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 don't think Class D amps will replace Class A or AB amps anytime soon - they are simply not all the less expensive to build and have multiple problems, (sound just being one - they can play hell with tweeters life also).  

Now a turbo 4 IC engine vs. a inline-6 or an V-8 is another matter !  My son has a turbo 4 2.0L in his Audi A4, and I have a direct-injected turbo 4 2.0L in my Volvo V60 wagon, and they are both terrific engines.  Lots of torque down load and plenty of HP - the Volvo engine makes 240 HP in the V60 and can be "juiced" to make over 300 HP in their sport models with a sequential turbo / supercharger.  These engines are light and very fuel efficient as well.  Of, course, my C7 Corvette has a NA 6.2L V-8 and it is a beast, but these fours are the coming thing.  Even Mercedes has gone to a turbo 4 in its main sedan, the E300, for emissions and fuel economy.

WRT vinyl sales vs. CD's and downloads, for 2016, CD's out sold both vinyl and digital downloads.  In fact, CD's sold 10 times as many albums as vinyl in the best year vinyl has had in over 20 years !!  I think vinyl is a niche for people who love to futz around with turntables, but in the long run its a dead end.  Same for digital downloads which are big in the USA but nowhere else.  The big coming thing is digital streaming / subscription services, like the Berliner Philharmoniker and Tidal.  That is how you will get nearly all your tunes in 10 years.

I do feel badly after reading this.  Just bought a pair of Clayton M 300's a few months ago.  Silly me.:)
Pitting Class-D against Class-A is not even a fair argument.  When 95% of all mid-high end amps out in the world are Class-AB.... isn't that where the comparison should be?  I have zero interest in owning a VERY inefficient and costly Class-A or Tube amp, and have owned many great class AB amps in my lifetime.  I've heard $2000 amps that sound amazing, and ones that sound lifeless and boring.  Switching amps are finally up to that level of quality.... matching amps in the $2-3k range, but maybe not beating out $8k amps.  It's an interesting time in Audio!!

Don't think it's the same thing at all. Amps are about sound quality not necessarily sound. Someone looking for multi channels may want a slimmer amp but the driver the TV upgrades had to do with size and improved resolution.