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Listening to equipment at home before you buy

This discussion is a recommendation for PS Audio.

I just retired, am new to the audiophile hobby and am enjoying it. (Hobby does have a steep "learning curve.")  I currently have a Jolida JD302CRC tube amp, teac UD-301 dac/preamp and Vandy 2CE sig speakers.  I like my current system but want to try a solid state power amp to compare the sound to the Jolida.

I have been watching the PS Audio videos and decided to do a home trial of the Stellar S300. I tested the amp at home for 30 days and preferred my current amp and returned the S300 to PS Audio. The return of the amp was as advertised, PS Audio paid shipping both ways with my full purchase price refunded.  I highly recommend PS Audio to anyone who wants to test their equipment at home.
128x1282tuby
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
@viridian 
I do not believe that an amp with a class D output stage is representative of the spectrum of solid state amps that are available. I would try again with a traditional power amp topology. This is not a put down of class D, just a suggestion to consider an alternative.
Class D is exactly representative of the amplifier spectrum. Some Class D amps are excellent.

It is important to mate the amp and the load. Never forget one is building a system and all parts must work harmoniously.

Just as in the early days of AB transistor amps, some early Class D amps left much to be desired.

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stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,497 posts
 
I have heard a few Class D amps and from what I heard, they are not quite ready for prime time.  For myself, I would never own one, especially since I despise bright (detail oriented) sound.
jsd52756's avatar
jsd52756
451 posts
 
Ditto to Veridian's "not an audiophile" statement. I bought some of my equipment used.  If I didn't like it, I could hawk it like someone did to me.  I ended up keeping almost all of it. One caveat is I treat my gear like a body part for a transplant, others treat theirs like a football.  I never have figured why some used equipment looks like it was kept in a churning cement mixer. 
sifter
77 posts
 
2 tuby
I would buy 'up" but only to the point where you can discern a performance difference. I have to guard against falling for latest tech breakthroughs on materials and distortion when they often offer no audible improvement. If a leaf Tweeter sounds worse than a metal dome, buy the dome. If a superior metal dome sounds worse than a lowly cone, by the cone. I learned this the hard way.
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