You can buy the PR-102 preamp as a kit or in assembled form. Most people will opt for the convenience of the remote control, but you can also buy versions without the remote control if your budget is tight.
You can also add a moving magnet phono preamp and/or a headphone amplifier to tailor the features to just what you need.
The GT-102 features the parts quality found in high-end equipment,
yet the price is quite reasonable, whether in kit or assembled form.
The GT-102 is the successor to Akitika's very popular GT-101 Stereo Power Amplifier.
At 50 Watts per channel and its very reasonable price , the GT-102 power amp kit costs less than the interconnects on many high end systems.
Still, we find that many owners of $50,000+ systems buy our kits for their second system. Why? To quote one customer,
I put your amp up against my $10,000 monoblocks...it wasn't quite as good in some respects, but it was amazing how close it
came. BTW, I had a blast putting the kit together!
GT-102 customers report great results with bi-amped Martin Logan speakers, Magneplanars, and all kinds of speakers that cost many times the price of a GT-102.
The PR-102 preamp has also been favorably received by many audiophiles with very expensive systems. This is all the more amazing when you consider that this preamp's pricing is so reasonable.
It's fun, relaxing, and educational. Completing a kit provides you with a great feeling of accomplishment, and Akitika makes complete kits that make it easy to build great sound. When you add your labor, you get high-end sound for a bargain price. The kits contain everything you need to build great looking, great sounding equipment. They have acclaimed assembly manuals with clear directions that produce first time success for 97% of the builders. Quick email support makes the other 3% successful, too. We make great sounding, proven designs backed by knowledgeable support.
I was first introduced to Akitika with Dan's power amplifier, the GT-101. It was a great project for me to get the rust off, as I had previously built a few Dynaco kits way back in the 1970s, but nothing since! Frankly, I wondered if I could still do it!
The difference was, however, that most Dynakits came with the boards already stuffed
and the only assembly involved wiring the boards to the power supply, potentiometers, etc. So, I was a little reluctant. However, the project went great, and I decided I was ready for Dan's preamplifier, the PR-101.
Now, I did not undertake this project lightly, as I knew it was bound to be more difficult, what with the number of boards, steps, etc.
I decided to purchase the whole package, and in addition to the preamp kit, I opted for gold phono connectors, powered potentiometers for balance and volume, the headphone amplifier, and the phono preamplifier. Therefore, as opposed to the three boards necessary to complete the amplifier, I now had six boards to stuff and wire together!
Personally, I have found that circuit board holders along with a 3.5X magnifier with an LED light is a must at my age (64) and frankly, it is not a bad idea for anyone. Also, I use a 16X magnifying glass so I can read the numbers on the very small capacitors, operational amplifiers, etc.
To make a long story short, I had to send the preamp back to Dan TWICE, and it was user error both times! In one case, I had inadvertently soldered across a trace, thereby nullifying the circuit. In another, I mixed up two of the op amps on the phono board. To Dan's credit, he very quickly analyzed and fixed MY problems, and shipped the unit back to me, in both cases within one week! Also, Dan's expert troubleshooting ability was VERY reasonably priced. I might add that I had several questions along the way, and Dan was very prompt in his response to me, each and every time I emailed him. In one case, he was concerned enough that he called me on a weekend! I challenge anyone to show me any head of a company who is as concerned with customer satisfaction!
Overall, the preamplifier was a pure joy to build, much more fun than the old Dynakits, as with Dan's, you are actually soldering in the resistors, capacitors, relays, transistors, ICs, op amps, diodes, etc., to the circuit boards themselves. In addition, the parts and circuit boards themselves, down to the case and screws, are absolutely first-rate.
Now for the good part, how the preamp sounds. Understand, I was comparing it to an old Dynaco PAT-5 solid state preamplifier, but one that had been completely restored. However, there really is no comparison; Dan's preamplifier works like a charm. Stereo separation is better, signal-to-noise is amazing, clarity of highs and lows are much improved, tone controls are just superb (although you can switch them out of the circuit if desired), there is virtually no distortion, the remote control is great, and I would bet that it would hold its own very easily with preamplifiers in the four-figure range!
So, once again, Akitika, in my mind at least, has proven to be the best-designed solid state equipment on the market, both in regard to easy of assembly, superior parts, and the best instructional manual in the business. I cannot recommend Dan's kits highly enough.
My next project? I am going to update some of my old Dynaco equipment, using (you guessed it!) Dan's Update my Dynaco
kits.
Gordon was kind enough to send along the following letter:
You may be familiar with Akitika's Updatemydynaco kits that make the Stereo 120 and PAT-4 better than new. Those are certainly great kits, but you need an old Dynaco to get the ball rolling. What if you want to build a new kit, from the ground up? That's what you'll find at this web site.
Akitika is a pallindrome on "A kit". We pronouce it Ah-kuh-TEE-kuh.
Lots of people used to build electronic kits. Heathkit, Eico, and Dynaco let anyone assemble great stuff and save a lot of money. On top of that, building the kits was relaxing, educational, and rewarding. We're here to say that the good times are back! Akitika has designed high performance audio kits. With our great designs, the carefully selected parts, and your labor, you get great sound and a great value.
The electronics are built on high quality 2-layer FR-4 PC Boards. Critical signal path capacitors have high linearity NPO or poly-film dielectrics. Metal film resistors, a toroidal transformer, and an elegant basic black custom chassis are the great ingredients that produce remarkable results.
Kit construction has four steps:
The kit uses all through-hole components. The circuit boards have been specially designed with generous spacing between all the soldered points, making assembly easy.Check out our YouTube video (not yet available), where we summarize the assembly process.
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