Guest Muon N' Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Yup, he's happy. Yeah pity you didn't make it round, Matt. The Saksa is a nice amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Hmm... With the Saksa paired with the M103's on good recordings (Holly Cole, Dianna K.. ect') the sound is extremely nice, but these speakers are pretty ruthless on bad recordings. So speaker pairing is not bad but is not ideal so far. The revealing nature of the amp and speakers gets a lot from the stock CD4. Still, the good recordings are very lovely Still have to get the better speaker cables into the system for him soon and we will see how things with lesser recordings are then. Isolation for the components and under the speakers cleaned up the sound nicely from previously, so that was a nice win for little cost (Ikea Bamboo boards with anti vibration blocks under them, sandstone pavers under the speakers). The CD4 is screaming for a tube buffer output stage (tda1304 v-out dac). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactic Soap Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Hi Gents, Quick question - I'm currently running a NAKSA80 and I'm very happy with the setup. Have it paired with a Chord DAVE as a DAC/PRE getting a signal from a Microrendu + LPS-1 through to some ML1 Reference compact monitors. I mentioned in another thread that I find the sound just a touch forward from neutral in the upper mid-range and treble but not fatiguing at all. I'm curious about the Maya upgrade: is it simply a matter of shipping my Naksa80 to Hugh to get the module replaced (plus paying for his troubles and postage etc) - i.e. do I get to retain the case it's in at the moment? The Naksa I'm referring to was built by AJ: Cheers, S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) Hugh would be best to answer that one...@AKSA Edited August 3, 2017 by Muon N' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Looks like AMT tweeters on those speakers. They'd have to be incredibly revealing.Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 @MattyW Aurum Cantus speakers (all AC), drivers are made by Aurum Cantus, they sell to other speaker makers and the DIY community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Grabbed 3m speaker cables using the new Duelund DCA16GA wire, I see why they like this stuff, very nice tonal colours and straight off the bat better than the Neotech Copper ones i have in every respect I can think of. This will go nicely into the Saksa system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Got some speaker cables done, now the Saksa and speakers are playing much nicer, . Had only cheap spool stuff doing cables duties while we waited for the wire, so the difference is very noticeable. Sade 'Solder of Love' sounded great. Replaced the plates with the same wire, and connected as per a thread on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Looks really fantastic Ian Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) First time dressing cables, and I have decided that it is probably easier to purchase pre made ones, I found the exercise to be a bit of a PITA to be honest (cut finger tips and all) Easy to see where I could have done better too. The Saksa deserved these cables, the weakest link thing so now the rig is sounding much better. Far from finished though but aren't they always that way. Edited August 7, 2017 by Muon N' Added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Yeah, systems tend to be a permanent work in progress. Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Dean Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 (edited) Thanks Ian, You have given your SAKSA a good workout, and I'm really chuffed you like it....... The Maya is the flagship, and fully built ready for Plug 'n Play it's $4600 plus GST. This is my best amp, with a level of performance heads and shoulders above the SAKSA, which is pretty good, but not to the level of the Maya, which took years to develop. You can buy the Maya modules for $2200 plus GST, and they come with heatsinks but allow the user to buy transformer and enclosure and wire it up and in a couple of hours have a working Maya. There are constraints on the warranty, of course, because it's not possible to warranty other people's work. There have been debacles with hamfisted attempts to mount them onto different heatsinks which were avoidable had they known exactly what they were doing, so I've tightened up the warranty on the modules. Certainly if the SAKSA is good, and outstanding with just about any recording quality, the Maya is out of this world for its silence, spatial qualities, resolution and scale. All my amps are Class AB low feedback, using a single pair of power output mosfets, 280W devices on the SAKSA, and 480W on the Maya. One of these devices does duty on a hybrid vehicle, it is rated to 69A continuous current. I believe these will never fail in driving loudspeakers, even Quads! Hugh Edited August 12, 2017 by Aspen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Hi Hugh, I went to research the new Maya on your aspen audio website aksaonline, and the only mention of it anywhere is on the front page with a live link that takes me to an offsite blogger's review of the NAKSA 80....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 I'd love to hear the Maya someday Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Dean Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Yes, Newman, can you drive websites? Since my illness I have lost any clue of how to drive the website, it's a mystery to me, and I'm not prepared to spend too much money on it because my work output is already low and profits are difficult in this market........ Hugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Sorry Hugh, I wish I could. Maybe someone else reading this is a bit more savvy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 My mate asked for a little more in tube harmonics, so grabbed a Yaqin Buffer, had to add bleed resistors to the inputs and outputs but it has given him that little more of what he likes. Seems to play well with the Saksa85, and tames the ruthless aspects of the ribbon tweeters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Sorry Hugh, I wish I could. Maybe someone else reading this is a bit more savvy? I've not tried my hand at Web design since the 90's. Not too useful these days.Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newman Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 @MattyW I think all Hugh needs is a page added for Maya with specs pricing and testimonials, and the currently-wrong link from Maya to a NAKSA review fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyW Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 First time dressing cables, and I have decided that it is probably easier to purchase pre made ones, I found the exercise to be a bit of a PITA to be honest (cut finger tips and all) Easy to see where I could have done better too. The Saksa deserved these cables, the weakest link thing so now the rig is sounding much better. Far from finished though but aren't they always that way. Based on your reports I picked up a pair of 4 wire braided Dueland evaluation cables from Geoff at Aurealis this morning. You were quite right, these have brought the "wow" factor out in my system. Geoff mentioned that that these really need 20 hours to settle in so they'll only improve.... As will the rest of my system. The phono, amp and interconnects aren't burned in yet. It's hard to imagine things getting better from here though. The cables have brought a good dose of the three dimensionality that the Tokos Cosmos pot provided in my previous Yaqin amp, though note quite as accentuated. I welcome it though. Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Muon N' Posted September 17, 2017 Share Posted September 17, 2017 (edited) Cool! It is very good stuff, i agree. That's what i look for in system building, components that max ya' expenditure, and why I got interested in Hugh's Saksa85 From there It's picking the right mix. Edit: the Yaqin is the odd ball in this setup, as It's not of the same quality of the other components. Edited September 18, 2017 by Muon N' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuyen Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 (edited) Picked up a Apsen Saksa 85 recently. Using it to power the horn channel (>150hz) of my active system, is really impressive. No idle noise/hum. Sounds powerful but refined and delicate at the same time. Sounds good straight away (no need long warmup times, which works well for me). Good at low and high volumes. I switch between the saksa85 and a bakoon amp-12r for the horn channel. The saksa has a bit more drive and richness in the tone compared to the bakoon, which is a bit lighter/softer in presentation. can highly recommend the apsen amps! Edited April 21, 2021 by tuyen 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muon* Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 The Saksa's are a nice amp. Love your speakers, Tuyen :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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