AM Amplifiers

[Jventer]

Has anybody on Stereonet listened to the new AM pre or power amps?

 

AM evolved from Stereo Knight and I have read that some members have/had those. (I almost bought a pre). Greg is very impressed with the new products. 

 

I would love to get some opinions from members.

 

 

[Bronal]

I've been interested in the 805 SE monoblocks for a while, but have been hesitant to commit, because a review of the Ming Da 805 monos in Hi Fi World found found that they put out only 18 wpc as opposed to the specified 40 wpc.  So I'm wondering whether 805s are as powerful as manufacturers claim.  Having said that, the AMs look very well made and a cut above most Chinese product.  They are also available to order in black.

[Whites]

Hi Jventer,

 

I have the 805 SE monoblocks, bought them in January this year. They replaced a Consonance 15th anniversary amp which I really loved.

 

I am not well versed in audiophile terms, but here is my best effort at describing the improvement in my system:

• the timbre of voices is amazing. Michael Stipe, Eddy Vedder, Adele, Sarah Blasko... the 805's transformed their voices, albums that I played many times were played again with me totally amazed.
• imaging and clarity were improved, when playing Pink Floyd I could hear those voices that lead in, and some songs end with, with more clarity.
• there was a significant improvement in separation of instruments
• the music is fuller at a lower volume level than my old amp

The 805's are well made (commenting on external build), everyone that sees them always touches the aluminium base and comments on the build quality.

The real test to me is that after 9 months I still really enjoy them.

Hope this helps you. I am definitely glad that I bought them, even sold the 15th as I knew I would never listen to it again.

 

I have attached a photo of them...love how they look !

[Marc]

I've only heard these: http://www.stereo.net.au/news/am-audio-833s-mono-amplifiers/ and oh my it was impressive!

Too rich for me sadly, even at Greg's remarkable pricing.

[Jventer]

Hi Whites

Thanks for posting. I see you have many of Greg's products. So do I. My stuff is just older/smaller/cheaper .

I have an older Audio Aero and the Consonance 845s.Whilst there is nothing wrong with the amps I was thinking on better Consonance or maybe a CAT to feed the upgrade addiction. From what I understand from Greg is that he prefers the AM products. His pricing compared to the rest of the world is fantastic.

 

What speakers are you using is it Eclipse or Epitome?

 

Thanks

Johannes

[Jventer]

I've only heard these: http://www.stereo.net.au/news/am-audio-833s-mono-amplifiers/ and oh my it was impressive!

Too rich for me sadly, even at Greg's remarkable pricing.

Hi Marc

Yes, It is not cheap.

A long story but I am regularly in contact with Greg as in upgrade sickness, more speakers, personal connections  etc etc. I spoke to him again today and he did mention that he has sold AM products, so I am trying to get member reviews. He is not an active person on the forum so he could not tell me if the purchasers were members. He does appreciate the fact that members refer people to him.

Also - well done in getting him as a sponsor.

[Marc]

Hi Marc

Yes, It is not cheap.

A long story but I am regularly in contact with Greg as in upgrade sickness, more speakers, personal connections  etc etc. I spoke to him again today and he did mention that he has sold AM products, so I am trying to get member reviews. He is not an active person on the forum so he could not tell me if the purchasers were members. He does appreciate the fact that members refer people to him.

Also - well done in getting him as a sponsor.

 

I really wanted to bring Greg on board as he simply offers unbeatable value for money products, across all the brands he offers including his very own loudspeakers. I really don't think his brands get enough exposure.

I also take credit for being the first organisation, ever, to entice him to advertise! haha

 

http://www.osbornloudspeakers.com.au/files/achievments.html

 

 

* Despite never advertising, has sold over 3500 pairs in 16 Countries. All by word of mouth. (Never advertised until September 2014 with Stereonet)

[Whites]

Johannes,

 

Yes, I have many of his products. I have had some luck as I bought the Audio Aero second hand and the speakers were Greg's demo (Epitome towers - reference), last of the focal drivers.

 

HIs pricing is really good, I am more than satisfied with the AM amps, IMO they are good value. One of the reasons I bought them was the designer was from Stereo Knight and those products have a good international reputation.

 

Chris

[Jventer]

Johannes,

 

Yes, I have many of his products. I have had some luck as I bought the Audio Aero second hand and the speakers were Greg's demo (Epitome towers - reference), last of the focal drivers.

 

HIs pricing is really good, I am more than satisfied with the AM amps, IMO they are good value. One of the reasons I bought them was the designer was from Stereo Knight and those products have a good international reputation.

 

Chris

Chris  you have my dream speakers!! ( the Monuments are just too big and expensive). Just couldnt afford the Epitomesand did not have the space for them - so went for the Eclipse Reference Towers. My AA is a 2005 model upgraded - same thing - bought it used from a SNA member (on ebay). The synergy between thestuff that greg sells/promote is just so good. Also have the same centre speaker - ha ha. For HT duries I am using a pair of E2's for rears. Thinking of going from 5 channel to 7 channel so may be buying more. Tragic I know .

 

For the last year  I used a 3 channel Consonance for HT duties. Got it from Cafad. 

 

Anywy - thanks for posting and enjoy those Epitomes withe AMs.

[daviddsailor]

I purchased an AM R-T1 pre amp from Greg several weeks ago. I can't speak highly enough about it. With my existing equipment, mostly from Greg, I thought I was achieving very good results. Then the R-T1 came along and went between my AA CD player and monoblock amps and the improvement was worth every cent I paid for it. I was told that a pre between the CD and amps would be an improvement but couldn't understand how that could be. I don't argue now.

[Whites]

David,

 

Good one, unfortunately I need to have a remote (mainly due to being lazy)  so I didn't buy the AM preamp.

 

Based on my experience with the 805's I am sure your preamp will be a keeper.

[daviddsailor]

This arrangement might sound unusual but I have a La Fontaine CD player which has its own valve output stage and remote volume. I set the R-T1 volume controls to about 10 o'clock and still use the CD player to control the volume. This might go against common sense but no matter how I configure the system I still get a big improvement with the R-T1 in circuit. The CD player can be set to fixed output, 2, 3 & 4V or variable. I cannot detect any difference in performance using any of these settings so I figure I'll use it as a remote volume control. I also use the R-T1 as a pre in my home theatre front channels for a worthwhile improvement in clarity and dynamics and the same for my vinyl setup.

[Whites]

That is very interesting. I would have assumed using the La Fontaine as the volume control would have adversely affected the performance.

I do have a question regarding how you set the volume for when in HT mode?  In my case I set my preamp to 12 o'clock, then used the microphone supplied with my Yamaha surround receiver and let it automatically determine and adjust the levels within the Yamaha. The only problem with this is that you must remember to turn the volume down on the preamp prior to 2 channel use !

How did you set yours up ?

[daviddsailor]

The AA CD player (as far as I can work out) uses a volume control chip which is in effect a ladder attenuator. It doesn't control the volume by throwing away digital bits so the audio quality isn't compromised. How they achieve the fixed outputs of 2, 3 & 4V I don't know but they may just be electronic presets in the ladder attenuator addresses. In any case I can't hear any differences other than volume. 

 

With HT the AA preamp is out of circuit and I select the HT receiver (Yamaha RX-V3800) front L & R outputs on the RT1, set the RT1 volume to 2/3 scale and then do the YPAO correction as per usual. The 5.0 system volume is then controlled by the Yamaha remote.

 

For vinyl playback I initially connected my R40 phono pre to the RT1 and had to manually control the volume. Now I go via one of the AA CD player spare analogue inputs then to the RT1. As it turns out I prefer this arrangement as there is a bit more bass weight. Probably due to with impedance matching for the R40.

[daviddsailor]

I've just built a Pass B1 buffer to go between the Consonance R40 phono preamp output and the input of the AM RT-1 preamp. This has fixed the impedance mismatch and low frequencies are back in spades. Now that the AA preamp is out of circuit I am forced to get up and down to twiddle the knobs on the RT-1 but who cares, I need the exercise. I'm still evaluating the setup but initial impressions are that there is an improvement overall now that the AA is out of circuit, one less bit of equipment in the chain.

[daviddsailor]

The B1 buffer board came as a kit from Jim's Audio. I've just replaced the 4 coupling caps on the board with Audience Auricap's from Soundlabs Group (at $88.00 that's more than the whole buffer cost). The improvement is sound is incredible and puts to rest any comment about capacitors not making any difference.