree, it's hard to decide to commit a fair bit of money without having the opportunity of listening first.  But yes, owners of Hugh's amps certainly do feel they have the "X-factor"! 

However, I would be careful about making judgement about the sonic beauty of the LF100 if you are going to use a non-AKSA PS.  As I'm sure you know, the PS is a key factor in how an amp performs and Hugh has gone thropugh several iterations of PSes over the last 8 years - each one sounding better than the last. 

Good luck.

Regards,

Andy

[kyrill]

i add to that that the nice sounding amp completely build by them and having a fine review by TNT was build with their analogue power supply

[hybride]

Thx all.
At second thought i also ordered the psu print. Thanks Andy, ofcourse its directly associated with the performance of the amp!!
I have the audio SMPS still at home. Its audio dedicated because it has the capability to act like an condensator; it can absord current feedback.
Its a nice experiment to compare it i think.
 

[DSK]

i add to that that the nice sounding amp completely build by them and having a fine review by TNT was build with their analogue power supply

From memory, that TNT review was of the original AKSA amp ... before it was upgraded to AKSA Nirvana, then later to Nirvana Plus. The improvement in sound quality was evident in all of these updates. The LifeForce is much superior even to the Nirvana Plus. In other words, what you will get is in a different league to the amp reviewed by TNT all those years ago. 

[kyrill]

DSK i mean the Hypex review  in TNT

I know of the first AKSA review
an entree level high end for sooo few dollars
it should be a collectors item in Hugh's museum

[LM]

Hans,

Also congratulations from me  ; this was the Aspen amp I had initially and it was a huge eye opener (or was that ear opener) for me.  Whilst I have now upgraded to the latest Soraya, the differences are essentially incremental and the Lifeforce remains a really wonderful amp.

By the way, as to your handful of components most kits supply, unless Hugh has changed the way he supplies things (tell me if I'm wrong Hugh), the amp modules are fully built, bias etc set, tested and mounted to the heat sinks so pretty much plug and play for those critical components.  I think same thing for the power supply so while there is plenty more for you to do, I see this as a good value add and a guarantee of sound quality.  Personally, I ended up buying a fully built unit from Hugh as I was working silly hours at the time bit I remember thinking that with his sort of kit style, the 'X factor' as you put it was pretty much certain to be there even if I built it myself and with my soldering, that may well be saying something.

Whatever happens when you finish your build and have a listen, please let us know on this forum how it sounds to you.  It's always good to have fresh feedback.

[hybride]

Hi all,

Today the Lifeforce100 arrived! Luckily i had the time to open it immediate
(i know it came, because yesterday the postman already was here at a closed door).
The components in the box where excellent packed. They survived a long journey!.
I told Hugh already by mail that i am impressed seeing en touching the real stuff i only remember from a picture.
When looking and touching the parts i immediately notice that this is not just a another amp.
Looking close at the prints, makes understandable how carefully designed, build and evaluated these prints are.
It breaths professionality, experience and skill discretion.

I assembled the LF100 components on a wooden board for a first testing period. See attachment.
But this have to be build in decent case! I already bought two 300VA Transformers 2x33V.
In about 2 hours the amp was fitted and wired.

I am going to listen now, the most important . Te be continued.....

 

[LM]

Hi Hans,

How did the initial testing/listening session go, what case etc. have you chosen and what are your impressions so far? 

[AKSA]

Hi Lyn,

I've received a WONDERFUL review from Hans, but he has to decide if he wants to publish it!

And I have to ask if I can use it, it's marvellous.......

You there, Hans?

Cheers,

Hugh

[hybride]

Here i am again. I took some time to get good listening impressions and write some prose  .
Well here we go; my first impressions of the Lifeforce 100 MARK II amplifier

Over the past years I have tried all kind of amp's with my Focal 1037BE's. Last months it was mainly class D amps. Now the Lifeforce Mark II, which is not a Class D amp, so i don't want to compare them as they are completely different amplifiers. The Lifeforce is a Class AB amp and I have owned vary Class AB amps over the years. In my experience Class AB amps, when compared to Class D amps, are not real king's in control and transparency but powerful and friendly sounding, with potential. Class D is definitely not my choice in the end. Good clear powerfull sound, but i could not get enjoyable music out of them.

When I heard the first notes of the Lifeforce100 amp i heard the typical Class AB sound; mellow, easy, laid back, not aggressive. While the first songs played on the cold amp modules and at low volume i immediately noticed some aspects I had never heard before in SS amps. Really beautiful rounded presentation in the mid to low region! The timbre of instruments are scary real, nearly touchable. The highs seems somewhat de-emphasized. The mid-low's and bass were solid and lifelike, just as I remember from a tube amps.

At higher volume the comparison with tube amps ends.  Where a tube amp is current limited at it maximum output, the Lifeforce 100 awakens. Especially with old live Jazz recordings there is a vivid, live soundstage with strong mids and bass. Very enjoyable and real. I tapped my feet, a sure indication of joy. At (party) loud volume the high?s became a bit raw and the overall control diminishes a bit. (read until the end)

After some live music I turned towards more delicate genres. With growing pleasure I followed the music. The articulation is great at all frequencies. I had never heard this in any other amp!  The soundstage is perfectly balanced, nothing is too far front or rear, its perfectly positioned in space.  The fine articulation has been a new experience for me. It introduces a new depth (3d) in the soundstage, again, most unusual with the solid state amplifiers I heard before. I had thought that only a DAC would be responsible for depth, but the Lifeforce amp adds a real, credible 3d soundstage. When moving some distance away from my speakers, I noticed that the speakers disappeared into the soundstage.  The music literally hangs in the space around them.  As the amps run in and warm to operating temperature, sound quality improves even further. The music rolls like velvet throughout my room!

Like most real audiophiles , in my head I can switch to technical listening. Very likely you will recognize this ?trick?.  What impresses with this amp is that even playing songs you have heard a thousand times you cannot concentrate on technical listening.  For some reason it is the music which dominates!  This amp is really sophisticated and finely tuned. Compliments to Hugh who must have spent hours and hours finding the flaws and tweaking them away.  Whatever the tonal color of your musical choice is, the overall control of the speaker drivers is excellent. But most important, when the Lifeforce plays you simply forget the equipment. It disappears, leaving only the music.

Hugh supplied me 2 Auricap?s (1uf) with the amp that I could try as (other) decoupling cap. The standard (little) cap on the print is 0,47uf if I seen it right. After the first days of listening I decided to try the Auricap. The Auricap?s brought a minor positive change. The soundstage became more controlled especially at higher volume. Also the high?s got more explicit at my speakers. As I know from earlier experiments paralleling coupling cap?s can be interesting. In my old shoebox I have some more high quality coupling cap?s, like Russian paper in oil?s and Duelund copper cap?s. I added the Duelunds parallel to the Auricaps, so together 2uf. Wow, that ads bass in the lower section. The bass is going very deep now. This is a keeper! Finally I added 2 little Vishay Roedersteins MKP?s 0,01uf.

Have listened all day today and i am very happy. With the 2uf coupling cap even at loud volume the high?s stay?s more controlled and vivid. The bass goes very low, like hearing a sub. How about the X-factor?  Does this amp have the X-factor?  That question is not relevant to me anymore.  This amp simply makes music, nothing more nor less. Does it sound like a tube amplifier?  Hmm yes, the rounded, organic sound and the marvellous 3D qualities of the soundstage are typical of very good tube-amps.

I am glad that I took the time to search all the forums and found the Aspen. It will be hard to beat this. 

[LM]

The music literally hangs in the space around them.

This amp simply makes music, nothing more nor less.

A lovely review Hans.
To me, your words above and the 3D you mention define the X factor that andyr spoke about earlier.  Simply an amp that does what it should extremely well and gets out of the road of the music.
I must also reiterate something else that andy said above.  It took some courage to buy sound unheard and I'm very happy it has worked out for you.  I at least live in Melbourne so I could listen before I bought as I've always done with hifi purchases. Congrats. 

[AKSA]

Hey Hans,

You really captured the LFII, thank you very much for taking the trouble to put down your thoughts!  I am most appreciative.....  you really hit the nail on the head!

I should point out again that this is the update Lifeforce, what people get from about two months back when they buy a Lifeforce.  It is the very first Soraya module from 2007, when I took it to Denver.  Frank Van Alstine really liked that amplifier, loved the resolution and imaging, and in turn I really liked his DAC.  He was a fascinating character, a very direct, no-nonsense sort of fellow, one I really related to well.  David Ellis of Ellis Loudspeakers now owns that amp!

Hans, thank you for taking such an impressive leap of faith.  Along with many other Aspen owners you have shown your adventurous spirit and I really appreciate that you really like what you have purchased, and speak as a committed audiophile with a lot of experience......

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

Mmm, Hugh,

Sounds to me like you need to replace the input 0.47uF cap on all LFs/Sorayas/etcs with at least a 1uF Auricap!  aa

Regards,

Andy

[AKSA]

Andy,

Actually, I don't need to do anything more, I include the Auricap as a no cost addition to the 100LF modules!

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

Aah - I see I need to upgrade my modules as they still have the square white cap! 

Regards,

Andy