First Watt SIT-4 unbelievable!!!
- Thread starter silverfoxvtx1800
- Start date
Hi All
My first post on the WB Forum.
I have just purchased a First Watt SIT 4 to replace my Melody Dark Star 300B-1 monoblocks. My experience sounds similar to silverfoxvtx1880.
I have used valve (tube) amplification for over 40 years. I started with a home built 60W (4 x EL34) pair of monoblocks which lasted very well for nearly 37 years (new valves occasionally, of course).
I then purchased a pair of Cube Audio Nenuphar Mini V1 three years ago and I thought it was about time to have a change in amplification. I was contemplating buying the First Watt SIT 3 but decided to stay in the valve (tube) world and, of course, a low powered, triode mode amp was the obvious choice.
I chose the Melody based on hifi website reviews and was initially satisfied with its performance with an improvement over the EL34 amps into the Nenuphars. After about four weeks, I started to hear an intermittent "crackling" sound from one channel. I sent the faulty amp back to the retailer (in another state) and had a total sh*t fight with the courier company. They "lost it" for over four weeks!
The retailer wanted me to upgrade to a more powerful Melody amp (+ $1,000) rather than getting mine repaired. I suspected a transformer problem and I also suspect spare parts supply was the problem. I told them I wanted my amp repaired. Eventually I got it back, and I started tube rolling (+$2,000) with some expensive NOS tubes. Sound improved significantly over the stock tubes.
Last week, I turned it on and one of the amps started to hum loudly. I turned it off within seconds and noticed that the Mullard ($$$) inverter tube was dead. The aluminium cover over the power transformer was hot and the air filled with the smell of burnt insulation. Fortunately, the speaker was not damaged. I am not sure if I would have been that lucky if it had been the output transformer. The moral of the story - don't buy amplifiers with inferior transformer/s.
Anyway, that is the bad news out of the way.
I had my iPad on Radio Paradise Mellow Mix playing through my Auralic Aries G2 and Vega G2 DAC when I first turned on the power to the SIT 4. Suddenly, Neil Young was (almost) in my listening room !! Cold amp with virtually (short testing at First watt) no run in time. By the way, the passive volume control in the Vega G2 works perfectly with the First Watt SIT 4.
I have been playing tracks/albums that I am extremely familiar with and it is a revelation. Surprisingly, older albums (e.g. The Beatles 'Abbey Road') sounds totally different = better. More detailed, NO much more detailed but the biggest difference is the soundstage improvement. I can now clearly hear the effects of the recording room. On the track "Good Morning Little School Girl" on Muddy Waters "Folk Singer" (TP4 Music version) I can clearly hear the ambience of the recording studio on this track.
If you are a subscriber to Qobuz (or even have the album), have a listen to the track '0191' on the album Third Page:Resonance by Sun-Mi Hong. One reviewer described the SIT 4 as an "immersive" experience. After listening to that track, I totally agree with him.
When I bought the First Watt SIT 4, I was just hoping for the reliability that comes with solid state that you do not get with glass and filaments. I was even prepared to take a slight dip in audio quality for the trade off, BUT NO !! I am getting both in spades. I am assuming, of course, that Nelson Pass has selected the best components to withstand the heat generated by 10 watts of class A amplification. I did read the entire Users Manual and I have plenty of natural ventilation to help with heat dissipation.
Sorry for the long posting !!
Semiquaver
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Hello to all, I have Tannoy Canterbury GR speakers. So far I tryed Pass Int60, Radford STA 25, Primaluna EVO 300, Otomon, ASR, Accuphase E800.
The best for me was Radford STA 25 with AGI 511 preamp. Do you think that First Watt SIT4 can drive Canterbury GR? I have no chance for demo listening. And what preamp with phono and remote can you recommend? Room is 47m2 and I mostly listen to jazz, vocals and instrumental music.
Thank you in advance.
Have a good day!
The best for me was Radford STA 25 with AGI 511 preamp. Do you think that First Watt SIT4 can drive Canterbury GR? I have no chance for demo listening. And what preamp with phono and remote can you recommend? Room is 47m2 and I mostly listen to jazz, vocals and instrumental music.
Thank you in advance.
Have a good day!
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Hi Mostec
The First Watt SIT 4 produces 10 watts per channel into 8ohms.
My Cube Audio Nenuphar Mini speakers have an efficiency of 91 db compared to your Tannoy Canterbury GR speakers which are 96 db efficient.
My listening room is 45 m2 and the SIT 4 has no problem filling the room at a mid level volume setting on my Auralic Vega G2 analogue volume control. I do not think you will have any problems with power.
My Cube Audio Nenuphar's and the SIT 4 are a combination 'Made in Heaven' due to the very low damping factor of the SIT 4 (DF = 2) meshing well with the very powerful neodynium magnets of the Nenuphar's drivers. These drivers do not want an ampifier with a high damping factor as there is too much contol especially with the bass when paired with an amplifier with a high damping factor.
Not sure about the Tannoy's in terms of preferred Damping Factor.
I did find an intersting discussion on this very website, which you may have already read, but just in case . . . . . .
Which tube ampli for Tannoy Canterbury Se
Tannoy Prestige Gold Reference Canterbury Speakers Recommended amplifier power 20 - 300 Watts Continuous power handling 150 Watts RMS Peak power handling 600 watt Sensitivity 96 dB (2.83 volt @ 1 m) 17 more rows ... Feb 25 2021 Brand: Tannoy Nominal impedance 8 ohms...
www.whatsbestforum.com
The best advice that I read on this blog is to borrow the amp and listen for yourself. Great advice if you can organise a home demo or even in a store which sells both (good luck with that option !!).
I bought mine unheard after the glowing review on 6Moons and on HiFiKnight but in your (any & all) case, it is important for the speakers to work with the amp's characteristics.
As far as audio quality is concerned, if I could possibly summarise Srajan Ebaen (
) this amplifier sounds like a "high definition" version of a 300B SET amp. I have to agree that that is a very accurate description.I cannot help you with a recommendation with a suitable preamp as my preamp is built into my Auralic Vega G2.
Best regards,
Gary
Gary, thank you for your reply.Hi Mostec
The First Watt SIT 4 produces 10 watts per channel into 8ohms.
My Cube Audio Nenuphar Mini speakers have an efficiency of 91 db compared to your Tannoy Canterbury GR speakers which are 96 db efficient.
My listening room is 45 m2 and the SIT 4 has no problem filling the room at a mid level volume setting on my Auralic Vega G2 analogue volume control. I do not think you will have any problems with power.
My Cube Audio Nenuphar's and the SIT 4 are a combination 'Made in Heaven' due to the very low damping factor of the SIT 4 (DF = 2) meshing well with the very powerful neodynium magnets of the Nenuphar's drivers. These drivers do not want an ampifier with a high damping factor as there is too much contol especially with the bass when paired with an amplifier with a high damping factor.
Not sure about the Tannoy's in terms of preferred Damping Factor.
I did find an intersting discussion on this very website, which you may have already read, but just in case . . . . . .
Which tube ampli for Tannoy Canterbury Se
Tannoy Prestige Gold Reference Canterbury Speakers Recommended amplifier power 20 - 300 Watts Continuous power handling 150 Watts RMS Peak power handling 600 watt Sensitivity 96 dB (2.83 volt @ 1 m) 17 more rows ... Feb 25 2021 Brand: Tannoy Nominal impedance 8 ohms...
The best advice that I read on this blog is to borrow the amp and listen for yourself. Great advice if you can organise a home demo or even in a store which sells both (good luck with that option !!).
I bought mine unheard after the glowing review on 6Moons and on HiFiKnight but in your (any & all) case, it is important for the speakers to work with the amp's characteristics.
As far as audio quality is concerned, if I could possibly summarise Srajan Ebaen (
I cannot help you with a recommendation with a suitable preamp as my preamp is built into my Auralic Vega G2.
Best regards,
Gary
I’ve had a SIT3 for about seven years. I’ve loved it. I have Nenuphars with the V2 update. I think the Nenuphars sounded better with the SIT3 in their original spec. There was a beauty and delicacy that was really special. After the V2 update some of that was gone. The speaker sounded more substantial, weightier. Less pretty. Srajan said in the V2 review that amps may need to be rethought.
Being a FirstWatt guy I’ve followed the SIT evolution since the beginning. Everything I’ve read about the SIT4 has said to me that this is the right choice. I seriously considered GM70 monos from J. Jackson but we live in San Antonio and it was over 100 degrees today. I can’t live with hundreds of watts of heat output.
I contacted my dealer and told him I want to purchase the SIT4. He thought I might like the SIT5 better but there is buzz that the lower damping factor of the SIT4 fits the Cube speakers better. He sent me his personal SIT4 to audition to help me decide. It arrived about 7 hrs ago. I’m listening with The Truth buffered but no gain pre. The Nenuphar with the SIT4 are a whole different experience. It is not a sideways move in any way, shape, or form. These speakers now sound as good or better than anything I have ever heard except the MBL Extremes.
I put on Nanci Griffith Other Voices Other Rooms when I bring in new kit because it’s full of subtleties and I know it so well. It was the first time in my life that I had the actual experience of a spooky real voice, a living person in the room. The holography of this amp is next level. It fills the space with sonic movement. As far as comparison to the beauty and delicacy of my original configuration, this is on a whole other level.
It’s like Herb Reichert wrote; “I revisited First Watt's SIT-4 power amplifier because long-term listening has shown it to be among the most unique amplification products I've ever encountered. The SIT-4 is a new, 25%-more-expensive First Watt amplifier that looks like an old, unfancy First Watt amplifier but sounds like a totally new type of amplifier, worth much more than its extra cost. In my system, the SIT-4 powered my Falcons with a benign authority that whispered, "Herb, this is what accuracy sounds like." I agreed.”
I will be purchasing a SIT4 directly. Now I need to figure out an analog front end that is worthy of it and that I can afford. I already bought a Holbo TT. Maybe the Haniwa cart and phono stage are the right choice. I think it’s worth an experiment!
Being a FirstWatt guy I’ve followed the SIT evolution since the beginning. Everything I’ve read about the SIT4 has said to me that this is the right choice. I seriously considered GM70 monos from J. Jackson but we live in San Antonio and it was over 100 degrees today. I can’t live with hundreds of watts of heat output.
I contacted my dealer and told him I want to purchase the SIT4. He thought I might like the SIT5 better but there is buzz that the lower damping factor of the SIT4 fits the Cube speakers better. He sent me his personal SIT4 to audition to help me decide. It arrived about 7 hrs ago. I’m listening with The Truth buffered but no gain pre. The Nenuphar with the SIT4 are a whole different experience. It is not a sideways move in any way, shape, or form. These speakers now sound as good or better than anything I have ever heard except the MBL Extremes.
I put on Nanci Griffith Other Voices Other Rooms when I bring in new kit because it’s full of subtleties and I know it so well. It was the first time in my life that I had the actual experience of a spooky real voice, a living person in the room. The holography of this amp is next level. It fills the space with sonic movement. As far as comparison to the beauty and delicacy of my original configuration, this is on a whole other level.
It’s like Herb Reichert wrote; “I revisited First Watt's SIT-4 power amplifier because long-term listening has shown it to be among the most unique amplification products I've ever encountered. The SIT-4 is a new, 25%-more-expensive First Watt amplifier that looks like an old, unfancy First Watt amplifier but sounds like a totally new type of amplifier, worth much more than its extra cost. In my system, the SIT-4 powered my Falcons with a benign authority that whispered, "Herb, this is what accuracy sounds like." I agreed.”
I will be purchasing a SIT4 directly. Now I need to figure out an analog front end that is worthy of it and that I can afford. I already bought a Holbo TT. Maybe the Haniwa cart and phono stage are the right choice. I think it’s worth an experiment!
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The SIT3 has 18W into 8 ohms but just 11db of gain.
It did not work well with a passive pre.
The SIT 4 may have just 10 watts but it has 20db of gain.
It works very well with the passive preamp. With the MZ3 it ran 15-20db lower on the attenuator for similar volume levels. I know, duh….but it was an interesting experience to keep turning it down.
It did not work well with a passive pre.
The SIT 4 may have just 10 watts but it has 20db of gain.
It works very well with the passive preamp. With the MZ3 it ran 15-20db lower on the attenuator for similar volume levels. I know, duh….but it was an interesting experience to keep turning it down.
Thanks to @Semiquavergarydesmondschu and @MRubey for transcribing their experience!
I have had the SIT4 for two weeks now, but haven't been able to give it a proper listen through my Nenuphars, as at about the same time I traded my old DAC in and my new one won't be arriving until Monday.
I did some serious system re-arranging to accommodate the SIT4, but your positive experience gives me high hopes it'll all be worth it.
I have had the SIT4 for two weeks now, but haven't been able to give it a proper listen through my Nenuphars, as at about the same time I traded my old DAC in and my new one won't be arriving until Monday.
I did some serious system re-arranging to accommodate the SIT4, but your positive experience gives me high hopes it'll all be worth it.
I’ve had the SIT4 in my system for six days now. It does all the things we’ve written. It’s the most holographic amp that I’ve ever had in my home. I used to have a 2A3 SET. It was second to the SIT4. It is also the most colorful amp I’ve had. I equate sonic color with tonal saturation and vividness. It does that in spades. But it does something more that to me is at the heart of its magic. It projects presence. It projects presence to the point that it messes with my perception. Pretty amazing property for an electrical device to possess. I don’t know if the amp just does that or if it’s got to do with its synergy with the Nenuphars. It’s one of those things where you have to be receptive, open to it. I use no substances. Audio induced synesthesia. Fascinating.
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