The First Watt SIT-3 arrived at my front door on the Tuesday after Memorial Day here in the US. Even though Becky and I were leaving the next morning for The Home Entertainment Show, I took the time to unpack it and put it in my system. My goal was to let it break in while we were away. I couldn’t resist playing something on it right out of the box, but I shouldn’t have as it was bright and steely sounding on first play.
So, I took my old iPhone that now serves as a music player and plugged it into the wall and into my Emia remote volume control. I put the iPhone on repeat and left it playing for the next 10 days. Now as I write this, the amp has a little over 300 hours on it, and it continues to sound better each time I sit down to listen.
In my review of the SIT monoblocks, I said, “My first impression of the SIT-1s was that this was one of the few amps of any type that sounded as good as my Wavac EC-300B. Another thing I began to notice early on in listening to these amps is how controlled they sound. By this, I don’t mean a lack of dynamics, though they aren’t quite as dynamic as the Wavac EC-300B, but it has the ability to get really big or really loud without losing control. For example, on Ella and Louie, Louie’s trumpet swells, come to life and gets very loud without a hint of glare or edge.”
So far, I can tell you that the SIT-3 has its own flavor of magic in the midrange and, with certain music, it always sounds like it’s on the verge of losing control but never quite allows the sound to do so. It is also one of the most dynamic amplifiers I have ever had in my system. This is very exciting for rock and big band music, which so far are the only two types of music where I’ve noticed this character. Well, it’s a little early to talk about how it sounds, so the only other thing I can say is that the sound of this amp at this point is very promising.
Description
If our small world of audio, Nelson Pass is a legend. I remember in my early twenties drooling over the Threshold amps. In the mid 80s he designed the real bargain amp of the day, the Adcom GFA-555 amplifier. With Pass Labs, Nelson has a company that produces more mainstream and more powerful amplifiers that stay around a long time before being replaced with a new version. And, as we pointed out in the story of our visit to their production facility last year, we were very impressed with their commitment to building high-quality amplifiers.
With First Watt, he is experimenting with less mainstream design, less powerful and simpler amps, but don’t think that means for a minute that they produce less music. The SIT-1 and SIT-2 used a single-ended circuit that has only one active device per channel; that is one SIT transistor. The chassis is mostly heat sinks, and inside there are resistors, caps, and a power transformer.
In the press release just prior to AXPONA, the SIT-3 was introduced as the successor to First Watt’s legendary SIT-1 and SIT-2 amplifiers. Like them, the new SIT-3 uses a Static Induction Transistor (AKA VFET) in the power stage of a simple no-feedback amplifier. This SIT was uniquely fabricated from Silicon Carbide with the character of a tube Triode, acting more like a voltage-controlled resistor than a current source. This character gives it a much more desired audio quality and is different from ordinary Fets whose character is more like a tube Pentode.
One benefit of this design is that the SIT operates at voltages and currents much more convenient for driving today’s loudspeaker impedances. The major difference is that the SIT-1 and SIT-2 operated the SIT device in Common Source Mode, which delivers both voltage and current gain. The SIT-3 operates in Common Drain Mode, which delivers only current gain. If you want more technical info click here, but for me, it is enough to say the SIT-3 is a stereo single-ended Class A amplifier with more power, lower distortion and noise and better damping than its predecessors. It features the single SIT in a unique circuit using “Common-Drain” mode without feedback, has the ability to drive lower impedance loudspeakers, and has almost twice the power of the SIT-1 or SIT-2.
Early Impressions
When Bryan Stanton emailed me the FedEx tracking info, he added, “Feel free to contact Nelson to chat with him about his newest baby. He’s a very proud papa. Please cc me so I can make sure he follows up promptly.” Well, from my early impressions, I would say that Nelson Pass should be a proud papa. Look for a full review soon, but then again, I’m in no hurry as this amp is sounding better and better.
