First Watt SIT 5
- Thread starter Axel C
- Start date
Very much real, they had them on demo at Capital Audiofest in November. Back to the original SIT-1 dual mono with the recent batch of Tokin transitor used in the SIT-4. In mono bloc configuration the SIT-5 will output 40 Watts vs the SiT-4 5 Watts
Can you tell us more? What other amps can you compare them too. Do you have any tube SIT?
FirstWatt SIT5 – HiFi Knights
This is the www.hifiknights.com review of FirstWatt SIT5 mono amplifier. Author: Dawid Grzyb. Enjoy!
hifiknights.com
Yes - hot to the touch at idle.FirstWatt SIT5 – HiFi Knights
This is the www.hifiknights.com review of FirstWatt SIT5 mono amplifier. Author: Dawid Grzyb. Enjoy!
A couple of observations after listening to the 60.8 (which I’ve had for ~18 months) and swapping them out with the SIT 5:
1. The 60.8 just sounds a lot more solid state - still relatively warm but with relatively no bloom. Grainy and dull.
2. The SIT has much more holographic depth and texture with greater precision of detail across the sound stage (left to right, and front to back).
3. There seems to be a lot more musical information getting through which makes for greater realism and ultimately listenability. Just a magical sonic bloom. Anyone familiar with the other FW SIT amps knows their character, but they have never been available with this much power.
To be clear, I’ve been very impressed and pleased with the 60.8. While I’ve used the Pass XA25 as well as FW J2, F8, SIT 3, & SIT 4, the 60.8’s power made it the best all-rounder of that group even though all of the FW amps share the SIT 5’s superior sonics vs the PL amps. The trade-off has generally been power and with rock/pop/classical at elevated volumes the other FW amps simply lack the dynamics/overhead that come with more power.
The SIT 5 far more than any other FW bridges this gap and to such an extent that aside from crazy loud, the better sonics of the SIT are no longer qualified. It’s better across the range with all types of music. Better mid and highs are most evident but even tonality of the bass is better - again I cannot underscore how much more musical info gets through on the SIT vs the non-SIT Class-A Pass amp. It’s not a small thing despite the impressive starting point of the 60.8.
But given how important system synergy can be, my observations are all heard through Wilson Alexia 2 loudspeakers (and Nordost cabling). Some (including a very prominent reviewer) have been surprised by the positive synergy between FW with Wilson Audio. As many know, Wilson speakers are nominally a 4-ohm speaker and all but the SIT 4 make 30+ watts at that load and Nelson has frequently referenced that many are surprised by what only a few watts can produce. In short, all of these amp easily drive the speakers to reasonably loud listening levels although most are limited by their modest power. Again, I can only speak for my experience but the Alexia 2 as well as the Watt Puppy 7 have been a stellar match. Despite modest power, all of these FW amps have performed magically when paired with my speakers.
Hope this makes sense and there should be some forthcoming reviews to expand on the new FW.
Axel
My setup was a XA-160.8 bi-amped with a X600.8 on the woofers. I replaced the XA-160.8s with a pair of XA25s, to very good effect. The XA25s are faster, more transparent, and somehow 'cleaner' sounding, very 'liquid'.
Given the differences in the design, devices and topology between the XA25 and the SIT5, what would one expect in terms of similarities and differences? Can they be expected to be similar? Is anyone in position to make this comparison?
Given the differences in the design, devices and topology between the XA25 and the SIT5, what would one expect in terms of similarities and differences? Can they be expected to be similar? Is anyone in position to make this comparison?
That is an interesting question considering the .8 is multi-device push-pull, XA25 is single pair or single stage push-pull and SIT5 is single ended.
I think the answer lies here somewhere, but I am not smart enough to figure it out
Maybe Nelson himself will stop by and comment..
Maybe Nelson himself will stop by and comment..
What preamp would you suggest for the SIT 5? I’ve heard the SIT 4 with a Shindo monbrison which was great. Would the SIT 5 need something different?
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