High End Amp Price Collapse musings


If Class D amplification becomes accepted by audiophiles there should be a glut of high end amps (Krell, Levinson, Pass etc) becoming available on the used market at prices a fraction of what they are now.

Think CRT TV when the flat panels began emerging.I think Ill hold off on a new/used amp purchase for a little while. Maybe I will bet a Boulder.

Has any one else considered this?

energeezer
"761 posts02-02-2017 8:39pmThe analogy is interesting because from the start hi definition flat panels were better than CRT scrrens, I don’t think the same is true and maybe never will be with regard to class a and ab amps v. Class d amp"

This is absolutely not true. The first generation of LCD flatscreens had horrible black levels and were 60hz ref rate making them poor on motion.
They were sharper and brighter but the contrast ratio was the fly in the ointment. I will concede that some of the early plasmas were close but still not better than mature CRT.


Some of you miss the point. The point is simple. As Class D advances it will eat into the high end class A market.  We have seen this already happening to a small degree. Some people on this thread indicate they already switched.
Once Class D is close enough in quality even some of the deep pocket Krell, Pass etc guys will switch.
Once that happens they will sell thier existing gear which will gradually bring the value of that existing gear down giving not so deep pockets the chance to own true high end as it exists today.
Question I guess would be why would the " not so deep pockets"  buy used "true high end as it exits today" if , as you presume, Class D of the future matches it? 
Ok, energeeser; let's consider it.
If the new technology does make the finest current amplifiers redundant.... 
The joy of those who enjoy these fine amplifiers today will not diminish in the future.
So why would prices plummet?
 Electrical current technology used in these presently modern amplifiers is akin to contemporary airplane construction. A body and 2 wings. Certainly there will be improvement in some details;but there is good knowledge of aerodynamics from the study of fish and birds.
Today's great conventional amplifier builders, like Spectral Audio for example, are and have been 
for some time creating amplifiers that are like sharks; very nicely evolved using refinements of well known scientific (or I should say 'nature's) principles based on "the basics"-- electricity,magnetism and heat--and their effects on "jiggling atoms" (per Dick Fynman;-thanks Dick). These fundamental properties are not changing;so, like your 1995 Roll Royce will get you from A to B very nicely,particularly compared to our modern lightweight mass market autos,
your high quality amplifier from 1995 will continue to provide very enjoyable musical pleasure.
And don't forget there will always be an endless number of people who can't quite afford today's finest; but will be delighted to obtain them used. 
This was stated rather elegantly by my dear Grandmother who always advised me to buy the best true quality I could afford. Her old adage was simple. "Buy cheap, buy dear." as you'll soon be replacing the cheap - at a higher cost..Twas ever thus.......
My experience, though undoubtedly different for any number of reasons, nevertheless varies from Grannyring's. A couple of years back, I sold my tube-based system--tube amp, tube preamp, tube dac--and bought a Devialet D200. In the beginning, I thought the Devialet sounded "excellent" and I especially loved the convenience and simplicity of it. Over time, I found that I was listening to my system less and less, finally realizing that I was just not connecting emotionally to the music the way I had with previous systems--not just with the tube amp, but with SS amps including Plinius SA-102 and the TRL Samson monoblocks. I finally sold the Devialet and bought a Line Magnetic integrated, an Allnic H1201 phono stage, and a Lampizator Atlantic, once again reintroducing tubes into my system. Now the magic is back. For me, at least, there just is no substitute for the life and presence that tubes bring. I guess it feels like the difference between a great representation of the music and the music itself. The Devialet didn't do anything "wrong"--I was always impressed, but could never connect with it on a deeper level. YMMV, of course. Just my experience and my two cents.