High End Amp Price Collapse musings

Its not class D that is causing prices for used gear to drop. Its over pricing and aiming at a rich buyer. For what rich guy buys used electronics unless it Western Electric? And what average joe can afford even a highly discounted rich man toy? 

I would love to hear a Class D amplifier sound better than a PASS... wow.

@johnk Has a point. It's not about the technology, it is about what the market will bear.

@audiofreak32
This is kind of my point. If you insist that a PASS is the very best (which you may) then no matter how good another amp sounds, if it is different, it won't be "as good" to you. So this "when will amp X ever be as good or better than amp Y" is kind of a setup.

From my perspective, having heard a nice, full Pass set-up, I cannot justify the spend vs. my Class D amps based on sound quality alone. Nor do I have the room or electricity budget! :)

My point is, Class D is very very good. Anyone waiting for Class D to reach "high end" is just not being objective. It has been there for years. If you want it to sound like your peculiar flavor of amp, well that's another thing. Yes, I have my own particular peculiarities too! :) I'm just saying, the wait for excellent Class D has been over for a while, but I must resign myself that my B&O powered amps will never sound like a pair of Conrad Johnson Premier 8, which you should all bow and worship... (hahahaha, j/k, but it IS my fave all time).

In any event, always make yourself happy with the money you spend.

Best,


E

I think the 'perfect' amp should 'sound' like an exact performance of what is being amplified with zero distortion.  Class D is getting there.  How far has class A really evolved over the past 20 years?  A lot of people posting here claim their 20 year old amps sound better than anything Class D - most still haven't indicated what make/model 'inferior' Class D amps they have recently listened to as comparison - which makes their claims irrelevant.   Further, if a company has a 'signature' sound to their amp/equipment then inherently it is not a correct reproduction of the source no matter how good it sounds.    Put a perfect amp on a good source (which includes preamplification) with good speakers and imaging and sound-stage are going to take care of themselves.  Maybe reviewers will eventually stop using adjectives like 'warm', 'cold', 'fast', 'thin' when reviewing amplifiers - those adjectives could be then used towards source material 

@jimman2

Well, there’s a good argument to have. In the end, we don’t spend money to make oscilloscopes or microphones happy, it is all about what moves us to connect with and replay music, by ourselves or with those we love.

I think there is room for perfection as well as colorful re-production in that.


Best,

E