Reposting details about my loaner Amplifier from Orchard Audio. If there are other owners of the fully assembled or DIY boxes. Please feel free to post here.
Obviously all the "Armchair Engineers" can feel free to either deficate or praise your thoughts on GaN LClass D Amplifiers even if you’ve never heard one but feel to have an opinion. Then there’s the brainwashed Placebo Effected Guys that feel Class D just ain’t there yet. You can post here as well while the rest of us laugh. It’s usually the Geezer crowed that has a n issue with Class D. Anyway here’s my repost :
I actually have the Orchard Audio StarKrimson Ultra on loan for the Arizona A/V Club to get passed around. Leo Ayzenshtat is great to work with and sent us the original StarKrimson (then BOSC) Amplifiers and power supplies last year. Yes, it was a kludgy setup but sounded so good I sent all my PS Audio M700’s & an S300 off to The Music Room ! After I DIY’d some of his GaN boards, they went up in smoke because of a not recommended Power Supply bring up method I had going (long story). But they sounded amazing when I didn’t let the smoke out of them.
Fast forward to the StarKrimson Ultra just received for my review (YouTube & for the Club & Leo). They are amazinger sounding. He’s hit it out of the park again and then some. All the issues I had last year have been resolved. No break in required either. These are out of the box perfect. Understand that I’m an all Tube Guy and I will do a comparison between the currently direct connection form my PS Audio DSSr. DAC into the Ultra and the DSSr. into my BAT VK50-SE then head to head out to the Ultra and my Jolida 3502p KT150 Tube Amplifier.
Speakers in my Evaluation : KEF R3 Bose 901 Series 1 from 1968 my Homebrew DIY Open Baffle Speakers KEF 105/3 modified Future plans of mine are to DIY from blank PCB’s 5 Ultra Amplifier Modules for a kick ass Home Theater setup and for the Summer, use two of those 5 channels for the main L & R. Fall/Winter/Spring would be back to the Tubes for the L & R while the Center & Surrounds would be powered by the Ultra’s. Surface MOunt Soldering for me is easy but the BGA devices will have to be put on by a board shop.
You had a system-wide grounding issue that took out 3 of your components simultaneously (DAC + PRE + AMP). If i were not 100% sure of this I would have covered it under warranty without question.
I have no idea, but jrizk13 states "My system worked flawlessly with a Parasound amp for 5 years but I plugged this in and I am unlucky to discover I have a grounding issue."
I honestly don’t understand why I have never heard of this happening before when the only variable was a new amp?
After auditioning Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra for 8 days, I had been listening to Line Magnetic 508 and Rogue Cronus Magnum II fitted with vintage tubes.
8 days is too short to reach clear conclusionl without doing cable rolling or comparsion with other refutable class D amp like Atmashphere or Audion.
But Starkrimson clearly has no serious fault at all.
It sounds very transparent with lot of details.
Soundstage is wide and deep enough ( not the best but close to it).
The reason that my friend Rex found it sound thin compared with Dartzeel 108 could be due to upstream source and super revealing nature of Scaena 3.2
Starkrimson works nice with both Lansche 4.1 and Vaugn Cabernett II.
Thus it is a nice value for sure.
I recommend you try it by being in the line for tour.
대한민국 유일의 국제규모 하이엔드 오디오쇼인 “서울국제오디오쇼”는 2011년부터 시작하여 13년째 한국 오디오 산업을 이끌고 있습니다. 하이엔드 오디오, 홈시어터, 라이프스타일, 모바일 기기, LP및 음반 등 메이저급 수입사 및 국내 제조사가 총 출동하는 2023 서울국제오디오쇼는 또 다른 볼거리와 다양한 이벤트로 변화하고 발전해나가는 오디오의 현주소를 확인 할 수 있습니다. 올해로 11회를 맞이한 2023 서울국제오디오쇼(SIAS)에 여러분을 초대합니다. 내일의 오디오를 바로 오늘 만나 보시죠. 그리고 느껴보세요. Feel...
www.hificlub.co.kr
it had been 20 years since I attened the Seoul Audio show which is pretty big.
After being back to US late March, I plant to audition one of Atma and Audion or Orchard Bosc monoblocks.
Update after one year with Hypex SMPS 1200 Power Supply version. I’ve gone ahead and ordered and installed 5 Rev.3 Ultra Amplifier modules from Orchard’s website and a 1500VAC Toroidal Power Supply from Antek.
This is the Quietest Amplifier I have ever built or owned. I even added another 40,000uF of Kemet low ESR/100V Capacitors in addition to the Antek’s 15,000uF Epsilon Caps.
A very simple Power Supply with what is now the State of The Art in GanFET (GanSystems Chips) Amplification. But ya still need that BAT VK50-SE Tube Preamp in front of it Eh !
What "Corp". The Orchard just sounds better than the rest. Read Dick Olsher’s TAS review and Tom Martin of TAS on YouTube. Don’t trust my opinion. I’m a Schill for the Company.
I've had my Starkrimson diy amp, bought via ebay, for 2 months now (bought for $1,100!). Not the ultra but his standard modules. Since then I've sold both my tube amps as I'm going Gan all the way now. Sound so good it makes me tinkle. -- The one downside is the low gain, at 17db. Only matters when playing vinyl. However, my Nad C658 has Dirac included up to 500hz. I created the filter for my room, and I can adjust the filter gain. So that one issue is solved. Ergo: that's one way to boost gain for other vinyl playing owners out there (and dirac). -- I'll prolly buy the ultra next year out of curiosity; won't be able to resist.
Running the Ultra with the BAT Preamp this weekend elevated everything. Just like last years little monoblocks. These higher power modules reaches out to the lower Bass of any Speaker I throw at it !
I’ve been doing this Audiophile Crap for over 36 years (High School) and lots of failed and successful DIY projects. Mostly Speakers and some electronics stuff.
I just won’t spend my hard earned money (or credit) on pure snake oil. Instead, take that money and by more music and DIY where it counts the most.
Get some serious shelving and footers....will blow your mind. Get all the cables off the floor.....way more open sound. Lots to do.
Nah...that’s all crap talk. But I do have my AC wires separated (for the most part) from the line level (all XLR BTW) & Speaker Cables which are Tri- Wired into my Open Baffle Speakers. I also have Stranded 10AWG Cable running form the Electrical Panel (20A Breaker) into my rig with absolutely no power conditioners or regenerators.
NO fancy "Audiophile" Switches, Cables (mine are of the shielded variety from Amazon Basics & the now defunct Frys Electronics) or Ethernet regenerators. That’s all Placebo Effect & Snake Oil that’s been proven time and time again.
I've used the PS Audio M700's and M300's for over a year. It was the sound of the Orchard Audio Amplifier's that won me over. I've already fooled people by teling them it's a Class A/b Amplifier with interior heat sinks for about 30 min. of listening and they believed me...LOL !
I'll be doing a comparison later in the week/weekend with my Joilda 3502p and I'll let you folks know my findings. My final listening session will be adding my BAT VK50-SE in front of the Ultra and hear what happens.
ozzy62, No apologies from me. I think that the amplifier sounds very promising and I have no issue with it. I think his introduction in the thread was very rude, because it was, and that's not a "jab".
No opinion on the amp as I haven't heard it, but your post is rude and your grammar is bad.
+1 @roxy54 Not everyone wants a Class D amplifier, like not everyone wants the jab. No need to berate either subset of people. OP, Do what you like and I'll do the same......
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