First Watt SIT 5

[Hubert]

I've spent the past few days listening to the SIT-5 and XA60.8 back to back (using Nordost Tyr 2 RCA on both to eliminate that factor). In retrospect I may have been a bit harsh on the 60.8. While it's definitely missing the greater holographic imaging and texture of the SIT, it's not really grainy and dull - just less good especially in the highs and mids.

I cannot speak to synergies with your Tannoys and it may depend on your music preferences. I suspect Nelson may offer an opinion as he's familiar with them.

As a side note, a friend recently asked how the SIT does when really pushed with challenging music. To those surprised that they mate well with Wilson Alexias, while I listen mostly to classic jazz and pop up to moderately loud volume levels, to answer my friend I played the Scorpion's "Still Loving You" full tilt. The vocals demand everything from the highs and mids, and when the percussion/bass come in the lower end is comparably challenged. All I can say is that at ear-splitting volume it put a smirk on my face - gives very little away to the 60.8 in bass slam, etc.

As Nelson says, there's no perfect amp, so along that philosophy if I were primarily listening to rock and/or other challenging music at high volume, I'd go with the 60.8, but for jazz/instrumentals/vocals it would be the SIT - no question. The SIT will play loud with exceptional performance in the upper range, giving away something in shear dynamics/overhead but it's magical with richer texture, detail, holographic imaging, etc.

Thanks for your input. The Westminster are 99dB and thrive on tube or tube like sound. So I guess that the easy load will let the dynamics go through. Besides all other sound aspects, the dynamics and livelinness are very important to me.

 

[David Hyman]

Plenty. 80-wpc into 4 ohms is a lot of power for a 90+ db efficient speaker. Believe it or not, even 5-wpc from the SIT-4 is enough for most of the music I play.

Interestingly it's only rated at 65 Watts into 4 ohms. Wondering where your 80 number comes from! I hope it's 80 as I just ordered the amp.

 

[Hubert]

Interestingly it's only rated at 65 Watts into 4 ohms. Wondering where your 80 number comes from! I hope it's 80 as I just ordered the amp.

Dear David,
Congrats on your order! I hope it'll be up to your expectations. I'm actually in the process of pre-ordering, but waiting on the possibility of a great opportunity for something else.
Please keep us posted with your impressions, I'd very much appreciate to have as many views as possible.
Concerning the rating, they are officially rated at 35W/8ohms. So 65 or 70 should be correct. However, this is based on the 120V version, and most often the 230V version is slightly stronger.
Thanks,
Hubert

 

[Axel C]

Interestingly it's only rated at 65 Watts into 4 ohms. Wondering where your 80 number comes from! I hope it's 80 as I just ordered the amp.

I received mine before the product details were available on their website so I asked the man himself via email. He confirmed 40 into 8, 80 into 4 but noted that the people at Pass might lower the published ratings. As is common with Pass, their power ratings tend to be conservative and when independently measured sometimes exceed their official rating considerably.

 

[Rumpole]

Steve Guttenberg (Youtube Audiophiliac) has the SIT-5 and is working on a review. He has a lot of experience with Pass and FirstWatt amps, so it will be interesting to hear his take.

 

[Hubert]

I received mine before the product details were available on their website so I asked the man himself via email. He confirmed 40 into 8, 80 into 4 but noted that the people at Pass might lower the published ratings. As is common with Pass, their power ratings tend to be conservative and when independently measured sometimes exceed their official rating considerably.

Thanks, good to know!

 

[David Hyman]

Dear David,
Congrats on your order! I hope it'll be up to your expectations. I'm actually in the process of pre-ordering, but waiting on the possibility of a great opportunity for something else.
Please keep us posted with your impressions, I'd very much appreciate to have as many views as possible.
Concerning the rating, they are officially rated at 35W/8ohms. So 65 or 70 should be correct. However, this is based on the 120V version, and most often the 230V version is slightly stronger.
Thanks,
Hubert

Thanks for the info!

 

[Axel C]

Hot off the press, Steve Guttenberg’s review:

 

[KPC]

Just watched Steve Guttenberg’s review. Lush but different from other class A sounds - curiosity itch to demo

 

[Alpha121]

I think it's particularly interesting that he had the opportunity to compare it to the XA25. These are two very different design strategies, both brought to a very high level, by the same world leading designer.

 

[MRubey]

I was recently contacted by an insider who had previously advised me to look into a Jackson / Slagle GM70 to unlock in magic lurking in the Nenuphar. He updated his advice saying that the SIT5 will not equal the SQ of the EM/IA but it gets close enough to satisfy. And there is a $25K delta.
Srajan dishes up a healthy plateful of superlatives.

SIT5

6moons.com

 

[twowheels]

One of my amps and the one I run most regularly is a SIT-3. However, I would love to obtain a little more oomph and a bit more inner detail. I'd love to try a pair of SIT-5. Is there any place for a non-industry guy to get a pair at a slight discount?

 

[Tangram]

One of my amps and the one I run most regularly is a SIT-3. However, I would love to obtain a little more oomph and a bit more inner detail. I'd love to try a pair of SIT-5. Is there any place for a non-industry guy to get a pair at a slight discount?

 

[twowheels]

View attachment 148623

Made me laugh.

 

[Tangram]

Made me laugh.

As the previous owner of an XA30.5 and a current XA25 owner I feel your pain. I bought my XA25 used and paid not far off retail (they’re a bit scarce in Canada).

 

[twowheels]

As the previous owner of an XA30.5mand a current XA25 owner I feel your pain. I bought my XA25 used and paid not far off retail (they’re a bit scarce in Canada).

I hear you. I try to buy used when possible and got a pretty nice deal on my used SIT-3. The 5 is so new there don't seem to be many around, and the RRP on the SITs has climbed. Guess we need to get used to increased prices.

 

[Hubert]

One of my amps and the one I run most regularly is a SIT-3. However, I would love to obtain a little more oomph and a bit more inner detail. I'd love to try a pair of SIT-5. Is there any place for a non-industry guy to get a pair at a slight discount?

Your Pass dealer should be able to give you that slight discount. The internet price is the RRP, and is what it is, recommended..
My dealer got me a very nice discounted price. But I also ordered two XA25..
All the best!
Hubert

 

[jmimac351]

I received mine before the product details were available on their website so I asked the man himself via email. He confirmed 40 into 8, 80 into 4 but noted that the people at Pass might lower the published ratings. As is common with Pass, their power ratings tend to be conservative and when independently measured sometimes exceed their official rating considerably.

I own a First Watt SIT-3, Pass Labs XA30.8, and Pass Labs XA200.5 monos.

I really like the SIT-3. I've gotten a nice taste of it on my Wilson Duette, and have wondered about what more power would be like via the SIT-5, and the fact they would likely be setups I could live with for a very long time (SIT-3 and SIT-5 Monos).

So the main issue is power, and it raises some questions. When I look at the Stereophile review of the SIT-3 and the measurements, it measures 8.4wpc into 8ohms at 1% "clipping". At 3% is when it gets to close to 18w (16.8wpc).

I do not listen loud (why I can consider SIT-3 and SIT-5), but the only reason for me going after the SIT-5 is more power with similar flavor... the actual power and whether it will "deliver" needs to be verified.

I am listening to 86-90db "regular 2-way speakers" but will also have a pair of Line Arrays at 96db. I know the SIT-3 will be great for the Line Arrays.

As for the SIT-5 power claims... and seeing actual measurements for the SIT-3 appear to show quite a bit less than rated - it makes me want to "Trust, but verify".

I have not reached out to Nelson about this as he is extremely generous and I don't want to bother him, unless I have to. That is a hypothetical that will give me an "educated guess" about what I will experience with the SIT-5 monos.

I am trying to get some perspective relative to things I already own. For instance, the SIT-5 power ratings are similar to the XA30.8. The XA30.8 will play much larger than the numbers indicate... it will surprise. Things I wonder about is whether the SIT-5 monos will deliver a similar experience in that regard, or will they run out of power before the XA30.8 will?

I'll note that when I asked a certain someone at Pass about the SIT-5 because of liking the SIT-3... I received a nice reply about the XA25... a guiding hand pointing at something I may wish to, or even should, consider.

Still chewing on all of it...

Excerpt from Stereophile review of SIT-3:

First Watt SIT-3 power amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements I performed a full set of measurements on the First Watt SIT-3, using my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"). Before doing any testing, I preconditioned the SIT-3 by running it at one-third power into 8 ohms for an hour. At the end of that...

www.stereophile.com

 

[Paul49720]

I heard SIT 4 with 89dB standmounts in my 19' x 17' x 10' high living room and was bowled over by the magic of the music and it seemed more than loud enough to me in my (2nd) system. Good luck on the trail of SIT 5

 

[jmimac351]

I suppose if the SIT-5 are rated along the same scheme as the SIT-3, then the SIT-5 has "about twice as much power" as the SIT-3 - and will probably be just fine. Could be that the stuff I am using is exactly what the SIT-5 is aimed at:

"Various 2 way speakers 4-8ohm / 86-90db / owner doesn't listen loud, prone to obsession, and still owns a Joule Electra VZN-80 OTL tube amp... he thinks he's on the scent for the same magic / ALL GLORY - NO TUBE FARTS"

Still, I would like to be a bit more certain than "probably", and it would be nice to know why the numbers measured by JA seem to vary significantly from published specs.

I am not picking at it and there is no doubt in my mind the sound is stellar; however, it would still be nice to know the "Why" for these power specs - as these details seem to matter to loons like me.

Nelson refers to the SIT-3 as "one of those All Night, year after year pieces"...

I suspect the SIT-5 could fill much the same role, and I want to make sure the SIT-5 power level means it really can stay here "year after year"... a bit more clarity on the numbers may help some with the decision (unless I'm the only one who noticed).