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Wave AV-8 Modifications and Results (long)

216.101.160.66

Posted by Mon on August 6, 2001 at 17:45:41

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd take a few moments to share my experiences with modifying my Wave AV-8s, for those of you thinking of purchasing them, or those of you who have them and are considering tinkering. I love these little amps. I am between jobs at the moment and have been spending HUGE amounts of time tinkering and listening, switching out, then listening A-B again.

First of all thanks to Joseph Lau for all his feedback in pointing me in the right direction for these simple, yet rewarding modifications.

I first swapped out the four Bennix capacitors in the 2 waves with .47uf Auricaps. I did one amp at a time and listened comparatively. There was a gigantic difference in the two amps, with the Auricapped amp having deeper and richer tonal characteristics compared to the stock amp. No comparision. The stock amp was much, much brighter and a bit tinny. Great modification.

I then started thinking about resistors. Joseph Lau recommended replacing 4 resistors in the signal path per unit. R4, R7, R10 and R11. Those are a 33k, 390k, and 2 1ks. I thought, what the hell and I ordered full compliments of Rikens, AN Tants, Holcos and Roederstein Resistas from Angela.com, Michael Percy, and Audio Note North America.

I began by replacing one amp with all Rikens. The bass response increased dramatically and I liked that (Tom Waits never sounded more gravel-ly and unshaven), but after closer examination I felt the highs were rolled off and there was way too much of a "tubey" or "hollow" sonic characteristic. Also some low end distortion.

I switched out the Rikens for all Holcos, but that didn't seem exactly right either. It swung the other direction and I found it was too lean for my taste and lacked deep dynamic punch. Tom Petty whined too much.

I then put in all AN Tants which were very musically satisfying in the bass but the top end was restrained, or oddly veiled, but better overall than the other pure attempts. Ry Cooder had post nasal drip. hahaha

I then started thinking that I should try combinations, looking for the optimal blend. I put in the 33k and 390k Rikens for bass, with 1k Holcos in R10 and R11 and wow. Very nice highs, not too bright, but "there" with deep bass. I decided to try a variation on the other amp which was AN Tants in the 33k/390k positions and Holcos in the 1k positions and then duel the two off, A-B.

Upon extended HEAVY DUTY listening, there was more bass with the Rikens, but the Rikens were muddying or smearing the bass somehow, while the Tants were producing very slightly less bass, but it was a VERY well defined and musical bass. There was no comparision. The more I listened, the more I got goosebumps, and the more I loved this combination. AN Tants in the 33/390 positions and Holcos in the 1k positions created tonal characteristics nothing short of spectacular IMHO.

All the music I tried sounded "just right" in tight bass and extended yet not overly bright highs. Sampled music included Tom Petty Wildflowers, Ry Cooder Bop 'Till You Drop, Les Nubians Princesses Nubiennes, Sheila Chandra Roots and Wings, Tom Waits' Foreign Affairs, Eric Truffaz The Mask.

I did pop in 1k Roederstein Resistas in the 1k positions in one amp to test that possibility that they would increase dynamics, but they were a bit dry and substantially less dynamic than with the Holcos in the 1k slots.

There certainly are other combinations I didn't try, but I think I've found a real winning combination that bring these little Wave-citos up a few big notches that have them competing sonically with my Zen Select amp for tonal character, but they've got muscle behind them.

I did find that when I put in Caddock TF020Rs in my volume shunt on my Foreplay Preamp, it made a huge difference and was the best I had tried (over Rikens, AN Tants, Holcos and Resistas). I may go ahead and get some Caddocks for the 1k slots, but I'm pretty certain that the AN Tants are the bomb in the 33/390k positions as they seem to tame the other stock metal film resistors which tend to be so bright, while the 1k slots keep the sound open and let in the high dynamics.

I'm no expert and I'm using "down home" language to try to explain my experiments and what I'm hearing. My Waves are singing beautifully.

I'd love to hear what anyone else has done to these fun little amps.

My system:

Cambridge Audio CD4SE CD Player as Transport
MSB LinkDAC
Decware Silver Interconnects
Foreplay Preamp with Anticipation and Sweet Whispers in Caddock Shunt
Titanic Subwoofer
DH Labs Silver Sonic Speaker Cable
The Hornshoppe Horns (Fostex FE108 drivers) 93db ((Amazing speakers custom built by Ed Schilling www.thehornshoppe.com))

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