Digital amp beat them all? Audio Physic Strada .


The german magazine Stereoplay has(in its June issue) a review of the new Audio Physic Strada monoblocks.
Like most german audio magazines this has also a preferance for ranking products in a hierarcic manner.
Interestinly, the new monoblocks from Audio Physic gets
60 point (on a scale that end with 63 points), while the
mag´s former reference Krell FPB 650 M gets 59 p.
For your knowledge;Electrocompaniet Nemo gets 58 p, the same as Pass X-350.
Althought the fact that I am sceptical about ranking systems
in Audio,I find it remarkable that a digital amp allready
can compete with some of (what is regarded) as "top-flight"
amps!
The Strada monoblocks has a switched powersupply and some
innovative curcuitry,e.g. it seems to be handling signals
of low amplitude in analog way, and switches over to digital mode for higher amplitudes in some form of bridge
output section. Sorry, my understanding of technical german
isn´t splendid.
They deliver 255 W/each in 8 Ohms, and costs about 15000 Euro a pair.
What do you think? Are digital amps taking over the scene
in the years to come, or will there be a "resistance movement" corresponding to that of CD-anlog?
dinos
I´ve heard the arguments before!There has to be ...because
..To be more specific: there is an audio society here in
Sweden called Ljudtekniska sällskapet "The society of sound technique". Their guru often has some splendid explanations
of why products have to sound in a certain way, even before
he seems to have listen to the products in question.
One member thanked him, because "before, I thought I heard
that SACD sounded better than CD, but after talking to
the (name of the guru),and after getting his technical explanations, I realised, that I was totally wrong!"
The question: are the Stradas overpriced or not, can not
be easely answered without a general discussion of the whole
audiomarket! To me, quality of components in an amp,the
built quality, the efforts and intellectual challanges that
are laid down in a certain product; these factors play a
great role.Please note, that digital amps can be realised
in different ways, and that the Stradas doesn´t use
the Tri-Path building blocks, used in several other digital
amps.
I´m not trusting magazines that much, but their findings
may or may not have significance to us, as consumers. That
is our own choice.
I´m not saying that the Strada monoblocks are splendid
products,because that I don´t know. Certainly they are not the end of the road, but I find them interesting enough.

Regards
Håkan
Seantaylor99, the Tact and Spectron web sites have rudimentary explanations of how thier specific gear works, as is usually the case there is more than one way to skin a cat. In the not too distant future your price point may be met on the used market. Like all new technology the first products tend to carry more of the R&D costs.
I hope all of you appreciated my reference to analog for the sarcastic rhetoric that it was. While it's true that I do in the end prefer digital to analog, I am not deaf to the charms of analog. I was just trying to reflect how ugly prejudice can be. Marakanetz, I'm not sure I'm following you. Why critcize digital for not being able to produce 8 Hz. I doubt many cartridges could stay in the groove at that frequency. I can't imagine many (any?) recordings having that information. I have to wonder how you can acurately play back vinyl with a passive pre-amp (I am under the impression that you use the Marchand?). I don't understand your reference to algebra. Are the zero's nothing or digits ($?)? Are you suggesting that digital will never add up to the totality of analog? You have obviously made the comparisons, and I have to respect your right to opinions, but I'm still confused by them.
My opinion is that one should buy with ones ears. That said I am very interested in a meaningful discussion of the pros and cons of technologies. I believe most of the real answers to the analog vs digital debate lie in the realm of real world engineering and manufacture, where theoretical performance is compromised by imperfect components. For example the aliasing filter, jitter and DAC linearity in CD players, and the mass, rigidity, and acoustic isolation in turntables.

But at the end of the day I wouldn't part with either my CD player or my turntable, or any of my LPs or CDs.
...as long as 8Hz is on the groove it's being transfered there to the cartridge and it's being transfered further on to the amplification diveces. Certainly the amplification will not be on the same level as the audiable freequencies and there will be the output curve. Different cartridges can deliver the same 8Hz with the different amplitude depending on how accurate can cartridge read. My Lyra Helikon I believe does it on the respectful level.

On the digital level it's just being simply cut of and 8Hz is toooooo far away from the cutoff point.

The zeros are the values in this particular case that standing after the first digit. In Digital case there are more than you need so if you factor them out you will still end-up with analogue way as more valuable investment still.

Maybe it will be the other way arround later on who knows...?