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Vandersteen's new affordable mono blocks at the CES 18

Just got an email that his new amps will be unveiled at the CES.  Here is what I got.  I can't wait.  He has adjustable crossovers so you can use them on any speaker that doesn't go down to 20HZ, which is 99% of teh speakers on the market.  Here is what they said:

Vandersteen Audio Introduces the Next GREAT Amplifier at CES 2018!Venetian Suite 29-203
Vandersteen Audio shook up the audio world with its liquid-cooled M7-HPA monoblocks, a radical advance in power amplifier design and loudspeaker performance that is Stereophile Class-A rated as a true reference.Vandersteen is doing it again at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, where you can get the first look and listen at a pre-production pair of the upcoming M5-HPA (High-Pass Amplifier) monoblocks! The M5-HPA is a solid-state design descended directly from the flagship monoblocks. It will be substantially less expensive, but will offer an astonishing amount of the flagship's sonic magic. While the M7-HPA is designed specifically for Vandersteen's Model Seven Mk II speakers, the M5-HPA will work with a much wider variety of loudspeakers and Vandersteen powered subwoofers. To accomplish this goal, while the M7-HPA's high-pass is fixed at 100Hz, the M5-HPA's internal high-pass filtering is adjustable to any of the following five settings: 20Hz, 40Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz.Vandersteen for years has employed high-pass filtering with powered subwoofers for the ultimate in powered-bass performance. When paired with a Vandersteen powered-bass speaker like the Quatro Wood CT the M5-HPA forms a complete powered-bass speaker system in which the amplification is perfectly optimized over the entire frequency range.
Richard Vandersteen is responsible for the M5-HPA’s overall design and architecture; the amplifier was developed and is built in partnership between Vandersteen Audio and Dean Klinefelter, a talented designer and engineer in his own right. 
Vandersteen powered-bass speaker systems are the ultimate expression of Richard Vandersteen’s philosophies on design and performance, formed over decades of industry-leading design & research & innovation.
M5-HPA's technical attributes:
  • Zero-Feedback Solid-State Design With Dual Single-Ended Circuits Connected By The Speaker Load
  • All Signal Transistors N-Channel Bipolars 
  • No Emitter Resistors
  • Minimal Circuit Path- Only 5 Parts In Signal Path Per Phase
  • 10 Separate Power Supplies
  • Adjustable High-Pass Filter (20Hz, 40Hz, 80Hz, 100Hz, 200Hz)
  • 300-Watts Into 4 Ohms / 150-Watts Into 8 Ohms
  • Made In The USA


ctsooner
ctsooner's avatar
ctsooner OP
2,480 posts
 
I'm sure you will fall in love with these new amps.  

I notice you are using Roon.  I love what Roon does, but it's not the best sounding program for digital.  JRiver is a much better sounding program to use for digital.  Matt Clott, who now write for TAS is a very close friend who is a digital guy.  He's been going back and forth with Roon vs others and what control programs sound best and why.  I am now using only JRiver through my The Memory Player by Laufer Technik.  

You may also want to try JRiver vs Roon to see what your thoughts are.  I'd be curious to what you hear.
earthtones
113 posts
 
I hadn’t considered that Roon software could be an issue, except when playing with DSP. If I raise a frequency band really high, say 70db, just to see what happens, the result is bad distortion, but I don’t know if that’s because I was overloading the USB input to my DAC. DSP aside, I don’t see how there could be degradation. Red book CD all the way through double rate DSD all sound very good generally, depending on the recording, with DSD sounding the most natural. But even DSD doesn’t quite match the best of my LPs, played on my VPI Classic 4 with Kiseki Purpleheart mounted to an SME 312s to a Pass XP 17.
ctsooner's avatar
ctsooner OP
2,480 posts
 
Ask Richard about DSP. It can be heard as of today.  No one makes anything with DSP that can't be 'heard'.  That's why I like analog tuning of the bass vs using DSP.  

Many will tell me I'm full of it as THEIR DSP works best etc...  Those are my ears though as well as some friends ears.  

Digital is a strange bedfellow.  It's SOOOO dependent on how we connect it to the electrical grid in our homes.  Even DAC;s can sound different in each system.  This is why I finally decided to upgrade my electrical feeding my system.  

I had the Synergistic Research's top Powercell 10 and Basis cords.  Once I switched to an AQ Niagara and Hurricane cords (will upgrade the server or DAC to the Dragon source), my system finally took shape.  I can honestly say my digital sounds as good as most of the analog systems I've heard.  Basically, they have figured out how to lower 3 types of jitter.  Keeping the digital hash off the line that feeds my system is HUGE in lowering the noise floor.  That just changes everything for the better.

Sorry to go off script, but since I can no longer use analog, I had to find the best digital that I could afford.  It's a great discussion.  
darthlaker's avatar
darthlaker
10 posts
 
Richard Vandersteen mentioned to me the best Amps (besides his  M7-HPA which are US$60K a pair) he has heard with the Sevens are the Ayre MXR-20's.....


ctsooner's avatar
ctsooner OP
2,480 posts
 
The MXR's are a great amp to my ears also.  I'd love to hear as shootout. Also, the Brinkman and AR amps work great with his speakers.  You need a zero feedback design for Vandy's to sing.  Just like you need to be fully balanced to get the most out of Ayre.  

The true key to power is the preamp though.  The best Ayre product to me, is the KXR/20 preamp.  For my money, it's the most neutral preamp I've ever heard and I've heard it with tubes, SS and hybrids.  I've heard it with Vandy's, Magico's, Wilson, ML, Maggies, Dynaudio, Avalon, B&W and many more.  I'd put that preamp with their 9k VX5/20 and it would sound better than the KX5/20 pre with VXR/20 stereo amp.  
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