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
I have 3 Crown I-Tech 5000 HD stereo Class I amps driving JBL M2 Reference Monitors and a JBL Sub18.  The speakers are active with the dsp controlled crossover in the amps sending 2250 watts into each horn loaded compression driver tweeter and 2250 watts into each 15" bass driver cut off at 80hz.   The sub is served with a bridged Crown offering 4000watts. Obviously, these wattages are impractical for class A or tube amps.

 The system is somewhat unusual in its power, active crossover, horn tweeter, and in having an 18" sub supplement 15" drivers in the main speakers.  However, the result is a system with extreme reserve.  The most demanding music passages are handled with grace and incredible impact. No strain.  Everything is heard.  Also, it seems I am able to get significant dynamic range at 65-70 spl without having to crank the volume up any higher, and running the risk of overloading the room.   And this is the point, that there is, perhaps, what might be a trade off between this extreme reserve capability, and the refinement one might otherwise have with Class A amplification.

Incidentally, Harman is the parent company of both Crown and Levinson, and both amps share the very same Class I topography, except that one costs 6 times as much.  



I'm still a purist when it comes to the different classes of amplifiers specially when you design amplifiers from tubes, darlington transistor and mosfet using manufacturer handbook.  I still prefer Class A and A/B amplifier stages it has better sound when you have the proper speaker gear to match.
I sold my Audio Research tube gear about 8 months ago and replaced it with a full set of Peter Madnick's Audio Alchemy equipment. I really like it. Some of you must have seen the review below...thoughts?
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audio-alchemy-ddp-1-preamplifierdacheadphone-amplifier-dpa-...

I didn't see any mention of the relatively new NAD M22 amp (using a variation Hypex NC400 NCore modules).  It's had some favorable reviews even compared to amps costing 3x as much.  Any experience here?  

I had a Bel Canto EVO up til about 5 years ago - I preferred it in my system to my other class A and A/B amps but I never had a $10,000 amp in my system of A or A/B.  I recently bought the NAD M22 and am in process of putting everything together but in a short listen I preferred it to my Adcom GFA555II (the one designed by Nelson Pass), which I thought was excellent.  I bought the NAD here second hand so it is broken in.  I'm picking up an Auralic Vega today and am excited to hear the combination of it, my NAD amp, Rougue (tube) preamp, and some digital files.