Some mention "No Noise".. Where have you been? My 1971 and 1996 Audire Fortes have no noise. Neither did my 1985 Audire model 2, 1990's Sumo, 1970's Phase Linear 400, nor my old $50.00 garage sale Adcom 535. Well, actually I had to orient the Phase Linear plug with the correct prongs in their respective outlet holes.
Class D amps seem poised to take over. Then what?
I am certainly biased by my lifetime final amp being a Class D. But I know that after 30+ years of development, Class D seems to be on a high plain. I know there are now many, many companies focusing on Class D and, maybe, a good handful already as good as it gets. My Class D amp is as smooth and beautifully musical as a great tube amp and as punchy and detailed as a great SS amp. I am satisfied and done with my search. A class D amp has effectively taken me off the amp merry-go-round. It’s about time after 50 years. And, for me, this Class D is a milestone. Will all other classes of amps fade away?
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Yep...reviews like this: https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/amplifier-reviews/power-amplifier-reviews/nuprime-agm-sta-stereo-po... are definitely making me think about class D. I don’t think I need a replacement for my class A/B, but I’d add a D due to the fact that they are tiny and run cool and easily could fit with my current amp. |
I purchased well regarded, highly recommend and reviewed Class D mono amps 1,000 watts of power and had high expectations but the Class D amps did not have the life, dimensionality, transparency and immediacy that my Class A SS amps had. With the Class D amps, the sound was flatter and much less engaging. So even though Class D amps may work well for many applications, IMO Solid State Class A amps produce better sound. And IMO, well designed tube amps sound even better than SS in terms of music. |
I honestly think the Benchmark amp is the ...Benchmark. Sure, more power would be good, but because of how it's designed, bridging mono actually works and doesn't degrade performance anywhere, despite what some grumpy old know it all gatekeeper keeps spewing on this forum. I have tubes, which i love for different reasons...have had icepower, hypex, A, A/B...However, lately i'm having a hard time NOT listening with the Benchmark. Having such a quiet noise performance, no matter what the haters say, is very special and makes the listening experience different, in every good sense of that word. This is the first amp i've had where i'm not tempted to sell and upgrade, for fear i'll miss the sound too much. Hands down the best i've owned, and I will probably grab another soon. |
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