[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

A long time ago, to be precise 2000 I had a lovely little amplifier made by N.E.W. model 20.1.  It was a class a 22 watt per channel amplifier and it sounded glorious.  Unfortunately I replaced my speakers and the new ones were difficult to drive and therefore I made the fateful decision to sell them.  To this day I've regretted that move  .

Along the way I have had in my system 5 amplifiers and all of them had their strengths and weaknesses but none provided the overall satisfaction of the 20.1.  I've sunk so much money into amplifiers it almost makes me feel sick.

Anyway, today I was lucky enough to secure 2 x NOS N.E.W. 20.1 (230volt) from Singapore.  The price was pretty sensational and they should be here in a week.  Hopefully this is the last amplifier I'll be buying unless of course I get a divorce.

Apparently this amplifier was an old nelson pass design that he gave approval for N.E.W. to use.

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1218743361

Regards

Rod

[sts9fan]

I am not so sure they have Nelsons blessing but I am sure its a great amp.  I had a F1 clone in the NEW chassis and Nelson directly commented on it at DIYaudio.  "no good deed goes unpunished"

[zybar]

Rod,

One of the current amps I own (Atma-Sphere M-60's) now was something I owned and loved around 8-10 years ago.  I originally sold the M-60's due to their heat/high electricity cost and changing my speakers. 

Like yourself, I could never get their sound out of my head and always felt that I would eventually get another pair when the right opportunity presented itself.  That opportunity happened last winter when a pair of M-60's came became available at the right price from a person I already knew and trusted.  Since I have two and maybe even three pairs of speakers that the M-60's can work with, it was no brainer to buy them. 

I am happy to say they are as good or better than I remember them to be.   

I hope the same happens to you with the NEW amps.

Best of luck.

George

[bacobits1]

I notice you have the NEW P3 pre too. That is a sweety too. I thought it was better than my Audible Illusions 3.
I heard the NEW combo and it was nice sounding stuff.
I also regreat selling my MFA Magus B too. I should have had it completely gone over, it was mint condition. You don't see many come up FS at all.

Good Listening.

Den

[TheChairGuy]

Yeah, small low power amps tend to sound better than larger ones I've found.  In fact, until a few years ago when NAIM introduced their first relatively high-power amp at 140 watts a side, they didn't have a hi-power amp as they couldn't produce a seriously good, hi-power amp that sounded as well as they'd like.

Whatever technology they found allowed them to make a larger (SS, of course) amp back in 2000 or 2001...but not until then 

I have found much the same...the smaller amps in a makers line-up tend to sound better, sweeter, richer, faster....Sam Tellig likes small amps, too. 

It's no wonder, Rod, you like the N.E.W. amp...20 watts of CLass A on reasonably efficient speakers are possibly heaven itself

John

[Rocket]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the comments.  I guess the majority of us have made mistakes along our audiophile journey.

I've tried 3 class a/b amplifiers and 1 digital amplifier in my system and they all had their weaknesses and strengths.  Mind you to be honest the battery powered N.E.W. dc-66 was a ripper of an amplifier but the recharge circuit is too unreliable and they fried my brand new batteries.

The N.E.W. p3 is a version of a cary audio design preamp and it sounds pretty good.  I did think the beta modwright sounded a little better in the bass region.

Apparently the owner of N.E.W. had a number of dubious business dealings and made quite a bit about the nelson pass connection.  Much to nelson pass' displeasure.


Still its a great sounding amplifier and it will be interesting to hear it in my system.

Regards

Rod

[lonewolfny42]

Rod...

Will you be using the N.E.W. 20.1's with your soon to arrive Salk HT2's or another speaker ?

[Rocket]

Hi Chris,

I haven't thought that far ahead  .  Whichever amplifier sounds the best in my system I'll be using that one.

I also have an audiocircle friend trying to convert my N.E.W. dc-66 from battery power supply to AC.  Its been a long process and I'm not sure if it is going to be successful.  A friend's N.E.W. class a amplifier was used with my nuforce s9 speakers and I'll really liked the sound that I heard.

I'll probably be like you and have a multiple of components to use in my system.

I now have to figure out how to sneak these amps into the house without my wife knowing  .

Regards

Rod

[lonewolfny42]

Rod...

I'll probably be like you and have a multiple of components to use in my system.

Cool....nothing like having a variety to play with...

I now have to figure out how to sneak these amps into the house without my wife knowing ...

You could always say I "loaned" you the amps to try....

Good luck....

[Rocket]

Hi Chris,

Well I could...but she doesn't know your reputation  .

Btw can anyone give me some advice on how to biamp or use them as monoblocks.  On the rear of the amp there is a mono switch.

Regards

Rod

[msteindler]

Hi Rod,

Just caught your post. I still own my 20.1 and intend to keep it; it's a very musical piece.
Hearing it with a P3 and Meadowlark Kestrals is what really got me into this hobby. It's been packed away for about 3 years, but we had a brief reunion not too long ago. I popped it back into my current system after selling my Belles 150a Ref while awaiting my current Belles 350a Ref. I didn't feel like I was missing out at all, and, with my McCormack RLD-1, it provided more than adequate power into my Meadowlark Ospreys (22x15 room), despite its mere 22wpc. While I can't specifically describe it, I feel that its single-ended, class A design conveys the music in a special way.
A few years ago I heard from an 20.1 owner who had his modified by Musical Concepts and thought it was elevated into Mark-Levinson territory.
If you might be interested in a copy I have of a review from a site in the Far East that contrasts the sound of the amp in stereo and bridged, send me an email address to which I can send a pdf attachment and I'll gladly send it out.
Enjoy your new amps!

Marvin
marvsteindler"at"mac.com

[bummrush]

Those were supposed to be really good amps,I think they were priced very well also.