What are the best GaN Amplifiers available today?

So, you are an expert on damping? You spent hundreds of hours with various damping materials and used them everywhere and you know which damping materials are linear and which are not and where to use it and where not to use it?

🙄

We've had optional damping packages available for our products for decades. We have lots of feedback and experience with a variety of damping systems (footers, stands and platforms) as well as extensional and constrained layer damping materials. I've consulted with engineers at firms that make damping materials and damping equipment, some of whom are also customers. Any of them, looking at your post to which I responded earlier, would simply say you don't know what you're talking about.

Some gear is far more sensitive to vibration than others; I've yet to run into a situation where such equipment received too much damping. OTOH I've seen poor or incompetent attempts at damping that has exacerbated problems in the equipment. That is why the myth of 'overdamping' is around. The effect of good damping is easy to hear and  measure.

@ricevs "...I doubt it. I am not an expert....".

Interesting comment. And you just poked the bear. It’s a very smart bear too, who knows these woods well, better than most who travel these forests. LOL 😂

I recently received the Sanders Sound Systems Magtech amp. 500 @ 8 | 900 @ 4. I paid $4k used from Sanders. 

I will keep it short, the Magtech is much better on the Magnepan LRS+ than the PeachTree GAN400. The panels sound like a totally different speaker with the Magtech. I would even say the Magtech + LRS+ is even better than the CODA  #16 + LRS+. 

I was worried that the Class AB Magtech would be grainy. Not so at all, a great top end. The bass is the hardest hitter of the 3 amps mentioned. Just a shockingly good pairing.

I have my Peachtree GAN400 as a headphone amp now and it was not too bad. I have a $800 Schitt Class A Aegir amp coming today that will have to duke it out with the GAN400.

I got the $800 Schitt Aegir 20-watt Class A amp this afternoon. I am listening to it via my Benchmark LA4 preamp and Benchmark DAC3B. The GAN400 used to be in place of the Aegir. The amp is connected to the RAAL TI-1b interface box. I am using the RAAL SR1a phone into the TI-1b.

When I had the GAN400 in the path, I had a hum with 16 Ohm setting on the interface box using RCA inputs. The hum was was lowered wit the 32 Ohm setting (or maybe the other way around). When using XLR inputs into the TI-1b the hum went away, but I need to use RCA out from the LA4 since the XLR go to the MagTech amp & LRS+.

I had no hum issue with the Aegir and RCA. I have not tested XLR with the Aegir since I would need 2 Aegir’s to do that.

Cut to the chase. The sound difference between the GAN400 and the Aegir was rather big. The Aegir is warmer, just as detailed, juicer and much like the CODA #16 and the TI-1b. Incredible for $800.

The GAN400 is a flatter sound and while very good with the SR1a, it is not at the same level as the Aegir.

I need to decide if I am going to keep the GAN400. I do not like having extra gear around. If I sell it it will be for $1200.

For $4000 or less you can have a whole DAC/volume control/amp/speaker/wires system that will be in a whole nuther level way above a stock inexpensive magneplanar driven by very good DAC and Preamp and amp.

Minidsp Flex $500, Fossi amp for bass $100, Aegir for highs $800, 4 12 inch Beyma 12BR70 woofs $700, 8 Parts Express Planar 8 inch drivers $500, wood $300, cables $1000. You could just use 2 planars and spend less.

Open baffle about 5 feet high and 16 inches wide (way less high if only using one planar).....at least doubled up three quarter inch birch ply.

The Minidsp does the xover, the DACing, the volume control (remote control with presets) and even has an analog input to add tuner, phono stage or whatever.

With fully equalized and time aligned open baffle woofers and planars (crossed over around 400hz). the sound would blow your mind. The two woofers run in parallel would be around 95db sensitive and the four planars in series parallel would be the same.....easy to drive.....will play 110db......ROCK OUT!

Why would anyone want a veiled Magnepan that needs a $4000 amp to drive it properly? Yes, it is smaller......but if you really wanted small you could mount two Purifi woofs in a slim box and put the planar on an open baffle above....still worlds better than a magnepan.

Of course, you could do the above with a Minidsp Flex (digital version).....and use two modified GaN based digital amps (GaN 1 or VTV D300). This would be more costly.

I totally get that most do not want to build anything......just want plug and play. But this is sooooooooooo simple. You could have a local woodworker make the baffles and stands really quickly.......finish them anyway you like. If you went blind into a room at a show and someone played this system.....you would guess it would be $100K or more........Of course, you could take an ET 8b speaker and tweak it to the hilt and get rid of its woofer and add an open baffle next to it with two 12s that was separately amped and eqed and probably get even better sound (better planars). But this is cheaper and easier to do and the planars are much more efficient.

The latest Minidsp units are really great......for those measurement people, here is a review on ASR

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/minidsp-flex-review-audio-dsp.30804/