What do the experienced members think about the new $599 Class A amp from LHLabs?

[humblebee]

You must have heard about their Geek Pulse campaign on indiegogo site.
Now they plan to introduce a Class A amp - S100 - 50w@4ohms which is available for pre-order till 1 Jan. Just scroll down on the geek pulse campaign page.
Now its difficult to comment without listening but what can you comment on general?
I mean like the company credentials, the deal in general etc.
Since im in the market for a Class A amp for my Q Acoustics 2020i, this seems like a nice option for affordably trying out one.

Thanks

 

[asliarun]

Thanks. I checked it out. LhLabs is rapidly assembling a full stack. They also have a source (Geek Source) that seems to be a low latency low jitter Intel i5 based dedicated audio PC and upgraded clocks. Cost is somewhat reasonable too at about $700.

Seems like whatever components they are creating - are well designed and have quality components. Will probably give a lot of mid fi components a run for their money, especially at the early adopter prices.

 

[asliarun]

Too late to edit my previous post

Here's the link to Geek Source and Geek Wave.

To me personally, Geek Source is THE Squeezebox replacement. Paired with the Geek DAC, it will let us play every single high res format audio and will take care of all the jitter/latency issues - for a total cost of dedicated source + DAC of less than $1k. That is quite an accomplishment. This should be a serious consideration for anyone who is looking for a computer source.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/...od-it-s-a-no-compromise-portable-music-player

And yes, the Class A amp is really attractive too. And all these products are so nicely priced!

 

[humblebee]

The whole campaign has a pretty positive vibe !
Your reply makes me feel that i should have shared this info earlier so that members here could have had more time to make up their minds and wallets in case they feel like buying !
The geek source + geek pulse basic versions will come to $1150 - 750+400. And yes that campaign has ended. So no cheap source now. But the pulse campaign page with all its offerings is open till 1 Jan.

But i was concerned about one thought that i had - there is a type of company that can offer geeky products and good parts but may not have been in the market for long to cover other areas like after sales service.

Besides, assembling together high end components doesnt mean much if they dont come together well.
Their geek out dac has medium reviews though. If they really do offer high end audio at affordable prices then shouldnt it have been better than say dragonfly dac?

 

[manniraj]

I think there is a thread by one FM who had booked the Geek Pulse and it looks like the timelines are not adhered to and may get delayed. So the money gets blocked for a long period and till you get it in hand nobody knows how does it perform/sound.

 

[sann]

even if you can get 10W class A stereo for 80k its good enough...!

If you are into DIY you can build world class, class A amps for way less than that.

 

[magma]

an amp that delivers 20w in pure class A and then switches over to AB
is also classified by many as a class A

please take note

 

[hifiramr]

If you are into DIY you can build world class, class A amps for way less than that.

sann absolutely right.In pure class A 10W is far enef to drive any difficult speaker with ease and class A is class A.I am using Jean hiraga 15W class A with my 86db speaker its excellent.If you looking for class A then DIY is the best option.You will get lot help from the forum we have a very good documentation of Nelson pass F5 build also.

 

[asliarun]

sann absolutely right.In pure class A 10W is far enef to drive any difficult speaker with ease and class A is class A.I am using Jean hiraga 15W class A with my 86db speaker its excellent.If you looking for class A then DIY is the best option.You will get lot help from the forum we have a very good documentation of Nelson pass F5 build also.

I've always wondered (been frustrated) by this. To me, watts are watts. Or that is how basic engineering taught me. I can totally understand that the quality of watts (amplification) of Class A or tube amps is superior to say, Class AB or D. But the quantity of watts necessary - that has to remain the same, right?

So the only conclusion I can draw is that - the reason a Class A or tube amp - even with a 10W rating - sounds good is because when it is driven to distortion, it distorts in a way that retains musicality (the whole even harmonics thing). Or some people even like that distortion as compared to another amp that doesn't distort (and hence doesn't color the music).

But it is still incorrect to say that "10 watts of class A" is enough. No, it isn't - because an amp should never be driven to distortion, and should never color the music, even harmonics or otherwise.

Or there is something else I am missing, and I am not an amp designer, so please bear with me. Perhaps, a typical Class A amp has enough capacitance and instantaneous power reserve that even though it is 10W rated RMS, it is, say, 200W instantaneous. And this is enough in most cases, except the cases where the music and speakers continuously put a heavy load on the amp.

But if that is the case, why isn't this instantaneous power specification made more clear by Class A amp makers? Why continue this mystique that certain types of watts are more powerful that other types of watts? That makes no sense, right?

 

[omishra]

In my experience all above thought from esteemed members are correct.
1. Class A 50W/channel means it would dissipate 100W/channel in biasing. So it would be huge power supply and heatsink. So should not weight less than 30 Kg minimum.
2. Given at price point $599, they must not be making any profit if provide all those specs.
3. How much power you need in class A? Unlimited if power bill permits.
4. I am using F5 turbo V2, trying to convert it to V1 and bias more, (>100V/ch). Thats different than normal F5. Our esteemed members had listened to both.
5. Jean hiraga PS needs huge caps, but that can be mitigated by using capacitance multiplier and without loosing musicality. Because you need hi current capability with no ripple in PS output.

 

[omishra]

DIY version need to be build after careful thought. I have 4 devices into each channel, each device dissipating 25W. So it comes 100W/ch. When we made it we got hold of well matched original semiconductors (I am forgetting Mfg name) from DIYA group buy no IRF. So sound is different.

 

[jls001]

IRF sucks big time without forced cancellation of the odd harmonics. Just a pushpull is not sufficient Nelson is intelligent to design super symmetry but unfortunately he has not released them in DIY versions.

Supersymmetry needs balanced input to work. Not many of us have balanced sources or balanced preamps.

Mr Pass has given lots to the DIY community. May be we should allow him to keep his unique selling proposition (the patented Su Sy) for his commercial products. He can't be giving away all

Also, as far as I know, there's no product named "30.5" in the current X Series line up, though there is XA30.8 in the "XA.8 Pure Class A High Current Series". I think they may also still have the older XA30.5 unless they have discontinued it. Assuming you are referring to the XA30.8, please note that it retails for 6.5K US$. Not fair to compare that to a DIY-ed F5 that can be built for perhaps a tenth of that cost (or thereabouts) by a starving DIY-er on a shoestring budget.