Product Launch-First Note Labs stereo integrated amplifier IA 50

[magma]

Designed and handcrafted by First Note Labs, the IA- 50 integrated amplifier is arguably the cleanest "audiophile" grade commercially available stereo amplifier that is professionally Made in India.

The IA 50 belts out a clean 50W per channel of power (both channels driven, <0.5% THD) and probably one of the only amps that can be operated at maximum volume without clipping.

Each amplifier rolls off a carefully quality controlled hand assembly line operated by the small FNL team.

The amplifier features 3 inputs, 5 way electrically insulated gold plated binding posts with a 40A oversized relay based DC and overload protection circuit, a custom.designed toroidal transformer and a 60,000 micro farad power bank. Each channel has its own overengineered heatsink, and it is all housed in a world class cabinet with a thick laser engraved aluminum faceplate.

Keeping in line with the designers' purist philosophy, the no-frills amplifier sports a super short signal path, with custom extension shafts for the attenuator and world class components sourced from overseas distributors.

There are no displays no fancy lights bells or whistles, nothing unnecessary that would degrade the audio signal.

Proudly designed and made in India.

Warranty, parts and service is directly provided by the manufacturer.

Currently available through the distributor - SoundFoundations and soon to be available online exclusively through HifiMart .










Disclaimer

I have commercial interests as a distributor of FNL products.

 

[magma]

Expected retail RS 70,000 INR

Will confirm this soon

 

[mpw]

magma

very interesting

happy to know the product is designed and made in India

any chances for audition for HFV members ?

maybe you can setup a few audition dates and members can walk in - at the appointed time and date..

I have no requirement for an amplifier now but as i said i am quite keen to touch, feel and to listen to this amplifier.

regards
mpw

 

[surfatwork]

Great news. Like the simplicity.
Some more info about the amp itself would be great. Chip amp or discrete? Complementary or single ended? DC coupled? Gain? Capacitors used?

 

[magma]

Hi Mahesh

Serial number 2 ( I think )
Is in my micro studio here in Mumbai
( Address on my website )

Members have always been welcome here



However
I would request auditions only at my non working hours

Weekdays after 6 pm
Saturday after 6 pm
Sunday 9 am to 1 pm
( Old members probably recall that SF is still run as my hobby )

Please do bring along your source material
CDs flacs MP3 etc

If you would like audition with your own speakers you may bring them along as well

One demo piece will also be sent to the hifimart demo room
( Some rearrangement needs to be done there though )
Will inform when avavible there

 

[magma]

Great news. Like the simplicity.
Some more info about the amp itself would be great. Chip amp or discrete? Complementary or single ended? DC coupled? Gain? Capacitors used?

The attatched PDF leaflet in the first post
Provides the information that fnl has made avavible

I will request them to add specs if any are missing that are generally quoted by most other brands

 

[drgb]

Great looking amp!
Some pics and details of the internals would be appreciated sir!

 

[mpw]

what will anyone do looking at the internals ?

did you see the internals of the last amp you purchased for yourself before buying ?

the internals generate controversy whilst creating excitement for DiYérs

its best for prospective buyers ( and DiYérs ) to have a listen

else we end up with many things to say about components and implementation without having had a chance to hear these out.. leave alone making a purchase

 

[drgb]

what will anyone do looking at the internals ?

Curious about the design, components used and layout.

did you see the internals of the last amp you purchased for yourself before buying ?

I did. Always have, will be doing so in the future as well.

the internals generate controversy whilst creating excitement for DiYérs

Didnt quite get you.
I'd listen to a tin can if it sounded good. But I'd still like to see how it makes that good sound.

 

[mpw]

Curious about the design, components used and layout.

I did. Always have, will be doing so in the future as well.

Didnt quite get you.

I'd listen to a tin can if it sounded good. But I'd still like to see how it makes that good sound.

listen and then see internals will be a good idea..

first - internals and then listen - is putting the cart before the horse..

anyways..

Hi Mahesh

Serial number 2 ( I think )
Is in my micro studio here in Mumbai
( Address on my website )

Members have always been welcome here

View attachment 28299

However
I would request auditions only at my non working hours

Weekdays after 6 pm
Saturday after 6 pm
Sunday 9 am to 1 pm
( Old members probably recall that SF is still run as my hobby )

Please do bring along your source material
CDs flacs MP3 etc

If you would like audition with your own speakers you may bring them along as well

One demo piece will also be sent to the hifimart demo room
( Some rearrangement needs to be done there though )
Will inform when avavible there

magma

its a rainy week in Mumbai so i am not traveling this week and i would like to come over

will call you before hand

i note the timings..

regards

 

[jls001]

@magma : how does it sound driving your ATCs?

PS: never seen those speakers behind the ATCs. Which speakers?

 

[sathish.m.be04]

Designed and handcrafted by First Note Labs, the IA- 50 integrated amplifier is arguably the cleanest "audiophile" grade commercially available stereo amplifier that is professionally Made in India.

The IA 50 belts out a clean 50W per channel of power (both channels driven, <0.5% THD) and probably one of the only amps that can be operated at maximum volume without clipping.

Each amplifier rolls off a carefully quality controlled hand assembly line operated by the small FNL team.

The amplifier features 3 inputs, 5 way electrically insulated gold plated binding posts with a 40A oversized relay based DC and overload protection circuit, a custom.designed toroidal transformer and a 60,000 micro farad power bank. Each channel has its own overengineered heatsink, and it is all housed in a world class cabinet with a thick laser engraved aluminum faceplate.

Keeping in line with the designers' purist philosophy, the no-frills amplifier sports a super short signal path, with custom extension shafts for the attenuator and world class components sourced from overseas distributors.

There are no displays no fancy lights bells or whistles, nothing unnecessary that would degrade the audio signal.

Proudly designed and made in India.

Warranty, parts and service is directly provided by the manufacturer.

Currently available through the distributor - SoundFoundations and soon to be available online exclusively through HifiMart .

View attachment 28293

View attachment 28294

View attachment 28295

View attachment 28296


Disclaimer

I have commercial interests as a distributor of FNL products.

Great to hear an Indian product launched and also published to HF members .. External finishes are so good.. Nice shots..

Love to hear the output and feedback from FMs if anybody had a chance.

 

[tuff]

Good looking amp. No remote control?

 

[saheb11123]

@magma : how does it sound driving your ATCs?

PS: never seen those speakers behind the ATCs. Which speakers?

The wood finished ones?
They are a diy dayton audio full range driver based one.

 

[magma]

@magma : how does it sound driving your ATCs?

PS: never seen those speakers behind the ATCs. Which speakers?

How they sound with atc
Come and hear them
Tell me yourself

The speakers at the back are full range bookshelves
Design is again fnl ( cranky )

Great to hear an Indian product launched and also published to HF members .. External finishes are so good.. Nice shots..

Love to hear the output and feedback from FMs if anybody had a chance.

Pics from my crappy Redmi phone!!!

Good looking amp. No remote control?

Stepped attenuater for volume
So yes ; no remote

 

[powerslave]

70k for 50 watts into 8 ohms ? That's NAIM level pricing . Just curious what is the value proposition ?

 

[hifitoaster]

70k for 50 watts into 8 ohms ? That's NAIM level pricing . Just curious what is the value proposition ?

No remote at this price is a huge let down. But, is there any special advantage in using a stepped attenuator over the motorised potentiometer from Alps.? Also curious about the internal layout.

How long is the warranty?

 

[powerslave]

Well I personally am not fussy about remote in fact lesser the number of moving parts the better is what believe , however there are other core functional areas where it would be nice to know FNL's perspective for instance absence of headphone jack port , lack of a pre-out option and DIN/XLR input support , mind you these are not criticisms from my end for I might not use any of these expect the pre-out but my perspective says people who are on the lookout for a 50-100k range integrated will have too many choices in this segment even from EU based manufacturers specially when you venture close to 100k mark. Another data point is aesthetics too start to become a factor now some might frown upon such a notion but people do try to justify a gadget's price also on the basis of how it looks , weighs and feels. For instance there are no LED indicators for input selection and volume knob.

 

[magma]

"We are grateful for the community's interest in, and curiosity about our product. Anybody is free to contact us on our email id - [email protected] - and we will be happy to answer all queries to the best of our ability. We appreciate there isn't sufficient information available at the moment (believe me, we are working as fast as we can) and nobody with personal experience of the product or our brand, and we hope with time and audition/adoption of the product the blanks will be filled in.

We would like to keep the topology and circuit details under wraps for confidentiality reasons (and the fact that we will periodically upgrade and update the product/s) but the basic philosophy of the brand is to be competitive with products at significantly higher prices, and overbuild the product so that it provides many years of enjoyment. As a result our products will always have more than adequate heatsinking and power supplies, to be able to operate at the edge of specifications without failure or degradation in high ambient temperatures. We aim for the lowest possible distortion, and the circuitry is optimised for the most neutral presentation possible (wire with gain). The design choices reflect that aim, and the lack of extra features is a direct result of those choices.

We understand that the product may not have the features that a lot of commercial products have - like a remote control or headphone/pre out, but this is not intended as a catch-all product. We are wooing the experienced enthusiast with true audiophile performance at a pocket-friendly price. We have performed some comparisons with products at significantly higher prices and request prospective consumers or enthusiast community members to do the same, and come to their own conclusions. We are confident about the experience offered by the product and invite the community to sample it at some point."



Above is an excerpt from an email conversation

I concurr

As for some questions like why a stepped attenuater is used rather than a linear pot which is more common
I think google would be sufficient

The amp aims at being purist
Let's say a power amp with a volume control rather than a pre plus power
Infact its designed that way
Each channels with its independant boards and sinks

 

[powerslave]

Can one hear this Amp in Bangalore ?