MNats GRAF 1176 Which version is the most popular?

I just ordered and stuffed a Rev J board (MNats mentioned on his site that it was most popular for support) and when I found the UA manual today, they mention the earlier class A (single ended) versions were more sought after.

So have I wasted my time/money in building a Rev J?

777funk said:

I just ordered and stuffed a Rev J board (MNats mentioned on his site that it was most popular for support) and when I found the UA manual today, they mention the earlier class A (single ended) versions were more sought after.

So have I wasted my time/money in building a Rev J?

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Of course you haven't...

Gustav

I hope not! I wish I could have heard good sample comparisons before I started. I figured it was just small changes here and there that I could make any rev into any other rev. But it looks like there are some big differences between the early and later versions.

If it sounds good, it is good.  You won't be disappointed.

Too late. Tough luck. But I'll do what I can to help: Once it's built and calibrated, if you can't stand how good it sounds, you can ship it to me (I'll pay shipping) for proper disposal. 

777funk said:

I hope not! I wish I could have heard good sample comparisons before I started.

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You haven't wasted any money, the J version is perfectly good.  The D/E sounds different but either are excellent.

I've said it 847 times on various forums but I may as well make it 848, audio samples are useless as a way of determining whether a piece of gear will work for you, with your sources in the way that you work.  I can't count the amount of times I've heard audio samples of gear I own or have used and found them unrecognizable.

Finish the J and let us know what you think!

ruairioflaherty said:

Finish the J and let us know what you think!

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And if you don't like it, I bet you won't like any of the revisions. None of the revisions I have heard (different clones) disguise the certain 1176 sound, to put it not-too-boldly.

Gustav

I'm looking forward to it either way. I'm actually going to try an experiment that will bypass most of the push/pull output amplifier anyways so that makes most of the revisions pretty similar.

777funk said:

I just ordered and stuffed a Rev J board (MNats mentioned on his site that it was most popular for support) and when I found the UA manual today, they mention the earlier class A (single ended) versions were more sought after.

So have I wasted my time/money in building a Rev J?

Click to expand...

Nope.  "sought after" means collectible because there weren't that many made (Rev A ~120 units, Rev AB ~190).  And, those early units were a bit noisy, thus the LN (low noise version) began with Rev C.  No matter what Rev you have, it's still an 1176 and it's a great comp.