The Future of Audio Amplification
I have recently paired an Audio Research DS225 Class D amplifier with an Audio Research tube preamplifier (SP8 mkii). I cannot believe how wonderful and lifelike my music sounds. The DS225 replaced an Audio Research SD135 Class AB amplifier. Perhaps the SD135 is just not as good as some of the better quality amps that are out there, but it got me thinking that amazingly wonderful sonance can be achieved with a tubed pre and Class D amp. I have a hunch that as more people experience this combination, it will likely catch on and become the future path of many, if not most audiophile systems. It is interesting that Audio Research has been at the forefront of this development.
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aolmrd1241 You can read more about it in these publication reviews http://agdproduction.com/news.html Yeah?? I don’t know about that one, jury’s still out, till we hear more about it. Looks to me like a bit of a furphy to gain an edge with the tube brigade, and cashing in on new technology. Might still sound great. I ask, why put solid state components inside an old 6550 vacuum tube envelope, bet it’s not vacuum’ed back out and sealed again either. Still it may sound good, just the whole gutted tube thing, stuffed with solid state, and still using all the tube pins as power/current transmitting contacts???? PS: OK he’s shown all his cards, in this statement " Company founder Alberto Guerra admitted that he did it largely for the sake of visual aesthetics. “Otherwise a class-D amp just looks like a box,” he said. The amp uses gallium nitride MOSFET output transistors, which Guerra says switch faster and allow the amp to have a noise floor in the -120 to -130dB range. Power is rated at 200W into 4 ohms." Good on him, I think it was a bad move to do it. (must have been an Italian brain snap to do the tube thing, they do make some of the best and worst cars also) Cheers George |
Bit like D’Agostino, putting "Big Ben" on the front of his amps???? A Cadillac "Superfly" thing??? https://i1.wp.com/dirtyoldcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cadillac-1985-Eldorado-super-fly-1.jpg... Cheers George |
This guy saw into the future of Class-D a couple of years ago using EPC's GaN technology. https://audiophilereview.com/cd-dac-digital/why-well-soon-be-living-in-a-class-d-world.html Cheers George |
Here's another press release, this time from
Murata Manufacturing Co's (subsidiaries P-Semi) Murata is one of the larger semiconductor manufactures and suppliers. https://www.psemi.com/newsroom/press-releases/545048-peregrine-s-new-fet-driver-brings-industry-s-fa... Cheers George |
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