Dreaming of a DIY 8W Class A amp designed by Nelson Pass?

they alll seem somewhat sterile and lifeless. IMHO, they all need a tube preamp to warm them up

@lou_setriodes Nelson understands the importance of lower ordered harmonics since you can't eliminate distortion altogether (this is a lot bigger topic than there might be room for on this thread!). So his stuff doesn't have that dryness to which you allude above. But a good tube preamp shouldn't be particularly warm- just neutral :)

I just ordered a pair of Chinese Zerozone 24Vdc/5A linear power supplies to compare to the stock Meanwell SMPS.  I've queried the ACA DIY forum thread for experience with LPS substitutions, but to no avail.  We'll find out shortly.  

@dgarretson 

Please keep us posted!  I might upgrade the power supplies on my dual mono build and I’m extremely interested on your thoughts.

I love building kits. This is a great sounding little amp. I’ve built 3 of these. First I built two to run as mono. But found that a single running in stereo was really enough and sounded just as good with an efficient set of speakers. So I sold one amp. Then after awhile, I wasn’t using the ACA amp and ended up selling that one too. But then I missed it, so I bought a third kit and built that one which gets switched into a second system. I pair it with a Schitt saga. I also have paired one with an Elekit 8500 preamp I built and have since sold. Ps. Elekit are great products, I’ve built four different amps from them.
cheers
k

@dgarretson - you can test these Zerozone power supplies stock, but you can also upgrade the power cord and the fuse.  In addition, I upgraded my DC output cables as well.  I used a 5.5mm x 2.1mm DC plug from Digikey:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/switchcraft-inc/767KS17/SC1389-ND/2238432

And 16awg UTP VH Audio cryo-treated OFC hookup cable w/ AirLok insulation below:

https://www.vhaudio.com/wire.html#ofcairlok

The results of the DC cable upgrade were significant.  I kept the DC connector on the power supply side because it's hard to find the correct size replacement. I just de-soldered the existing cable and solder on my VH Audio wire.