First Watt F3 or Red Wine Audio 30.2

Why are you evaluating these amps? There are so many great name brand amps..these guys may be out of business in this economy at any time.

Unless you know something you're not sharing, this is a bit of a reckless statement toward two small companies trying to make a go of it. And, I think we've learned that a big "brand name" means squat, i.e. see Lehman, Merrill Lynch, AIG, GM, Chrysler, etc.

>>07-27-09: Stringreen
Why are you evaluating these amps? There are so many great name brand amps these guys may be out of business in this economy at any time.<<

Earth to Stringbean:

First Watt is Nelson Pass.

LOL

I'm evaluating these amps because of the outstanding reviews they have both had. Because they are small companies putting pride and effort in, and taking on the big dogs.
Plus, I never said rock is all I listen to. I love jazz too. I love hearing a saxophone like it's right in the room with me, but I also want to hear the groove of a bass line, and the snap of percussion. I don't listen to a lot of vocals, but I'm not some solid state slam monster. That's why I thought an amp with 20-30 watts would be plenty of juice for my devores (90db) to give me a little taste of SS bass power without the overwhelming SS authority, slam, and all that other junk that makes me feel like I'm not listening to music anymore.

I have First Watt F5. Check my system and look through the various amps that I've been through. F5 is the most musical sounding amp that I have owned. I do not know how similar or dissimilar F3 and F5 sounds, but you probably will do well with F3. By the way, one thing that I like about my F5 is how realistically it renders the rock music. I'm going through my old collection of Led Zepplin and Deep Purple. My speakers are 93dB at 1 Watt/Meter. I get 25W of class A power from F5 and I honestly don't feel that I need any more power than now. The cannon fire from Tchaikovsky 1812 is as realistic as with 300W+ mega amps that I used to have with SPL reaching up to 90dB+ at my listening chair. YMMV, as what you get out of these low powered First Watt amps will be highly dependent on your speakers.

I own the F3 and F5.

Both are terrific products with the F3 being a bit more sophisticated and refined. However, it is a relatively low output amplifier. Furthermore, the user must be cognizant of the low input impedance (10K) so many tube preamps will not work well.

The F5's higher power output and higher input impedance make it more friendly for use with a variety of speakers and preamplifiers. It will also drive a 2 ohm load without blinking.

I am a Pass dealer but have no financial interest in First Watt products.