High End Amp Price Collapse musings

kalali269 posts02-02-2017 11:06am

"I agree vinyl is very alive"

Seriously? How many people outside of (some of) the folks who post here do you think are spinning a turntable? Look around and see how the next generation of young folks are consuming their music. Buying CDs, vinyl - don't think so. Audiophile will keep doing what they're doing now and everybody else will go for cheaper, lighter - read more portable, and more energy efficient- read class D, stuff. I'm not holding my breathe to grab a Pass XA60.8 at fire sale prices anytime soon. I just wish.

People going for cheaper, lighter, portability and convenience may not  necessarily suggest that huge and heavy Class A or AB amps, vinyl and CDs are dead. Folks using smartphones as their cameras do not suggest that quality compacts and DSLRs will go extinct, or the price of the gear will come down.

You may be able to purchase the Pass XA60.8 at "fire sale" prices in perhaps 50 years from now when it's obsolete and no longer a desirable item.

The thing about many of those big, heavy older Class A amps is that they were made so good. Think about it. Many people still have 1960’s and 70's McIntoshes at the heart of their system.

Which of the McIntoshes were Class A?  Must have been a secret series they released.  The Macs of the 60's were just slightly above class B, nowhere near in range of class A bias.

I'm also not impressed with the build quality of the big class A's.  I remembered a friend who bought some of the Levinson 25W heavy bias class A amps (got a partial "HQD" system then found he didn't much like it.  Put the amps in storage for about 10yrs).  Got them out later... oops the filter caps had gone bad.  Seriously, old Japanese 70's receivers have sat for that long and powered right up.

As Class D advances it will eat into the high end class A market.

Not yet advanced enough for me.  I tried but found out the hard way and have returned to big Class A iron, like Bilbo Baggins, "There and Back Again."

" Once Class D is close enough in quality even some of the deep pocket Krell, Pass etc guys will switch.
Once that happens they will sell thier existing gear which will gradually bring the value of that existing gear down giving not so deep pockets the chance to own true high end as it exists today."

And why exactly is this going to happen if Class D isn't demosntarbly better? 

Ok, ok, ok...so I hooked up my upgraded Krell Vanguard and compared to the BlueSound Powernode 2 it sounds....drumroll please.....more weighty, organic and smoother with increased presence.  I can also turn it up louder and the it doesn't get harsh.  That said, I still think that Class D has great potential.