First Watt F2/J - SUPER RARE

If you’re reading this ad, you likely have a pretty good idea of what is on offer here. The F2/J may well be the single rarest First Watt model ever produced. Made only in small numbers by Nelson Pass, with no possibility of any further production, these amps are the holy grail for those looking for a solid-state solution for their high-efficiency single driver speakers. Checking HiFi Shark reveals that examples of this model have only come to market once in the past four years. You hardly ever see them for sale and it might be years before you do again!  

The F2/J is a 5W single-stage, zero-feedback, single-ended JFET transistor amp. It’s basically an F2 with the MOSFETs swapped out and replaced with Semisouth JFETs. Considered a current-source amp because of its high (15 ohm) output impedance, Mr. Pass specifically designed it for driving wideband drivers directly, with no crossover. Do note that the relatively low input impedance (50k) makes preamp matching important.  

The unit on offer here is in perfect operational order and very clean cosmetically. Conservative 8, closer to 9. No major marks, dings, scratches or blemishes to report; the one actual scratch in the paint is on the rear of the unit, at the left heat sink, and I’ve tried to carefully highlight it here in photos. Other than that, the unit is pretty much unblemished, with some extremely minor and normal signs of age here and there that are really only noticeable on close inspection.  

Why am I selling? Can’t have a third system in my life any longer; sticking with tubes in my main rig; I’ve enjoyed my years with it and am ready to pass it on to the next audiophile who can enjoy it to its fullest!  

Buyer will receive the amp, the original manual, and a stock power cord. The amp will be carefully packed, boxed and shipped fully insured. At my asking, free shipping to CONUS and I will eat PayPal/Stripe fees. Right now I am only able to ship to CONUS.

Local NYC or tri-state buyers welcome to pick it up and/or come on over to the UES to have a listen.  

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!