Pars

Correct, with the exception of the misleading customers part. Nowhere in his announcement of the double M3 or whatever he is calling it does he spell out that this is a proprietary version (or whatever) of the Mini^3 from Amb Laboratories. I agree that once Amb weighed in, that whatever Ken can sell the product for, etc. is his business. I wouldn't buy it, but I'm not his target market. Many people probably will buy it... good for him.

I see that Patrick82 has some stuff for sale on HF... I was too afraid to open the ads, so not sure if any of it involves power cables or not

I agree. I only started the topic because it looked like an end around WRT Amb. And ditto on MisterX and Rockhopper. Someone who likes airplane names should be worried...

Vinny replied to another posting right below this topic (at the time)... he wisely avoided getting in on this one

I didn't realize these guys are still around? Same band from the '70s.. ELP discovered/signed them?

BG std: 470u 12.5x25 100u 10x12.5 Maybe they are decreasing capacitance? Whatever. People will certainly buy it cuz its ALO.

< $2 for Panasonic FMs (very good caps, probably lower ESR than the BGs).

Well, lets add it up, shall we? Assuming they aren't actually adding caps to the circuit (or can we assume that?), the most these would cost is: series size price qty total N 16x24 $12.50 2 $25.00 (470u) FK 10x20 $6.25 2 $12.50 (100u) So there's $37.50 retail (soniccraft) for 4 BGs. I would doubt they are going more capacitance since they would only get larger physically... I'm not sure whether these would fit as it is, particularly given the case? As for upgraded resistors, not sure what he's using? Standard from MisterX, etc. would probably be Dale RN55s, which aren't exactly slouches...

It can be argued (successfully many times) that the PSU is in the signal path, so replacement of the 5 PSU electrolytics with BGs could be said to be in the signal path. Probable waste of time/money, but ya can't do maxxed bling without uttering BlackGates as part of the mantra... Not sure what he means by upgraded resistors and BGs in parallel, but I guess that just makes two of us...

Glad it was that easy...

Yeah, I know he's Redwine Audio... seems like a few years ago he used to post mods or participate in mod threads on AA. Kind of like Chris Ven Haus used to just post on AA; before he started a company/website doing cable/wires and then the teflon caps, etc.

He did. Two people have asked him how his is better than one from MisterX or Thrice at 1/2 the price... BTW, is Vinnie Rossi the same guy that used to have all kinds of mods on audioasylum (name seems familiar)?

A pair of these A little smaller (7uf)... that's about as much as I'll go for a cap.

Now they went and did it... Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - ALO Double M3 amp correct answer: none?

Their mods don't look to be a very good value. * Replace 4 stock diode bridges with Esoteric handmade ultra fast RAM versions What is this? Replacing monolithic bridges with discrete UF or hexfred diodes? Handmade? They make their own diodes?? right * Replace over 60 stock electrolytic capacitors with ultra low impedance Rubycon ZL/ZLG caps. Hopefully they know that most v-regs (LM317s, etc.) don't like low ESR following the regulator... that is a lot of caps however. * Audiocom Superclock 4-S Master Clock Upgrade ($295 Installed)- I would use Tent, for far less money and probably better... I don't know what their hard on for Audiocom is. * Analog Output Stage Rebuild w/Audio Consulting Transformers Expensive transformers, then they stick with LM4562s for I/V duty... lame. If they are going to stick with an opamp, how about a THS4031/4032? For $1,200 I would expect discrete instead. So, $1800 for all of this. But wait! The $295 Audiocom doesn't include the power supply... at that price it should. For the PSU, you have to spend $595. Then they start talking about upgrading the transport clock, which is a total waste...

Happy Birthday Vicki!!

Hmmm, I didn't realize the mini3 was considered by some (many?) to be an entry level DIY design. I always thought it was pretty much the most advanced portable design out there, even though it is mainly the AD8397.

Let me know when you need my address, and I'll pm it to ya

Amb didn't seem to object, and Ken indicated he had his approval?

I dunno... did you see the stand or base a guy on diyaudio is constructing for his? Might turn out looking like a Rockport Sirius or wtf their turntable was...

Maybe Oicdn does their returns? With that many sets supposedly in the mail, etc., it sure sounds familiar...

Well, unfortunately Amb seems to be aware and supportive in this case (he posted in the thread). That was my biggest concern that ALO had just "appropriated" the design, much as a certain other manufacturer seems to. And do you really think that KB built this? Upgraded caps? There are only 5 electrolytics and 6 ceramics or possibly film caps in a mini3. Oh, maybe his version is no longer DC coupled, cuz ya know a boutique cap in the signal path is pure win...

Agreed, sorry to hear that. I wish you better luck with the next opportunity!

If it is, did he bother to get permission? Or is this just a "similar" amp? And using the same name as another Amb DIY amp... those were the two issues that bothered me when I saw this. Also ran across this (earlier, the quoted post)... ironic, no? It got better when I went back to read it tonight Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - Ray Samuel Tomahawk, anything similar?

That will be epic...