SKA GB150s

[iihay]

Hi guys,

New here and just finished building a pre and poweramp from Greg Ball's SKA kits (search for ska-audio I'm too much of a noob here to post a proper link!) and they are so good I thought I would post a quick review.

I built the SKpres and GB150 class AB amps powered from a single toroid. My source is a modded Arcam Alpha 5+ and the amp really lets the CD player do it's business. My old Rotel 920 has fond memories but was blown out of the water!

The kits were really easy to build and needed no more than a bit of soldering skill which is about all I have. It was a fun project but for me building a pre/power amp was all about getting better kit at a price I could afford. I was blown away but how much performance I got for my money. The thing that impresses me the most is the purity and clarity of the music. High pitches are delivered perfectly with exquisite timing. They sound like they should with no colour or delay. Equally the mid tones are delivered superbly. The bass in my system is not quite correct yet but I feel this is due to my JPW sonata's which I don't think handle the power well here. I don't believe this is a facet of the amps themselve.

This is the first time I have built an amp and I didn't believe I could get the purity of sound I have long wanted but not been able to afford but these deliver.

I have listened to a variety of music so far and it copes superbly with everything from Aida to Abba to Nine Inch Nails. I hate amps that add "colour" or "bloom" to the music and these don't. Quite simply there are notes and tones in some of these recordings that I simply have not heard before as they were hidden in the background. The soundstage created by the amps is really quite impressive. It's hard to describe the effects of an amplifier, I feel that an amplifier should not have an affect on the music and that is exactly what happens here.


I'd don't know if anybody else here has built Greg's stuff but I'd be interested in a good DIY speaker project which would go well with these.

Cheers

Iain

 

[darien87]

Hhhmmmm....

I see this EXACT same review posted on multiple audio websites. Smells like a pork product of some kind.

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/view_topic.php?id=18225&forum_id=19&jump_to=326325

http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=44599.msg400357

 

[iihay]

Hhhmmmm....

I see this EXACT same review posted on multiple audio websites. Smells like a pork product of some kind.

QUOTE]

Nope that's me, I just love them and want a good few suggestions for a DIY speaker as I'm fairly clueless when it comes to speaker design! They really are good and as I found a whole load of intersting forums I never knew about while looking for a suitable speaker project I thought I would ask about.

I'm sure as a visitor of multiple forums yourself you will agree that each one tends to have a particular tone, or preference and I'd like an overview so I'm reading them all

Like this one though, load of good info on here.

So any speaker suggestions?

Cheers

Iain