Hi Jens and West!
Not yet, bit too early, still finalising the front end dimensioning, even though the boards are all done and ready to roll. We need to choose feedback levels (and hence damping factor) very carefully, and this is where we are fiddling about. We (Colin and I) are searching for a slightly more tubey sound - by which I mean something which really tugs at the heartstrings. Yes, it can be done in the design of an amp, it's quite extraordinary. I've recently been using simulation with LTSpice, somewhat inexpertly, but studying the Fourier analysis to give the distortion profile in detail, by precise harmonic. This seems to be bearing fruit and slowly we are building up a repertoire of simulation v. listening tests. It is this correlation which lies at the core of enlightened design, sadly not much of it is done.
The Maya will be for a different market, though, 150W into 8R, 280R into 4R. Soraya is 108W, 205W.
After developing a number of amps over the years, I'm convinced, knowing people's tastes now as I do, that better or worse is inappropriate, though one is sorely tempted to use these words. Different seems appropriate. And some will like that, and some will dislike it, this is such a subjective area. Heck, it borders upon the religious for many. But it's fascinating, no question about that!
One man's meat is another man's poison? Does that fit?
Ian,
As a general rule in this mad, mad world product success is determined by marketing, not by product quality. Good example was Windows 95, $500 million spent on the marketing, a great success! The best car I ever saw from the 1920s was the Hispano-Suiza, an absolute masterpiece, but Rolls Royce had the jump on the marketing, even though in many ways the technology of Rolls Royce was way behind. Same could be said of Bugatti. People raved about the TRX850 Yamaha, a Japanese Ducati, they'd say, yet few were sold, same with the ZRX1200, which I own and which I consider the best all rounder in the large displacement market, even today.
Conversely, the worse the marketing, within reason, the better the product, largely because the money was spent on R&D. I like to think I'm in this category!!
Hugh
