Hello benjosef1,
I thought I should let you know that I’ve never personally auditioned the PS Audio M700 class D amps in my or any system. My suggestion you give them a try in your system was mainly based on professional reviews of their high quality performance, my knowledge and experiences of the high quality performance and sound quality levels attainable through good class D amps in general, the absence of any financial risks to you and the M700’s many other practical advantages over more traditional amps like the Bryston 4B3 and the PS BHK 250 such as size, weight, higher electrical efficiency, cooler operating temperature and affordability.
I believe snapsc’s suggestion of checking out the Digital Amplifier Company’s class D offerings is also very good advice. It emphasizes the points that you have many amp choices at your apparent budget, PS Audio doesn’t have a monopoly on very good class D sound performance and that learning about and listening to as many amps, of all types and technologies preferably in your own system, as possible is an excellent method of determining what you like and don’t like in an amp. You’ll not only be able to make a better informed amp choice for yourself but also be gaining valuable general amp knowledge and experience at the same time.
The last topic I wanted to caution you about is the surprisingly deep-seated ’amp type bias’ that I believe definitely exists, in varying degrees, among many members here on Audiogon and among audio/music enthusiasts in general. I first noticed this here on threads about 6 years ago when I initially began to become interested in class D amplification but it still currently persists. Elizabeth wisely cautioned about this amp type bias in an earlier post on this thread when she warned of class D "fanboys" and taking their advice with a grain of salt.
Good advice that I would suggest we all may want to expand to be wary of any advice giver’s amp type bias since identifying it can often be tricky. For example, Elizabeth wisely cautions of class D biased advice givers even while demonstrating her own bias favoring class AB amps in her first post on this thread when she stated she has zero interest in a PS Audio class D amp. Although her bias requires paying close attention and a modicum of memory, at least she identifies and admits to her own bias which many others completely fail to do when offering advice.
This is probably an opportune time for me to admit to my current bias toward class D amps and finally get to the point of this post. The truth is that virtually everyone with the sufficient meaningful knowledge of, and experience listening to, the various amp types to have developed an amp type bias just means they’ve discovered the amp type that has the qualities that they personally prefer in their own systems. In other words, they’ve developed an opinion based on an open minded and unbiased process of learning about and listening to the various amp types.
However, I suspect that many individuals continue attaining meaningful knowledge and listening experiences as well as keeping an open mind only to the point of selecting an amp to use in their own system. Once they purchase their amp of choice, human nature seems to dictate a shift in thinking and behavior more focused on defending and rationalizing their purchase decision rather than continuing an ongoing learning and experiencing process that explores the various existing and newer amp types in an open minded and fair manner.
My suggestion is to take all audio advice with a grain of salt, mine included, and instead seek to educate yourself via research and frequent auditioning of audio gear, preferably in your own system and room to keep any variables to a minimum. I believe trusting the objectivity of others advice on which amps to utilize in your own system is a poor substitute for learning, listening and deciding for one’s self.
Tim
I thought I should let you know that I’ve never personally auditioned the PS Audio M700 class D amps in my or any system. My suggestion you give them a try in your system was mainly based on professional reviews of their high quality performance, my knowledge and experiences of the high quality performance and sound quality levels attainable through good class D amps in general, the absence of any financial risks to you and the M700’s many other practical advantages over more traditional amps like the Bryston 4B3 and the PS BHK 250 such as size, weight, higher electrical efficiency, cooler operating temperature and affordability.
I believe snapsc’s suggestion of checking out the Digital Amplifier Company’s class D offerings is also very good advice. It emphasizes the points that you have many amp choices at your apparent budget, PS Audio doesn’t have a monopoly on very good class D sound performance and that learning about and listening to as many amps, of all types and technologies preferably in your own system, as possible is an excellent method of determining what you like and don’t like in an amp. You’ll not only be able to make a better informed amp choice for yourself but also be gaining valuable general amp knowledge and experience at the same time.
The last topic I wanted to caution you about is the surprisingly deep-seated ’amp type bias’ that I believe definitely exists, in varying degrees, among many members here on Audiogon and among audio/music enthusiasts in general. I first noticed this here on threads about 6 years ago when I initially began to become interested in class D amplification but it still currently persists. Elizabeth wisely cautioned about this amp type bias in an earlier post on this thread when she warned of class D "fanboys" and taking their advice with a grain of salt.
Good advice that I would suggest we all may want to expand to be wary of any advice giver’s amp type bias since identifying it can often be tricky. For example, Elizabeth wisely cautions of class D biased advice givers even while demonstrating her own bias favoring class AB amps in her first post on this thread when she stated she has zero interest in a PS Audio class D amp. Although her bias requires paying close attention and a modicum of memory, at least she identifies and admits to her own bias which many others completely fail to do when offering advice.
This is probably an opportune time for me to admit to my current bias toward class D amps and finally get to the point of this post. The truth is that virtually everyone with the sufficient meaningful knowledge of, and experience listening to, the various amp types to have developed an amp type bias just means they’ve discovered the amp type that has the qualities that they personally prefer in their own systems. In other words, they’ve developed an opinion based on an open minded and unbiased process of learning about and listening to the various amp types.
However, I suspect that many individuals continue attaining meaningful knowledge and listening experiences as well as keeping an open mind only to the point of selecting an amp to use in their own system. Once they purchase their amp of choice, human nature seems to dictate a shift in thinking and behavior more focused on defending and rationalizing their purchase decision rather than continuing an ongoing learning and experiencing process that explores the various existing and newer amp types in an open minded and fair manner.
My suggestion is to take all audio advice with a grain of salt, mine included, and instead seek to educate yourself via research and frequent auditioning of audio gear, preferably in your own system and room to keep any variables to a minimum. I believe trusting the objectivity of others advice on which amps to utilize in your own system is a poor substitute for learning, listening and deciding for one’s self.
Tim