Best Digital Amps

These new Cl.D amps are going to give all those that are looking for quality a taste of hiend for under $1K I think.

The best will cost due to parts used,but you will get quality sound for under $1K. I just bought the Panasonic SA-XR45 and cannot beleive the sound I am getting from the unit. Most of the reviewers are not changing out the PC which is a big mistake. Only after that does it sound like a good product rather than a mid-fi piece of junk.

Another drawback is the Binding post and the analog section,but the digital is better than anything I have had in my system for only $300.

Good luck!

For what it's worth, I love my Acoustic Reality eAR Two. I don’t claim that it’s the absolute “best” because that’s an impossible claim. I don’t pretend to have heard every digital amp on the planet, although I did hear the EVO 200.2 and liked it, though not enough to put my money on it. However, the eAR is IMO a truly outstanding amp. Having said that, I had a very long correspondence about a year ago with an owner of an Odyssey Stratos dual-mono who was doing an in-home audition of the eAR Two. He and I swapped much information about our impressions of the amp, but in the end he decided to keep his Stratos because although he thought the eAR was better in some ways, in his mind the improvement wasn’t enough to justify giving up the Stratos. I was happy for the guy that he made the best choice *for himself*. I didn’t froth at the mouth and insist that he was crazy for “dissing” my amp of choice. In the end, we’re just voicing our own opinions on these forums, nothing more. There’s no need to get defensive just because someone doesn’t share your opinion.

Re. Modifying amps.

Given the talk about making modifications to existing amplifiers, this brings up an important point. It’s not intended as a knock against the HCA-2 specifically, but it’s just a fact about the difference between traditional manufacturers versus manufacturers that sell factory-direct. For any given price point, the “bill of materials” or parts cost will almost certainly be greater for a factory-direct component because, unlike the traditional manufacturer, they don’t need to worry about dealer markups. The dealer markup is significant, and can easily double the cost of a component, if not more. Consequently, the factory-direct manufacturer can either charge less or re-invest the savings into design improvements, including (but not limited to) better parts. That’s why manufacturers like Acoustic Reality (and others like VMPS, BPT, Bent Audio, Don Morrison Audio, etc.) have an advantage -- their cost structure allows them to compromise less on basic things like component quality so consequently they can get away with using superior parts while keeping prices reasonable. Finally, since they don’t scrimp on parts quality, you won’t see aftermarket modders fiddling with their innards.

Oxia is right. Mods can help a lot of components, and not others. To Oxia's list I would add Pass Labs, a whole seller. Through building a great reputation, they have been able to enjoy steady sales that support a lot of research and development. Changing a single item in their X amps would spell disaster for their clean solid state sound.

Oxia, I think you are missing the point. Virtually every product can be improved. Case in point; your eAr amp. Acoustic Reality has improved their circuit or so they say.

I guess Peter has been fiddling around with his own design and improved it.

If you check the Acoustic Reality website you can see if you have the latest upgrade. If you don't, you can send it back for the "modded" circuit upgrade.

Although from the customer sevice nightmares many have experienced from Peter and Acoustic Reality you might be better off keeping the lesser eAR version.

And give it time, modders somewhere will probably find a way to even improve the eAR. Progress and perfomance never stand still.