If I had to guess I would say that Bruno prefers the ease of heatsinking his output devices, which is why he does not use GaNFETs. Back about 5 years ago there was a distinct improvement in switching speed offered by GaNFETs but that's all but gone with recent MOSFETs. So these days the design consideration might have more to do with the body diode of the device and how you heatsink it.
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I don't think that is a good guess. Ease of heatsinking? Have you seen the tiny heatsinks that people use on the GaN's. Look how tiny the heatsinks are on this new Orchard 250 watt into 8 ohm module are: https://orchardaudio.com/starkrimson-ultra-module picture is at bottom of opening scene.....just scroll through them....you will see. The GaNs are much faster than the mosfet Bruno uses. Here is what Bruno and Lars of Purifi say: https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/merrill/2/ |
highly unlikely you will find anything for $750 that will even be able to fairly compete. Its even kind of interesting you think its possible which sort of denotes a latent desire to have the $750 sound as good. I guess its a common fantasy.Nobody said they thought a $750 amp would compete with an amp 10x the price — you made that up in your mind somehow. We’re all just wondering how the Mini GaN 5 sounds for only 750 bucks and need other amps to compare it to is all. May be be a dumb question, but couldn’t another designer/manufacturer buy the Purify modules and incorporate GaN devices in an amp on their own? |
@mikepowellaudio By the way, my apology if you are one of my customers and I dont recognize your AudioGon Moniker. i am Its interesting also jjss49 how the "Big Bucks" is the entry amp and best value in the AGD line, the Audion. Its a pair of monobloc amps with audio grade power cords in a pelican flight case for only $7500. and this amp competes with some of the greatest designs the globe has to offer , so that’s not Big Bucks comparatively, my purchase of the set of agd’s was the single largest dollar spend on a single item i have made in my 35 years playing with audio gear (not by much, but still...) ... so it is ’big bucks’ to me... i am hardly short on money or choices of where to spend it, it is just that i’ve spent a lifetime earning my money, so i try to spend it wisely (and otherwise support charities and causes i care about) while i certainly have a lot of hifi equipment i have fun playing with, for me, spending 30k on an amp is grossly unwise, and unnecessary, to achieve outstanding sound - i've been at this since my late teens in college, and sometimes, i am prepared to open my wallet to see what is on offer as the market for gear progresses and innovates (and as the hype often ensues) as with other things in life that has gotten me to this point, i trust my own ability to decide, select, compare and assess |
I don't think that is a good guess. Ease of heatsinking? Have you seen the tiny heatsinks that people use on the GaN's.Yes, I saw that. And I read that bit, but its really not in conflict with what I mentioned and I agree with it. At 500KHz the extra speed of the GaNFET just isn't a thing- sure you can run a tiny bit less deadtime. But Bruno is running a **ton** of loop feedback (the Purifi module's patents are all about how he does that) so the distortion he's getting really isn't affected by the small difference in deadtime he might get with GaNFETs. Its not cost either since that's not a thing anymore, or wasn't a year ago anyway. That is why I think its something else- and the body diode would be a good example of that. If I were him I don't think I'd be trying to educate anyone on what that's all about in an interview :) |
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