First Watt Aleph J

Progress has been a bit slow. I have the amp ready to wire up. Hope to have it done this coming week.
 
It's beautiful!

What is the purpose of the red and green LEDS? Are they solely functional or is the colored light visible in a darker room?
 
It's beautiful!

What is the purpose of the red and green LEDS? Are they solely functional or is the colored light visible in a darker room?
They are what I had on hand. You could use all red, blue, green etc. I just closed the top today. I'll check this evening and see if the light shines through the top plate.
 
The Aleph J was my first build using the DiyAudio boards. I’ve since built the M2 and I prefer the way the Aleph J plays with my speakers. The J has an input sensitivity of 1.5v to reach rated output and I initially Used a passive First Watt B1 because my CD players output was 2v, but didn’t quite cut it with my turntable preamp output. I’ve since built the B1 Korg preamp and the extra grunt really makes the Aleph J sing. One of the senior mods on the site suggested that a preamp with a bit of voltage swing would be preferable and I would agree in my case.
 
@JSA71

Did the Korg preamp help the Aleph J when using only a CD player as source? Or was the passive B1 just as good as the Korg with CD the player?
 
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I recently completed a DIY build of the Aleph J amp, and I’ve been playing it for about two weeks comparing it to my other amplifiers:
  • Dynakit Stereo 35 with EFB mod
  • Pass DIY Sony VFET Class A
  • McIntosh MC240
I expected a nice Class A SS amp when I built this, and one of my primary motives was to teach some audio friends around the country how to build Pass DIY amps via Zoom meetings every weekend during this pandemic.

This amp has surpassed my expectations and I really enjoy listening to music with it in my system. It matches up well with my Audio Research PH5 tube phono stage, Audio Research LS7 tube line stage, and Klipsch Forte II speakers. My Forte II’s disappear in my listening room amidst a huge, deep soundstage. The detail, the separation between musicians, the tonality, and the pace and timing are remarkable. A good friend who is also an audio enthusiast visited the other week and he was very impressed with the Aleph J so much, he wants me to build him one. In our amp shootout, it was a toss up between the MC240 and the Aleph J. The edge went to the MC240 for that lovely tube bloom that imparts presence, but the Aleph J was equally enjoyable in its own way.

In fact, I’ve described to my friends having all these great amplifiers is like loving four beautiful women at the same time, and appreciating them for their unique personalities and beauty. In this case, I’ve been spending more time with the Aleph J.
 
I got noticable improvement in channel separation and noise making my F5 into monoblocks. I attribute that to the dual power supplies. That might be something to consider at some point to get the very most out of it.
 
I got noticable improvement in channel separation and noise making my F5 into monoblocks. I attribute that to the dual power supplies. That might be something to consider at some point to get the very most out of it.
Given current draw, not suprizing.
 
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