I’ve got a DIY Pass F5, but have been offered the Rotel. More power for sure, but a better amp?
Anyone got any experience or insight of both?
I’ve got a DIY Pass F5, but have been offered the Rotel. More power for sure, but a better amp?
Anyone got any experience or insight of both?
Depends on your speakers, I suppose.
I had a First Watt F5 on loan for a month, from a dealer. It was very good indeed, I almost bought it.
I could have easily lived with it, but after some thought and a few lengthy conversations I decided to go for a custom solution. Just as well, the @coco *SIT amp blows it into the weeds.
*If I ever sell this, you can rest assured, I’ve given up listening to music…
I’m familiar with @coco 's work. Not so practical for me unfortunately!
What don’t you like about the F5 that you think the Rotel will fix? I use a pair of DIY Pass Aleph 60 monoblocks and have tried other amps but I keep coming back to the them because they make music.
The Pass amps are very clean and fast. The F5 might lack oomph for some speakers, but otherwise is fantastic is the power output works for you.
I like Rotel amps, and I’m sure that one is great, but it’s a totally different beast - designed to drive anything.
Usually the speakers will decide here. For low efficiency or difficult to drive speakers the Rotel will probably win, otherwise the Pass.
The speakers are good. Very good. Vintage visitors to Scalford Hall may have heard them. (You need to go back more than 10 years!)
Instead of buying a new mp, I’ll invest in ensuring the one I have is working as well as it can.
What are they?
They were built by Brian Taylor of Impulse, later Aspara Acoustics. They were a prototype for the Impulse H1, but the design was considered too expensive for production. (The H1 was £2,800 in 1988.)
They have an Audax HM170Z18 6.5" Aerogel woofer at the top of a folded exponential bass horn, and a Focal TC120TD5 in the cabinet, with separate a tractrix open horn on top containing a Seas mid-range unit.
Over-exposed and older pic attached.
I’ve done some work on the crossovers, but it has been loyal to the original design.
Well for speakers like that you would assume that the Pass would be a better match. In general. Usually. Unless you like the Rotel more.
Hard to believe there is no Raspberry Pi solution.