Rawson Amps

The question was asked by someone thinking of buying one, not a theoretical question. What seems odd is that Tim a strightup guy, yet he really seems to have done something to make Nelson Pass feel crossed. 1000s of threads questioning the ethics of what he was doing? Makes you wonder doesn't it?

If First Watt sales were not hurt and Tim Rawson was working alone and producing a small number of amplifiers at minimum wage, I fail to see where this is an issue at all.

If he had a factory with multiple units being churned out every hour by Chinese children for 60% of what Nelson charges and was advertising all over the internet, I could see where he should certainly be challenged in the press as well as in court.

Since the former appears to be the reality in this circumstance, we all need to scale back our indignation and let the poor guy Rawson have his fun. He likes to build these things. He experiments with mods and materials and he pays for his hobby by selling off his completed experiments at a modest profit. Do we really give a damn if he pockets $1000/month? Lots of parasites make a lot more than that by just buying and selling constantly on Audiogon. The produce nothing, contribute nothing, and drive up our cost for used gear. Turn your anger and resentment toward them. Tim is a real hobbyist.

Apparently Tim Rawson is not building amps any more. So if I buy a used Rawson clone from someone on Audiogon, how am I hurting Nelson Pass? Very likely, no one is making money selling a used Rawson amp for $500. They are just moving on to some other amp.

There's no way I can afford to buy a new First Watt amp. If I buy a used First Watt, or a used Rawson Clone, or somebody's D.I.Y. clone that he got tired of- from NONE of these does Nelson Pass make any money.

Rationalization?

I'm a DIY. I just built my own Aleph 3. It's very nice. I do feel that if I were to crank these out and sell them new, it would be violating Mr. Pass's policy. I have a degree in Industrial Electronics from the University of California school system so my DIY units are magnificent, both electrically and cosmetically. My Aleph 3 runs 20 degrees Celsius cooler than a factory Aleph 3 because it has 25 percent more heat sink surface than factory made. But here is something to think about. With a college degree and a build quality that would pass muster with Motorola as a design prototype, my Aleph 3 cost me $1200 for parts. If I had to cheapen my costs so that I could sell them for $500, something important would be missing. I would not buy such an amplifier, neither would I sell one.