rk7

Morning viewers! I've been in the man-cave again. With the arrival of the new Aurora amplifier, I decided it would be nice to make a little 'wendy-house' for it to live in. I have seen a picture of the Aurora in a 19" rack, on Eric Czar's website. The 19" rack is wider than the speaker cabinets it sits on, and tbh it looks odd (sorry Eric), kinda like a weird 'T' shape. Right says I, lets get in the cave and make ourselves one that matches the 212MNT cabinet, and hopefully ends up looking like it came from Holland! Features: 18mm Plywood construction (same as the cabinet. Gotta match, see.) Ventilation grilles on the left side, and the base. Rear of the sleeve left open, to assist ventilation. Carrying handle on the right side Corner protectors to match the 212MNT Carpet covering to match the 212MNT Removable (held on with small neo magnets) lid on the rear of the top, to give good unfettered access to the rear panel of the amp. UNFETTERED - word of the day! Jack socket on the rear panel (no messy cable hanging out of the front) Right! Easy peasy, lets get started. RK

One last pic, with its new sleeve, and matching 212 cabinet. [IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/24cw2zn.jpg[/IMG] RK

Yes, definitely going to the London show. Earplugs at the ready! RK

Build diary please. RK

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1413277448' post='2576519'] Why is this TKS specific forum under Amps and Cabs instead of Affiliates? Seems a little odd? [/quote] Should be in Affiliates, not on the front page as a subsection of Amps and Cabs. RK

Hi Ewan, good to see that the GAS ailment is obviously incurable, ha ha! This build looks awesome, I am subscribed now. I've been locked inside my new amp for a week or two, but I'll be following this build with interest now. Hope you are well, and that we can catch up in Moffatt again. RK

Haven't seen the word 'Vanderkley' in this thread yet. Marc's cabinets might do the trick. just sayin' RK

Great work. Well done! RK

Nice work! I particularly like the matching Amp sleeve. I've just finished knocking out a sleeve for my new amp, mainly because a 19" rack would be wider than my cab, and because I was bored. Well done! RK

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1412764802' post='2571707'] That's why its good we can all look through spec lists for the techno stuff... But waiting is far to sensible... My Blue Soul GAS has been a slow burner and been nagging at me for a while, think I'm going to pull the trigger. Hopefully I'll get a chance to give one of these a go at the bass show next year if Vanderkley have a stand again, so that will be my chance to give the Aurora a proper blast and decide, having lived with the Glock for a while, what works best for me. [/quote] Yes, that makes good sense. I understand that Marc will indeed be at the bass show, so you'll get a chance to play through the Aurora. If I do end up darn sarth in the meantime, I'll bring the Aurora along. RK

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1412763936' post='2571692'] What a top review, great stuff. I am very tempted indeed.... I think my Blue Soul GAS is going win out but I'd love to have a good demo of this at battle volume. [/quote] Thank you Rob. I'm not the best at the technobabble. I've tried to make it a real-impressions type of write up. Unfortunately, I'm a long way from London, otherwise you would be most welcome to try the amp, in a rehearsal or gig situation. I would definitely suggest trying one before pulling the trigger on the Blue Soul. I considered this amp more than once during the 18 month wait, but was strongly 'steered' towards waiting for the Aurora. I am soooo glad I did. RK

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1412763335' post='2571680'] Ask Roland Rock himself! I only knew about the Tritto. [/quote] Tritto? Is that the new Fiat? RK

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1412619909' post='2570494'] Dunno about that. The XC70 is cheaper, and... [/quote] How did you know about the quattro, although I do like the XC70. RK

Here it is folks: [IMG]http://i58.tinypic.com/2vc6jhj.jpg[/IMG] I am using the Aurora with the Vanderkley 212MNT cabinet. I haven't tried any other cabs, but the amp certainly sits well with the 212 arrangement. Everything about the Aurora just screams QUALITY. Right from the point of opening the shipping carton, the customer is presented with a really well made (and colour-matching!) carrying case for the amp. In the case are the amp itself, a high quality mains lead with Powercon connector, and a pair of 19" rack ears (more on that later). It then became a race to get it plugged in, really. The amp is rated at 700W into a 4ohm cab such as to 212. It seems like all 700 of those watts are present in the box, but in a very 'disciplined' manner. I am used to a TC RH450, which always felt a bit pushed. The Aurora feels so, so capable in comparison. The amp has a 0dB, -12dB, and Mute switch, of which I use the 0dB with the Overwater Bass. The next stage is the 5-band EQ. I tried some startup settings during my first play through the Aurora (some Bass boost, a little Mid, and some Treble boost) because this was my default TC setting. Then I pretty much immediately switched to EQ off, via the front panel switch, simply because the Aurora has no need of EQ. The sound, right across the range, is full, and clear as a bell. (not a Glockenklang bell, just better! ha ha). The Aurora has an Effects loop facility on the back panel, and a dry/wet Mix knob on the front, as well as a switch to select Loop Off/Loop On+/Loop On-. The Loop On- function 'reverses the phase of the effects loop to minimise loss of bottom end signal'. I have not tried this function yet, because I havn't utilised the effects loop. One day soon though readers! The amp also has a Loop Dry/Wet Mix control knob. The CVD (Continuously Variable Damping) knob is next. This alters the damping factor of the Aurora amp and influences the relationship of the amplifier/speaker combination. At one end of its adjustment, the CVD give a very clear, hifi-like sound, whilst at the other extreme, gives a more 'woolly' sound, if that's your thing. Finally, moving across the front panel, there is the Master volume knob, and three LED's for Power On, -3dB, and Limit. Your ears will bleed long before the -3dB is reached, and will explode if the Limit light comes on. Or maybe implode? There can be no doubt that this is an expensive piece of equipment. And of course there will be the haters, who would say they would 'never spend that much on an amp'. Well, I did. And I waited 18 months for it to hit the market. And you know what - it was worth every pound, and every day of waiting, because it is simply that good! The design is bang on the mark, the performance is awesome, and it is red! Highly recommended. Beware, anti-GAS trousers are essential! RK p.s. I've made a sleeve for the amp to live in. It perfectly matches the dimensions of the 212MNT. A 19" rack overhangs the cabinet, and looks like a weird narrow T shape. Not nice. However, using the sleeve meant I had to reduce the width of the rack ears to get it to fit. It felt a bit strange taking bits out of the box and hacksawing them!! Now, having done all this, I don't especially want to hide the amp away in a sleeve. Doh!

Sorry chaps, been having a bit of a medical week (under the knife on Friday, yuk). I'll do a more detailed review post-op, but suffice to say that the Aurora is awesome. It is like a piece of jewellery. The build quality is stunning. The sound is completely effortless, it is clearly a very capable piece of equipment. It has loads of nice design touches - Marc Vanderkley has spent huge effort in the design of this amp. Again, sorry for the delay in responding, back soon RK

It has arrived. It is awesome. Review and pictures to follow. Very happy RK

Built, and shipped to good old Blighty! RK

[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/2dsrepw.jpg[/IMG] Another Old Git RK

Lovely wood! This is a nice bass indeed. Great work. RK

Nice work! Very nice indeed! RK

Any news Captain? RK

Nice bass, nice girlfriend. Congratulations! RK

First class! Beautiful bass. RK

Brilliant thread - nice bass too! RK

Looking good! Subscribed RK