Newbee,
Are you referring to the First Watt F4? I own an F4 clone, and while it's a fabulous amp and does pretty much what the MF 550K does using the speaker inputs (no voltage gain, just current gain) the F4 only makes about 25 watts, a far cry from the MF's 550 wpc. That probably explains some of the price difference; the rest may be because the MF also has a regular driver stage and can function as a conventional amp with gain, something the F4 can't do. I've never heard the MF, but I would be very surprised if it sounded similar to the F4 if only because it makes so much more power.
I do agree with you that any amp Nelson Pass has designed is a good bet, as long it's a suitable match for your application. His First Watt series are all different and pretty specialized.
David
Are you referring to the First Watt F4? I own an F4 clone, and while it's a fabulous amp and does pretty much what the MF 550K does using the speaker inputs (no voltage gain, just current gain) the F4 only makes about 25 watts, a far cry from the MF's 550 wpc. That probably explains some of the price difference; the rest may be because the MF also has a regular driver stage and can function as a conventional amp with gain, something the F4 can't do. I've never heard the MF, but I would be very surprised if it sounded similar to the F4 if only because it makes so much more power.
I do agree with you that any amp Nelson Pass has designed is a good bet, as long it's a suitable match for your application. His First Watt series are all different and pretty specialized.
David