Alchemist Forseti APD20A Power Amp Upgrade

Almost any Hi-Fi component can be upgraded to higher performance using our techniques and components. The two things go together – the know-how and the right component. Over the last 30 years, we have developed our knowledge of where the biggest problems lie and how to overcome them to unleash better performance from a given piece of equipment.


An absolute classic of a power amp, the Alchemist Forseti APD20A was a real treat for us to upgrade. The Alchemist Forseti APD20A can pretty much drive any speaker with fluid clarity. Featuring a twin mono design, class AB. The power amp can be bridged mono to deliver over 400 watts RMS.




Back in 1995 Hifi World reviewed the amp and said.. “The Forseti power amplifier is true gold: near enough a piece of straight wire, with plenty of dynamic range – and strongly recommended. A spot of experimentation with preamplifiers is recommended, according to the flexibility of the purse. In other words, Alchemist’s Forseti pre/power is a fair enough crock of gold for the price, but the power amplifier is beyond rubies…”




This provides a great platform to upgrade! Our upgrades build on the strengths of the amplifier. Everything you love about the sound remains – it just gets so much better.


Internal signal wiring is taking care of, using a combination of pure Kimber copper TCX, TCSS, GQ-24 and PowerKord-100. Over 3m of wire is changed.





For the signal wire, we've used woven GQ-24 (similar to to Kimber's Hero interconnect) and single strand TCSS. We can if requested, upgrade the copper wiring with silver wire. Contact us for details.


For the majority of the capacitor changes, we use Russ's favoured Panasonic Audio Grade caps. Where possible, we will endeavour to use the superb Kimber Kaps.

Due to the relative simplicity of the power amps design only 14 key component upgrades/changes are made across the power supply and amplifier section. Upgrades include Russ's favoured audio grade Panasonic capacitors which give a smooth and detailed sound. The amplifier is completely disassembled to gain access to key areas of upgrade.






To further clean up and give the power supply input an upgrade, a total of five SuperFuses™ were fitted. Wiring for the mains input was taken care of using PowerKord-100™.




If you don't have exactly the same model as listed above, but a very similar unit, then it's highly likely that the same or similar upgrades will apply. But we can't guarantee that until we have the unit here for inspection. Get in touch and let us know what you have.




Equipment upgrades are proving hugely popular. During peak times there may be a wait of several weeks before we can carry out the upgrade. So before we get your equipment here, it must be booked in so we can ensure a speedy turnaround of the upgrade. Once you have placed your order, we will contact you to arrange a suitable week and getting the equipment here.

In Person
For those of you who are local enough or if you fancy a trip to the lakes, you can drop off your equipment personally and then collect it when it’s complete or we can ship it back to you.

By Courier
We can arrange a courier collection of your equipment for an additional cost. We currently use UPS.
To make things easier, we can offer several collection options.

1. We can arrange a specific day for the courier to call and collect your equipment. Someone will need to be available all day at the collection address as we’re unable to arrange a time slot for collections.

2. Dropping off at a UPS Access Point. UPS use a network of local shops to deliver and collect parcels from and to. We can either post you a collection label or email you the label (you will need to print the label at home/work). Securely box up your equipment, affix the collection label to the outside of the box and take it to your preferred Access Point where you will be issued a receipt. UPS Access Points can be found here (link opens in a new window), simply enter you postcode to find your nearest one.

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Please note this is just an upgrade modification, it does not include the Forseti amplifier.