andyr Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 (edited) Item: AKSA 'Paris' head amp (for use with a LOMC into an MM phono stage). Location: Richmond, Melbourne. Price: $410 plus postage, if applicable. (A 5% donation will be made to SNA upon sale.) Item Condition: Unmarked case - as new. Reason for selling: NLR. I made this up for an SNA member a couple of years ago, to enable him to get the optimal loading for his Koetsu. His equipment has changed in the meantime and he no longer has need of a head amp - so he sent it back to me for checking out, before selling. Payment Method: Cash if picked up; Paypal if posted Extra Info: There are not many head amps on the market - the only other ones I know of are: an old National? unit from the 80s - excellent performer but very rare. And expensive! the G Slee 'Elevator'. The Paris head amp is a Hugh Dean (AKSA) design. JFET-based, it is powered by a 12v SLA and is extremely quiet. And the way I build it, it: has a parallel pair of input RCAs, to take 'loaded' RCA plugs as well as the phono cable (see on the LHS of the case, in the 2nd pic, below), and uses a high-quality (Vishay) trimpot in each channel, to allow gain to be set from 5x to about 20x. (I will set the gain to suit the output of your cartridge.) Case dimensions are: 124mm W x 8Omm H x 230mm D; on the front of the case (see first pic, below), there's: a 3-way switch, to select between 'Charge', 'Play' and 'Nothing' (for when you want to switch it off but the battery doesn't yet need charging). and a meter which shows the battery voltage - with a toggle switch to turn the meter on and off. The Paris comes complete with a 12v charger ... and a pair of quality, metal-barrelled load plugs - value of your choice. Pictures: Edited April 27, 2019 by andyr 1
mellow fellow Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 Hello there, So, does it mean that this unit can only be used for with a specific type of lmoc, in the same vein as the koetsus? How adaptable is it for eg a cartridge that is 0.18mv output? How long does the battery last for between each charge, and does it run flat until the end or does it recharge whilst playing? Is than a step up transformer, or even , let's say a Conrad Johnson head amp hv1a? thanks 1
mloutfie Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 (edited) Since I have the same headlamp I'll chime in. No it's not for specific cartridge it will work with any output if you set it to 10x gain it will work with pretty much anything. The loading is just whatever you put a loading plug so really flexible also. In mine that uses a smaller battery it can run for hundreds of hours before charging. I charge it every 2 months just to keep it running more so because the battery self drain. No it doesn't charge while playing. Lastly is it better than a similar priced transformer? Yes I think so. A better transformer would cost a lot of money. One that I think is better is lyra erodion (paired with lyra cartridge) Edited April 27, 2019 by mloutfie
andyr Posted April 28, 2019 Author Posted April 28, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, mellow fellow said: Is than a step up transformer, or even , let's say a Conrad Johnson head amp hv1a? The Paris is an active head amp very like the CJ HV1A - except it offers: variable cart loading (whereas the specs on the HV-1A say loading is fixed at 100 ohms) and variable gain (whereas the specs on the HV-1A say gain is fixed at 28dB - ie. 25x). My own opinion (I think shared by Mahdie! ) is that SUTs rarely provide the optimum load for a cartridge - as the load they deliver to the cart is the Zin of the MM phono stage (typically 47K) divided by the square of the turns ratio. So a 1:10 SUT delivers 470 ohms ... and a 1:20 SUT delivers 118 ohms. Whereas with the Paris: loading is completely variable and is independent of gain. 12 hours ago, mellow fellow said: So, does it mean that this unit can only be used for with a specific type of lmoc, in the same vein as the koetsus? It can be used with any low-medium output cart - whether MC ... or the Grado Statement line (which are Moving Iron, with an output of 0.5mV). Quote How adaptable is it for eg a cartridge that is 0.18mv output? It will be fine with a cart having 0.18mV output. If the Paris gain is set at 20 then the output of your 0.18mV cart will become 3.6mV - plenty for a standard 40dB MM phono stage. Quote How long does the battery last for between each charge, and does it run flat until the end or does it recharge whilst playing? SLAs last longer if you do not flatten them. When fully charged, a 12v SLA will read about 12.6v; I recommend charging when the meter reads 11v - the tiny currents the JFETs use mean that it will take a long time to go from 12.6v down to 11v. I would say you would have to have it switched to 'Play' for a couple of days, continuously, before 11v is reached. No, the Paris does not recharge whilst playing - you need to turn the front rotary switch to 'Charge' instead of 'Play'. It was designed like this so that the charger is disconnected when 'Play' is selected - this way, the DC feed to the Paris PCB cannot be contaminated by noise coming from the charger. Seeing as you are in Melbourne, I could bring it over for you to 'try before you buy', if you'd like. Regards, Andy Edited April 28, 2019 by andyr
mellow fellow Posted April 28, 2019 Posted April 28, 2019 Thanks for the replies, I would be interested in this head amp. Perhaps a try out would be nice. Sorry for the big print previously . when are you available? not sure how to reply privately here, with my details. regards, Gavin
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