[kevin gilmore]

The photopotentiometer was a great idea.

Unfortunately the channel to channel balance was uncontrollable
and time and temperature caused the thing to drift many db.
Same circuit as a Marantz 10B tuner from the late 1960's.
(used in the AFT) Did not work well there either.

As far as i know there are no really great motor driven pots for audio
use at the moment. Unless you want to take a microstepper and put
it on a RK50. Very expensive.

 

[Thelonious Monk]

congrats, markl! i'm glad you've found happiness with rudistor. it's nice to see manufacturers still making high-end solid state amps, and rudi's stuff sounds like it would fit my solid-state tastes perfectly. i also admire the utter lack of capacitors in the nx-01, which are normally a necessary evil... sooo, what's the return policy? the nx-01 is within my current budget and honestly, based on looks & build quality alone, it looks unmatched in its price range. but... i'm hundreds of miles from any other head-fiers, let alone someone who owns a rudistor, and i'm not about to buy an amp from italy without having a way out, just in case i don't like it.

again, congrats- nice kitties too!

edit: also, looks like we share the same opinion on tubes... main reason i sold the dared mp5 was because it ran hot and was pretty impractical. i've pretty much decided that it's all solid-state here on out for this kid, since on top of the impracticalities, nos won't last forever. no offense meant to any tube enthusiasts here, i also feel the same way about cds and pretty much anything that i have to get off my butt to operate.

 

[markl]

Hi Kevin, just as expected, a skeptical view...

That's OK, I guess, I do respect you and your views, but recognize they are not without bias. Well, you have come down on various pots of yore, but that does not mean your criticism applies to this particular motorized pot. (Nor do I know enough to defend it properly).

I can't claim the tremendous sound of the Rudistor RP010 is or is not the result of this particular motorized pot (or occurs despite it); all I can say for sure is that this amp sounds incredible despite your inevitable criticism.

We've seen you comment before on Rudi's designs, as they compete with your own in the marketplace, I think it should be taken with a grain of salt.

I happen to LOVE the fact I can move the pot from the comfort of my chair. No, it's not a Gilmore-based design, but that doesn't mean it necessarily sucks...

 

[chesebert]

sounds like Rudi enjoy designing Single Ended Class A stuff with zero global negative feedback. I bet the harmonic content is a smooth parabolic curve. You get similar stuff in Sugden amps, same philosophy. expensive, hot, awesome, flee watt

 

[Asr]

Holy crap, a remote control for the volume?

Awesomely clever. Great looking amp too, the shiny volume pot is always a scene stealer.

 

[newguru]

Awesome review mark! Looks like you got a winner on your hands with your new Rudi!

 

[ronmtorres]

congratulations, man!

 

[rsaavedra]

Great build quality inside, looks awesome!

 

[kevin gilmore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Kevin, just as expected, a skeptical view... That's OK, I guess, I do respect you and your views, but recognize they are not without bias. Well, you have come down on various pots of yore, but

You completely misunderstand. That is the best motorized pot you are
going to find that is available today. Anything else that even might
be available is going to be more than 10 times the price of that pot.
The DACT with the stepping motor is currently $645 and its not a pot.

 

[OptionTrader]

I always glad to hear of someone able to rediscover his music collection after the addition of an exemplary piece of new equipment. That is what this hobby is all about.

Congratulations and Happy Listening!

P.S. Nice kitty. I have a Bengal. Great fun...

 

[jpelg]

Nice to see a high-end solid-state amp these days. Man, the inside of that thing is built to take a hit from a WMD and keep on ticking!

Congrats, Mark. Hope you enjoy it at least as much, and as long as you've enjoyed your previous amps. I'm sure you will.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif You completely misunderstand. That is the best motorized pot you are going to find that is available today. Anything else that even might be available is going to be more than 10 times the price of that pot. The DACT with the stepping motor is currently $645 and its not a pot.

There is another ALPs IIRC that Rudi uses in the balanced amps, it is a quad I think, four pots in one, and it is also motorized, but it is indeed more expensive, and one of the few quads you can probably find (motorized or not) nowadays...

 

[Icarium]

Sovkiller, I know the Mark 2 version of the RP010 (Balanced) has essentially 4 amps... does mine have that too?

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icarium /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sovkiller, I know the Mark 2 version of the RP010 (Balanced) has essentially 4 amps... does mine have that too?

All balanced versions of the RP010 have four Single Ended Class A amps, two on each channel working in opposed phase, there is no way of getting a balanced operation if you do not use 4 amps...

Markl's is only single ended, as he requested the amp like that, it was indeed a custom made amp, as now the RP010 is only avaialble with the balanced option as stock.

 

[rsaavedra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif Markl's is only single ended

Yes, it looks like it. Two of the inner boxes should be power supply related circuits, the other two boxes would then have the proper audio amplifying circuits, one per channel.