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I'd committed to a priority build and was thrilled to learn that the project was a go. In due time I'd receive a headphone amplifier for all of $389 delivered which promised to be more than casually related to my reference FirstWatt SIT2 and J2 speaker amplifiers. Naturally final retail pricing—if Colin decided to formally go commercial beyond fulfilling his Kickstarter commitments—would have to be a lot higher. There was simply no way to extend these early-bird specials in the context of a profitable business. But as far as securing a personal sample, I was all set. Being a patron to the audio arts like my friend Dan whose various Trafomatic custom commissions I've showcased in these pages tends to be beyond the means of most. The Sicphones project was a lovely opportunity for us less aspirated folks to literally kickstart a product—and possibly even a small company—and thereby fulfill the same function on a far more modest scale. There's power in numbers. The Kickstarter venue I'd not heard of before generated those numbers to prove its efficacy with - well, flying colors to wrap up and tap into Colin's mockup of possible color combinations for his little amp below. And that's where my October 2012 industry feature to alert our readers to this opportunity had ended. As it turned out, the story was about to get more complicated.

Project update #4, October 18: "I realize I mentioned not posting excessive updates but this is quite exciting news. Last evening all payments went through and as of this afternoon all electronic parts have been ordered. We are making a few very small design changes to the chassis and PCB and then those will be on order as well. When we start getting some of these materials in I will post some photos. For those with stickers and shirts only, we are getting there. The stickers are running a little behind but we will get everything sent out as soon as we have them."

Project update #5, October 23: "A most unfortunate thing is happening in the semiconductor industry I want everyone to be aware of. It's unclear at this point if or how this will effect Sicphones. SemiSouth, manufacturer of our silicon carbide transistors, announced in the past few days that they are closing.  Here is a link to one of various stories on the topic you can find online. This is very unfortunate for the industry as a whole. Many people were touched by what SemiSouth has been doing particularly with depletion-mode silicon carbide JFETs.


"What I can tell you is that our order went in through the distributor a few days prior to SemiSouth's announcement. Yesterday I inquired how this might effect fulfillment. There was no official answer. Apparently my inquiry was the first whereby the distributor heard about the closure. The hope is that all current POs will be fulfilled. I am obviously keeping a very close eye on this with borderline paranoia as it's critical to the project. In more positive news some of the more mundane components have started arriving. The case has received its design enhancements and is out for up-to-date quotes. These things are going well and are on schedule."

Project update #6, October 28: "There's no definite word from SemiSouth's distributor about our order status. From speaking with them we are the only known commercial order for the SJDP120R340 part in question. On the positive side there apparently are no others vying for it. On the negative, this is the only order. Other than waiting to see what happens, it doesn't seem there's anything to do that hasn't already been done by reaching out to manufacturer and distributor alike. In preparing for the worst I spent the weekend working on an alternate design using the Ixys Mosfet IXTP1R6N50D2 which I've worked with many times before. This makes for a very nice amplifier as well, definitely something that still achieves great sound and great value. It also fortunately works as a near drop-in replacement. It should be clear that we cannot wait forever for the SemiSouth situation to clear up and maintain our promised delivery dates. If sufficient time passes after which there's no progress knowing the status of SemiSouth production and delivery, there won't be an option but to roll out the alternate design. If this becomes necessity, the boards will retain the TO-247 footprint for the SJDP120R340 whilst being populated with the IXTP1R6N50D2 (TO-220) to allow for relatively simple replacement if at some point the SJDP120R340 becomes available again. I have enough IXTP1R6N50D2 on my bench to build the priority amplifiers but would have to replenish stock for the others. As always I will keep you up to date."

Project update #7, October 31: "First I would like to thank those who posted encouragements in the face of difficulty since the last update. It has been very disheartening to the dream of making these amps. There's now word from the distributor on the status of commercial availability of these parts. I would reiterate that there was no indication of problems with SemiSouth. As a manufacturer they were receiving investment for expansion and have been broadening their product line aggressively over the last year. "They have lost their financial funding and have officially closed doors for the time being. For all intents and purposes your open order on our system will not be filled. I am sorry Colin, however I have to cancel your order at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Moving forward we'll be running the alternate amplifier using the Ixys parts. If SemiSouth should reopen next year, we will purchase the parts and upon request either send you the replacement transistors or swap them out if you pay the shipping to get your amp here and back. We will still roll out the Sicphones case as homage to the original idea and hope for future availability of parts. We will also include the assembly manual with all amplifiers, not just kits. There are some delays with this change. The PCB is being slightly changed and will be out for full production within the week. We are verifying the new case design and then those will be out for full production as well. Most all of the electronic components have been received with the exception of some items relevant to the design change. While the boards and cases get manufactured, we will be forming leads to the precise board spacing and kitting the parts. When the boards get in we will first get the priority builds and kits sent out, then commence with the rest of the amps. We will likely be running slightly behind on the bulk of the amps given the lead time for the new Ixys parts. These are ordered and available and are estimated at 8 weeks."

Project update #8, November 13: "I am pleased to let everyone know that almost all parts are in. All electronics except the replenishments for the main transistors are here. The redesigned boards are out for production. The case was updated slightly and is out for production as well. We should have everything except replenishment transistors by the end of the month. What we will be working on between now and when we have boards and cases is setting up for rapid assembly. I have spent a lot of time reorganizing parts as they have come in to front-load some of the work for later payoff by reducing build time. We will continue with this until the rest of the parts get here."


Project update #11. December 16: "The priority builds are off. The full kits and PCB/transistor partial kits are ready to ship and will go out this coming week. Great progress is happening with construction of the bulk of the assembled amplifiers. We are several weeks out on having them ready for shipping." December 28. Yousa, Santa. Delivery in casa Villeneuve/Switzerland by local mail man.