Loaner: AustinAudioWorks Black Amp

Discussion in 'Closed Loaners' started by k4rstar, Jan 7, 2021.

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  1. BarryT

    BarryT MOT: Austin Audio Works

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    I appreciate the possible negative perception and implications of the posture I am taking but - I am very much against to sending the unit to China this early in it's life.

    "Only the paranoid survive" is a most accurate hi-tech statement by Andy Grove when he was CEO of Intel and he was right. The need for my 30 patents in that field were justifiably driven by his perception.

    My years with Monster Cable and other audio companies that I have consulted to or owned have taught me that the quickest way to get a good idea stolen is send it to China without some of the protections afforded by our country's rule of law.

    If there is a potential of reverse engineering then at least make them pay for the products and not make a free gift of the IP. The Black AMP has unique 'Trade Secrets' that I put in considerable time and money to resolved - I don't wish to give them away for nothing.

    I make this blanket statement not be cause I think that anyone involved with SBAF would do anything dishonorable or nefarious, quite the opposite. I have great faith in the tenets and philosophies of SBAF and its members which I believe that I have and am continually demonstrating. I am though prudent in my views of the world outside SBAF. Sh*t happens, and I wish to diminish the odds of anything going wrong.

    Thank you.
    Barry Thornton
     
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  2. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    With all due respect, @gixxerwimp is in Taiwan, which is very different from China. Very dangerous and misleading to consider the two the same or call Taiwan “China”.
     
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  3. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    This. @BarryT it's still your product and your rules on the loaner, but Taiwan is not the mainland and all of us at SBAF can back up @gixxerwimp since he is also a Canadian who will not reverse engineer your crap for the Chinese. He just want to listen to the amp in his bedroom.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2021
  4. BarryT

    BarryT MOT: Austin Audio Works

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    So I stepped in it while expressing a concern. Given the support and assurances then we shall go ahead and send it to Taiwan.

    About China and Taiwan, I am familiar with the issue, I know folks there and ardently hope that they never have to become part of the Chi-Com empire. My son has just ended a Navy tour as the the Senior Information Warfare Office on the USS Curtis Wilbur (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Curtis_Wilbur) and made the trip up the Straights several times. I have some very funny stories on how the Wilbur's crew 'messed' with their Chinese Navy 'escorts' while there.

    Because of my faith in SBAF I withdraw my concern and my remarks. Thank you for straitening me out. But then I ask why you would want him exposed him to my 'crap' unless you wish to re-categorize my work as I have reconsidered my perceptions.

    Fair?

    Thank you in advance for the wisdom of you considerations.
    Barry Thornton
     
  5. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    I think your right in not wanting to send your design/gear to the chicom's as a general rule and policy. I also think your right to not worry about @gixxerwimp , because if he is a sympathizer and/or industrial spy for them, he is a very very good one and has us all here at SBAF fooled ;) I will risk speaking for @YMO and say he was just using "crap" colloquially and not descriptively...I mean we all know he does not know crap as he has it inserted in his ears all the time and he does not seem to notice :p
     
  6. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    This...I say crap all the time in not a descriptively sense. If I hate something, I stop paying crap/poop and start calling it shit. Relax @BarryT, @crenca knows I got good taste in stuff.

    Back on topic....
     
  7. BarryT

    BarryT MOT: Austin Audio Works

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    One last remark.

    You guys don't know lucky your are that someone(s) figured out SBAF.

    I have 60 years in audio, been everything you know as a occupational title but CFO (don't do anything you can't love). I majored in physics and anthropology, 20-year an avid Seth Goden fame. I have watched this audio thing grow and change from the inside as both a participant and (fooling myself to think that I an) an observer. I had my first eargasm when I was 8 and yes, tomorrow (happy birthday to me) I will be 77 so I can say be 69 years of standing in amazement of it all.

    I never could have imagined SBAF.

    This 'tribe' , this truly an organic tribe, has the DNA of shared mature values. It is about wisdom. My hat's off to your founders, again. Temporal agility and operational wisdom. Damn that's cool!

    And lucky.
     
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  8. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    ROFLMFAO ... all this happened mostly while I was asleep.
    Thanks to those who didn't blow my cover as a tech spy for the Communist Industrial Complex :cool:

    @BarryT No offense taken, and I'd still really like to hear your crap audio art :D

    Big Brother on the other side of the Strait has become an increasingly present existential PITA. Would love to hear how the Wilbur's crew 'messed' with their Chinese Navy 'escorts' (but maybe in another thread or by PM, heck I'll send you one now).

    I think many if not most of us do know how lucky we are, I certainly do. This place can have its problems, but has been an amazing place to learn and share about audio, meet people from all walks of life, and make real friendships.

    I now return this thread to its normally scheduled programming.
     
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  9. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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  10. Erroneous

    Erroneous Friend

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    Happy birthday Barry! Now how about that DAC?
     
  11. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Doing some final comparisons with the Stratus, will drop off for @rhythmdevils tonight (where it will sit in quarantine for a few days).

    Also had a phone conversation with Barry today, I highly encourage others to call him after listening to the Black Amp. Lots of fascinating info and a fun talk. During the conversation Barry asked what I didn't like about the amp, something I appreciate/respect, he's putting in a lot of effort to make this as good as possible.
     
  12. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    Very interesting amp, all my favorite cans are 300ohm. Does this pair well with bifrost 2 ? Will there be another tour perhaps ?
     
  13. Erroneous

    Erroneous Friend

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    @HotRatSalad It paired great with Bifrost 2 and Yggdrasil A2 when I had one in house but output Z has been changed since then.
    When I had one here it was very tasty but a little light on its feet. Loaner has had the output Z cut down, but I'd say you'd want to pair the OG with a thicker, slamming DAC just to restore order in the galaxy (unless you have Phat Bass 4000 GXPro Platinum headphones or speakers.)
    Maybe someone else can speak for the newer version.
     
  14. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    Would be interested to hear comparison of this amp with DSHA -3F, another SS described as something with tube like sound.
     
  15. HotRatSalad

    HotRatSalad Friend

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    I thought higher output z helped with the "lightness of the feet" so to speak. When I had DNA loaner the high Z was to die for with 300ohm headphones. I will never be concerned with things like focals or planars, so lower Z is probably negative for me.
     
  16. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    But for people who have phones with impedances that aren't in the hundreds, having a lower Zout option is definitely a positive (at least for conventional amps).

    This is for SW51. The low Z output works for my Focals (minimal EQ required to smooth out bass bump on Stellia).

    If the new Z out is half that below, then this should work for most headphones I would think.
     
  17. crenca

    crenca Friend

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    It threw me off when I was reviewing the Black Amp, but the Stellia does not have much of an impedance rise in the bass (unlike Clear, Utopia, etc.), so it is almost ortho tolerant of OI, at least when it comes to FR. I am not clear however about "damping" and bass control when it comes to high OI amps, which may be the reason why so many thought the amp lacked "slam" and was 'light on its feat'...
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2021
  18. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    So I got the black amp out of quarantine tonight. There doesn’t seem to be any on off switch. Am I missing something? It’s plugged in and toggling the input switch doesn’t turn the red light on or make music happen.

    ??
     
  19. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    The red light is also the power switch, I ran into the same confusion.
     
  20. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Doh! That never would have occurred to me. But it’s pretty cool. Thank you
     
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