I built an F6 clone from the DIYaudio web site a couple of years ago. great site, great members and highly expd with great advice and willingness to help. It cost about $800 in parts and the cabinet, I think the F6 from First Watt is about 3500. Nelson is also active on the DIYaudio forums which is pretty cool. The amp sounds great, very musical and as I put it in a large housing with big heat sinks it doesn’t run that hot (it’s a pure class A amp). Like many of his amp it has a lower than average input sensitivity so when compared to other amps you may find you’ll need to run your pre- amp volume higher than typical, though if you’re running very efficient speakers it’s a moot point.
Pass Labs 1st Watt Rundown
I have become intrigued with the 1st Watt series and I am trying to wrap my head around the series and the differences within the series, but the internet discussions seem shallow.
Can anyone give me a rundown of the different models, versions, whatever?
What are the differences from one to another?
Did the newer iterations correct problems of the previous models and what were they, or did they simply address differences in power?
Stereo? Monoblocks?
What pre's and the sensitivity of the speakers you used with them.
Anything else you can think of as to characteristics of the different models.
Thanks