[droht]

A big THANKS to you Mariusz for going to all of this trouble just to let us other audiophools hear this amp.  That is going way beyond the call of duty and it is appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ed

Big +1.  I have organized these kinds of things, and it definitely takes more effort than might be imagined. 

[Mariusz]

A big THANKS to you Mariusz for going to all of this trouble just to let us other audiophools hear this amp.  That is going way beyond the call of duty and it is appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ed

Big +1.  I have organized these kinds of things, and it definitely takes more effort than might be imagined.

No, thank you for being patient and taking active role in in this and hopefully many more tours in the future. Thanks to guys like yourself, audiophiles reading these kind of forums around the World can make better and more educated choices.
Good as well as bad experiences with specific component/speakers are very important and IMO essential to Audiophile Community like AudioCircle. Reviews can be bias ( including my own ) as we all hear different and have specific preferences. But nothing can stain and be more helpful then hands on experiences of fellow audiophiles like yourself.

Ones Again

BIG THANKS TO ALL

Mariusz

[Wind Chaser]

Guys...

Remember to post your opinions, and don't be shy or too sparing with words.  Be honest and specific, not too sparing on the details and not over the top hype.  Remember to tell us what speakers you are using and how the Miniwatt compares to whatever else you have.

Should this feedback be posted as individual reviews in the Amplification Review circle rather than in this thread?  It would generate more hits for the Miniwatt on Google and keep things organized for the Admin.  Just a thought.

[Mariusz]

Guys...

Remember to post your opinions, and don't be shy or too sparing with words.  Be honest and specific, not too sparing on the details and not over the top hype.  Remember to tell us what speakers you are using and how the Miniwatt compares to whatever else you have.

Should this feedback be posted as individual reviews in the Amplification Review circle rather than in this thread?  It would generate more hits for the Miniwatt on Google and keep things organized for the Admin.  Just a thought.

I agree that impressions from the tour or reviews should be in separate thread.
It would have look silly if I started the new thread, so maybe one of the participants would like to do it instead so others could follow up with their findings there as well. Just a thought.


As to Wind Chaser's - "Be honest and specific, not too sparing on the details and not over the top hype."
Absolutly

Cheers
Mariusz

[Wind Chaser]

I agree that impressions from the tour or reviews should be in separate thread.

Also, it might not be a bad idea if each review had it's own thread, then there won't be any confusion with respect to follow questions.

Looking forward to seeing eight new reviews in the coming weeks.

[silverlight]

Hi - thought I'd chip in a few comments about the amp.  I received mine in the mail today direct from the manufacturer.  Building a modest desktop system for my home office.  Using some bookshelf speakers I was previously using as HT surrounds and was about to give away, but actually sound pretty darn good together in this system.

Setup:
- Celestion A1's, 88db sensitivity (a little large for the desk, and rear ported so have to play around a little with placement
- Silver miniWatt (just out of box tonight so no break-in)
- EMU 0404 playing 24/96 off of iTunes (will be adding Amarra soon for the main system so can compare down the road); also out of box for 1st time tonight
- Black Sands power cord (Violet ZII spec ed. gold series) for the amp, stock wall wart for the EMU (but have an upgraded linear power supply I'll be switching over)
- Soundstring Tricormaxial speaker cables. 
- I don't have a TRS adapter for the EMU so using a cheap (ugh!) headphone to RCA adapter to connect so I could at least hear something tonight and get the break-in started.  Will be using a pair of Tara Labs RSC Air 3 interconnects
- Revelation Audio Prophecy cryo-silver USB cable
- shakti stone under the EMU; some isolators under the amp; mesquite wood blocks under the speakers; glass desk.
- small room, about 10'Hx8'Wx11'D.

So in a word - WOW!  what a great little system, I'm really surprised to the upside, and I know will only get better with break-in and getting the interconnects in!  Thank you to Mariusz for the wonderful suggestion!  Since there's a lot added tonight I can't provide A/B type of analysis, but overall a very nice organic sound.  Full, rich, really nice imaging, very good detail. Nice upper extension, rolling off in the bass a little early (although this is clearly due in part to speaker placement and room acoustics given getting tighter and better bass in the corner and at the wall behind the speakers).  Very smooth and rich mids and highs, and even more so with 24/96 tracks than redbook (some edginess and smearing with the 16/44 files in the upper ranges).  Listening to various Blue Coast Music tracks (love their stuff!), and it sounds fantastic in this room (my main system is in a much larger room so nice and cozy sounding in here like a studio!).  So will follow up with another post as the equipment breaks in.  Based upon what I've heard so far I would absolutely recommend this little amp, what a great value.  Btw, even though my speakers are only 88db sens, I'm not needing to go past 10 o'clock on the dial for redbook and 12pm on the dial for the 24/96 (non loudness wars tracks).  The little guy runs hot  aa 

Finally, and more important than anything, is that I'm having a blast listening to music for the first time in my office and feel like I have some monitors now that I can now listen to tracks critically (I do all my music library management, SRC, etc. here).   Hope others get a chance to hear it! 

[Mariusz]

I agree that impressions from the tour or reviews should be in separate thread.

Also, it might not be a bad idea if each review had it's own thread, then there won't be any confusion with respect to follow questions.

Looking forward to seeing eight new reviews in the coming weeks.

I do not know about 8 separate threads. IMO it will scattered the info into spider web. It will be easier to have one general thread with many opinions - good or bad. Ofcause, everyone can have an opinion and it is up to individual but it will be easier to find all the information in one place.

Silverlight

Thank You for your initial impressions.
I kind of knew that you are going to like this little amp.
My reaction was very similar to yours but I am quite surprised that it handles your speakers that well. It just shows you that 2.5 watts goes a long way. As always ....... it is the first watt that counts.

Thanks and hope to hear from you when your 2nd system will settle down and at its best.

Cheers
Mariusz

[silverlight]

Quick update - much improved after 12 hours of continuous break-in with the Purist Audio burn-in CD on repeat.  Bass extension much further now (and faster/punchier bass as well).  The edginess in 16/44 as it was showing up last night is gone (natural to slightly warm sounding, without sounded colored).  now smoother and silkier    (keep in mind still pre-IC, just using cheap headphone connecter from the EMU 0404!).  Listened to some tracks I knnow well from the following this morning and loved it all: Diana Krall (quiet nights), Dido (safe trip), Brett Dennen (so much more), Bill Evans (portrait in Jazz xrcd), Arne Domnerus (Antiphone Blues), Kent Poon (Audiophile III@96), Maeve O'Boyle (All My Sins@96), Jun Fukamachi (At Steinway DXD), Nickel Creek (this side)  aa 

[Mariusz]

I believe that simplistic design and minimum parts count significantly reduce the break-in time.
After few days of play time the improvements are so subtle that it isn't worth mentioning.
The biggest change you will notice within first 50 hrs will be in bass reproduction, treble - air and dynamics. I will experiment with different PCs later today and see it it makes worthy improvements.
But in all honesty, I am not missing anything so far. MiniWatt is also one of the quietest amps I've ever owned, except for RWA 30.2 battery powered amp. Lower noise floor must be in part responsible for its stellar retrieval of the inner detail and imaging.

Mariusz

[MttBsh]

Mariusz - you mention that you owned a RWA 30.2....  I'm wondering if you would be willing to offer your view, even general impressions of how it compares to the Miniwatt amp. I imagine there are a few of us RWA owners reading this thread who would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!

[Mariusz]

Mariusz - you mention that you owned a RWA 30.2....  I'm wondering if you would be willing to offer your view, even general impressions of how it compares to the Miniwatt amp. I imagine there are a few of us RWA owners reading this thread who would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you!

In short - two completely different amps. Both great amps given the right system.

Mariusz

[Mariusz]

  PC shoot out is so boring ..... oh my.
It is helpless. Some of you might have already found this out about me - I am not a tweaker and pay little attention to stuff that has little value to music reproduction.
Some stuff might work in particular system or even my own but it has to reflect the right value v.s performance ratio, otherwise it's money I could've spend elsewhere and most likely - wiser.

Differences between these cable were marginal and almost unnoticeable. One of the reasons could be that they are all inexpensive power cords. It doesn't mean that you have to spend fortune acquiring PCs for you system. It is even truer in regards to PC choice for MiniWatt. It would be silly and quite funny to spend 4 times its value on PC which might or might not give you any significant improvements.

You might want to try different IC or Spk. cables instead. I haven't tried everything but from what I have on hand, copper works in my setup. Solid core for speakers and two of my favorite IC cables - one of them is Bella Extreme from Bill. It is a little pricey but it works quite well with my speakers regardless of associated components.

Here are the pics of PCs in the shoot out:



and Morrow Audio PC which I forgot to take pic of.





And if anyone cares to check out new review of MiniWatt conducted by TNT-Audio
Here is the link:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/miniwatt_amplifier_e.html

[droht]

I  just set up a thread for MiniWatt reviews in Critic's Circle.  Hopefully we can all post there.  I just posted some pics for now.  Impressions to follow.

[Mariusz]

Cool.
Lets post the MW impressions in new thread and tour schedule, etc. here.

Thank You  droht for setting up grounds for questions, concerns and impressions of MiniWatt Integrated amplifier.

Cheers
Mariusz

[Mr Content]

This seems to becoming widely regarded as a winner, well done. How much$, I would like to try one.

Mr C

[Mariusz]

This seems to becoming widely regarded as a winner, well done. How much$, I would like to try one.

Mr C

I am not a dealer and have (had) only few units send to me for the tour purposes.
You can buy direct tho. Price is $229 + $40 shipping and duties.

All tour units are sold except one which in still audition by AC members. If you live near NY State I could arrange the audition. Unit them has to be return to me.

Mariusz