**Sold - to Andy who also bought my Edingdales **
Part 2 of Big Bob Joylove's Big Sell Off…
As much as it pains me to shift on three superb components, an upcoming house move and huge investment in one of my companies, which is almost ready to earn mega bucks, has forced me to part ways with some Hi-Fi, and temporarily downgrade. Having said that I've had two amazing years with these components and my set up has been simply the best I've ever owned.
Second on the block is my beautiful Joe Henry Aleph 3 clone. This is a fully balanced (also single ended) full Class-A 30w power amp, and it is absolutely stunning. Inky black silence, not a hint of hiss or artefact; just pure Class-A musical power.
In addition to being an Aleph 3 clone, it has had some significant upgrades at build time. Rather than me try to explain it all, I'll just list the spec as compiled by Joe himself…
Dimensions
50cm Wide
40cm Deep
22cm High
Speaker protection
Dual toroidal transformers
Dual 50 amp bridge rectifiers
Dual power supplies
160,000uf Elna capacitors
Double-sided thick gilded PCB boards
Power Soft start circuit
Blue LED on/off switch
Input differential Transistors using the new US FU9210
DC blocker
Precise matching mosfets
Supply rail fusing
XLR balanced inputs
RCA inputs
Audio grade binding posts
SPECIFICATIONS
Gain 20 dB
Freq. Response - 0.5 dB at 2 Hz, 100 KHz
Power Output 30 watts/ch 8 ohms
60 watts/ch 4 ohms
60 watts/ch 2 ohms
Maximum Output 23 volts, 8 amps
Distortion (1KHz) 0.2% @ 30 watts, 8 ohms
1% @ 60 watts, 4 ohms
1% @ 60 watts, 2 ohms
Input Impedance 23 Kohm
Damping factor 100
Crosstalk > -80 dB 20-20 KHz
That should comfortably explain the internals, which are by the way the cleanest layout I've ever witnessed. This amp is built like a battleship; super solid and massively heavy, but unusually for a Class-A it's 'comparatively' cool to the touch (i.e. it won't burn your hand), even in the exceptionally hot weather we're currently experiencing. There is a very, very slight hum when powered on, but you'll barely notice it unless you put your head next to it. There's a slight dink on the very rear-most right hand heatsink, but I never noticed it until I photographed it today, and it can't be seen from the front at all.
Paired with my Edingdales and Double Gem subwoofer, I can only describe the sound as sublime, musical, weighty, musical, crisp, musical, detailed, musical, smooth, musical and transparent; but with weight and authority, grip and musicality of course.
Think that 30w won't be enough? Wrong! Unless you have the world's most insensitive speakers, and your Hi-Fi goal is to damage your ceiling, this 30w power house will literally bring down the house. I love it! It's a beautiful thing to listen through, and its minimalistic front panel belies what lives beneath.
For this work of audio art, I'm asking now £650. It's a heavy beast so it'll cost a fortune to post, much cheaper if I deliver it to you for a bit of fuel cash. We can have a play too. Alternatively you may collect from me in Norwich. I have a mahoosive box to carry this in too.
As I have suddenly found out the move is happening a bit quicker than expected, I'm happy to listen to offers on this. If you want to break payments then I can do that too.
Click for large images