"Shortest Way" SW51 Amp Impressions (Simple SET Amp)

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by Hands, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. ColdsnapBry

    ColdsnapBry Almost "Made"

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    Yea agreed, SW51+ is still my staple amp. Started with bs650 and now I'm onto lsn800 with it for my main rig .
     
  2. ZampotechNA

    ZampotechNA MOT: Zampotech NA Distributor

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    Yes, this website is for customers outside of North America to buy directly from @Zampotech Ruslan. Note that due to the global situation at the moment, there may be some additional steps that must be taken before an amplifier can be purchased in most regions.

    For customers in North America, purchases will be made from us. For the mean time, if there are any customers in South or Central America that need a 120V unit, that can also be ordered from us. For any non-US Zampotech NA customers, note that all prices and payment will be in USD.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2022
  3. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    OK thanks. Thinking of placing an order so looking forward to the new site. Cheers!
     
  4. Aklegal

    Aklegal Friend

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    Has a price been settled on yet? I know the price is increasing.
     
  5. ZampotechNA

    ZampotechNA MOT: Zampotech NA Distributor

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    Another brief update:
    The amps that were already received have all been tested and sound great.

    Unfortunately, there have been some a few minor logistical and other issues, so pre-orders are delayed until next week. The anticipated ship date has not changed though - shipping will still be sometime during the week of Monday 17th October for any orders placed before the day units are shipped. There is a chance that we may be able to ship some of the amps next week as well, soon after pre-orders are available.

    About 18 amps will be available for pre-order, about 13 with a cat on the front and 5 without. The cats are somewhere between a yellow and bronze color. The remaining amps, tubes, and parts are still stuck in the same customs purgatory with no additional information from customs. For anyone who may be interested, the amps with a cat will mostly have a lower serial number and the amps without a cat will mostly have a higher serial number.

    The final price has not been settled on due to the minor issues mentioned above. However, it will most likely be between $609 and $629 USD. There will also be a shipping fee which will most likely be between $10 and $20 in most of the US. Canada will be a little more and any orders in Central or South America will be on a case by case basis.

    EDIT 14th October: We apologize for another delay. There were some unavoidable and unforeseen issues and red tape that had to be resolved with regards to customs. Subsequently, we wanted to perform additional quality control on the units due to the extra handling they received while in customs. Because of the above, we have decided to cancel pre sales this week or weekend as originally planned and just start direct sales next week. The anticipated ship date of next week has not changed. Thank you everyone for your continued understanding and patience.
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2022
  6. ZampotechNA

    ZampotechNA MOT: Zampotech NA Distributor

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    Hello everyone - The website is up and running now! Orders for amplifiers may now be placed. Please visit www.zampotechna.com

    Orders placed between now and Friday will most likely ship on Friday 28 Oct or Monday 31 Oct.

    Additionally:
    US Customs is still processing some of our items, including some amplifiers and all repair parts and components. We do NOT have an estimated date on these.

    As stated on Sept 27th, all warranties will still be honored, but this means that we CANNOT provide immediate support on any possible warranty items. The only exception for this would be anything vacuum tube related - we do have some spare tubes. Additionally, we have tested and performed additional QC checks on each individual amplifier being sold to help ensure that customers will not encounter an issue. While this is obviously not ideal, given that not a single unit exhibited any issues during testing or inspections, we did not want to make the community at large wait any longer for a very unlikely occurrence.

    Once again, if you are not comfortable purchasing something that cannot be supported immediately in case of an issue, please do not purchase an amplifier at this time. We will provide an update once repair parts arrive.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 26, 2022
  7. atomicbob

    atomicbob dScope Yoda

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    This is a marvelous amp and worth the wait. Great things come to those with patience. In the unlikely event an issue develops patience again will be an admirable quality.
     
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  8. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

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    I waited 10 months for my amp (back in 2021). Totally worth it.
     
  9. Grattle

    Grattle Friend

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    Shortest Way is becoming a very ironic name for the product. Maybe it should be renamed Red Tape instead.
     
  10. mk801

    mk801 Almost "Made"

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    11 months and counting for some of us. Yeah, I understand that there's a teensy weensy confounding factor called Putin's war against Ukraine and all of the shipping hell from Russia as a result from that, but seeing the amps now available for shipping does not exactly give those of us who already paid in full more than 10 months ago the warm fuzzies.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 26, 2022
  11. Grattle

    Grattle Friend

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    I am in the same boat. When I asked why I couldn't get one of the amps here in the US already, I found out that there are issues with doing this. It seemed like a good solution, but legal issues (more red tape) prevent them from doing this. I don't like it, but I understand why they can't do it.
     
  12. ZampotechNA

    ZampotechNA MOT: Zampotech NA Distributor

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    We feel like we should clarify something at this point - for the 4 amplifiers that were ordered individually from @Zampotech but have not arrived yet - no, we are not deliberately cutting in front of you here.

    All 4 of these amplifiers were actually ordered after but shipped before our own order of amplifiers which was placed in early fall of 2021. However, as Zampotech alludes to this earlier, the laws and permits in Russia, and now new and additional laws and permits, required to ship things to from an individual in Russia to individuals in the US is a very different process than for an individual in Russia to ship things to company in the US. This is dictated by many things from to the Russian customs approval and taxation process to how the items enter, get inspected by, and are then ultimately rejected or accepted by US Customs (CBP).

    The process itself has also drastically changed due to the US and Russian sides becoming MUCH more bureaucratic as the war has dragged on. The amount of time it takes for a package sent to an individual to clear each step in the process is now much longer than before. Very minor issues that were not issues before are now resulting in packages being initially rejected, which unfortunately impacted and ultimately delayed all 4 of these packages and our own packages as well.

    We could go on and on listing the difficulties and road blocks associated with importing from Russia right now. But ultimately, know all of us involved are doing our best with what we can to push these amps through.
     
  13. ZampotechNA

    ZampotechNA MOT: Zampotech NA Distributor

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    We are considering a second DAC to bring with us to meets and demos in the future after we are able to get more amplifiers.

    The Bifrost 2 multibit seems to be a fan favorite, but we want to hear about what other DACs people really enjoy with their SW51 amps now. We are asking the community as we would like to use a popular DAC so there are fewer unknowns for as many people as possible. Perhaps somewhat selfishly, we would also prefer something that isn't overly large, heavy, or fragile, sounds OK without an extended warm up, and has a widely compatible USB input.
     
  14. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

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    The ECP Walnut X.3 is hardly “popular” - in the sense there doesn’t seem to be too many out there - but it is fairly small and sounds fantastic!
     
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  15. denny_dow

    denny_dow Acquaintance

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    Geshelli J2 - some commented that the SW51+ and the J2 pair well in the J2 thread here, this is the combination I was running personally, so I can attest that it's a good pairing. the J2 is a small DAC, and appears to be quite popular and well regarded.
     
  16. WoodyLuvr

    WoodyLuvr Friend

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    My iFi Audio ZEN DAC Signature v2 is in synergistic harmony with my custom tube amp; a worthy low-cost, low-profile candidate for consideration.
     
  17. JK47

    JK47 Friend

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    OK, after a long hiatus I feel I can make a small positive contribution here and there...

    After lurking and reading multiple threads across different forums here regarding the Modius, Modius E, SW51+ DAC synergy, and schlong awards etc. I felt I must return to shed my opinion into the value and synergy segment.

    The combo I'm using isn't for someone new and looking for the easy road to headphone fun, but I do find this combo quite rewarding for those that like to tinker. I have had the OG Modius in my 2ch/TV setup for quite a while after my Cambridge Audio DAC/ Streamer R channel shit the bed and getting it fixed with no estimate or CA offering 50% off a new unit... meh I did like that DAC but the channel blowing is a known issue, and didn't want to bother with it again in a few years. Modius offered some low end thump in the 2ch setup compared to the CA, but I lusted for more fun factor, so I added a Lokius, but that's a story for another day.

    I ran the Modius into the SW51+ through the DIY XLR Cinemag converter which did sound better than SE, but it still sounded a touch too thick in the mids, that gooey Velveeta AKM sound still permeated into the mix. So for the most part I survived with the dry analytical 502DAC, feeding the SW51+ and my trusty well worn HD600 (I need a well worn HD600 or crispy fresh pads on the HD650), maybe one day my HD600 will look like EC Craig's, I hope he still has them.

    Enter Modius E a month ago, tone instantly more to my liking. SE doesn't sound anywhere as good as balanced, but man was there a bad ground loop buzzzing of death at listening levels with no music. Super annoyed I rewired the Cinemags and cut the hummmmm down a good bit, I wasn't satisfied... I ordered the XLR to RCA cables in the DIY thread, But the magic was gone, it almost sounded like SE outputs. The Cinemags were harder hitting down low and gave more definition to the different layers of vocals and instruments compared to the converter cables https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...le-ended-converter-xlr-to-rca-bal-to-se.9506/

    Then it occurred to me, let me try plugging the amp into some different outlets and my hospital isolator trying to get rid of that last little bit of hum when using the Cinemag box, this box was just too good to use Modius E SE or fuckery XLR/SE cables. ARRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr the hum is everywhere, hmmmm one last ditch effort.. AC/DC power bank, hummm/buzzzz of skull fuckery was defeated in mortal mid-fi combat, bwwwahahahhaaaaaaaaaa IMG_1435.jpg
    IMG_1434.jpg
    Take my impression with a huge grain of salt, I've been out of the DAC game for a while, but this complicated combo seriously leveled up the Modius E when used with the SW51+

    Chain is RPi3/502DAC via AES adapter --> Modius E --> DIY Cinemag XLR/SE -->SW51+ -->HD600

    Pi2AES resides in my 2ch system and touch screen Pi502 is on headphone duty, and fwiw I did try the AES from the 2ch system compared to the 502 AES and no glaring difference I can tell with a quick casual headphone listen.

    Black Magni 3+ from Scamazon, eagerly awaiting Piety...

    Some tool porn for those that care, Nepros 6.5mm stubby ratchet w/spinner, sliding t and bits (for my new MounTain Bike addiction). Stahlwille style 14 wrench
     
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    Last edited: Nov 2, 2022
  18. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Are those Hazet or Wera or what hex bits? And here I am thinking i'm a tool snob with SK ratchets...
     
  19. ColdsnapBry

    ColdsnapBry Almost "Made"

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    You can't go wrong with the Bifrost 2, but it needs a long warmup time to sound good. I actually downgraded to a Modi Multibit as I found it sounded better than the Bifrost 2 with the SW51+. But again long warmup times. I'd go for something else. Maybe just a Ifi something.
     
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  20. gefski

    gefski Facebook Friend

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    Regarding dac warmup, pre-covid, at our regular Seattle area meets, some of us hot transported our digital. Atomicbob always had his stuff warm and toasty, and my Yggdrasil and Atterotech interface were never shut down.

    After going to all the trouble of tearing down and hauling everything to and from meets, it wasn’t that big of a deal to have an inverter and UPS set up in the car.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2022

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