2. amps-preamps
  3. 175049-95151

AGD Tempo in the house

It is very interesting to spend time with amps.  You go to shows or even go to someone's house and listen to and amp and because it isn't on your gear and in your environment, it sounds good but it is insanely difficult to judge vs other gear.  

So AGD is a brand I had been flirting with and finally a customer asked for a demo so I put in my order and a few days later the Tempo arrived.  I dropped in into my system and all I can say is WOW.  It has all the grunt required to drive my Vivids.  Is warm and sweet with an extremely wide sound stage. 

Even fresh out of the flight case, (no box here) it didn't sound digital at all.  This sounds closer to Class A to me than Class D.  I have not heard a different GaN at this point but I am fascinated by this and how good it sounds compared to other Class Ds and even Class ABs.  

The other surprising part is this unit is about 1/3 the size of a normal component. I know I am a hair late to the game with GaN but damn, is it ever too late to celebrate a product.   

128x128verdantaudio
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,783 posts
 

I have had multiple Class D amps that sound cold and unnatural fresh out of the box and warm over time.  I also have had some that have never improved and sound cold and unnatural forever.  Of course, I can think of some Class AB and A amps that are just as bad.  

@verdantaudio In all those cases you're hearing the distortion signature of the amp. Since you can never get rid of distortion, the distortion you do get should be innocuous as much as possible. Its nice when the designer gets that bit right, huh 😀?

verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio OP
1,499 posts
 

@atmasphere agreed!

ron1264
137 posts
 

@atmasphere you are correct in most cases, but some class D amps are digital.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,783 posts
 

@ron1264 All class D amps are analog. If its digital, its not class D. FWIW the on and off states in a digital word have significance whereas the on and off states of a class D do not. So I doubt there is any such thing as a 'digital amplifier'; there are DACs integrated into an amplifier system that employ a class D at the output.

ricevs
1,543 posts
 

The manufacturers that make digital input amps that change PCM to PWM call their amps "digital'.  Yes, the output stage is class D so it is not digital but the input stage is digital.....so you might call it a half digital/half class D amp.  However, I think it is a good idea to call these amps digital because you then know what you are dealing with.  Some of these "digital amps" use no feedback....since they have no analog stages to take feedback to. Technics, Tact, and Lyndorf use this kind of "digital" amp.  I am sure there are others.  There are no DACs in a "digital amp".....they only need a digital signal.  However, some "digital amps' have analog inputs and then they use an ADC to change the signal to PCM and then convert to PWM for the output amp stage.

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