@smargo “i probably have said that im not in the market for a new amp - about 100 times”.
😊😀, yep, that can happen.
Competitive class D amp suggestions
I have been Class D fun since a few years ago when i bought my first class D amp. I like the concept, in general, and all the attractive features of this class of amplifiers. I tried 4 different ones, currently i stayed with one of them that i consider to be the best among all four amps. I do enjoy and like it. At the same time, my 5 watts SET amplifier (with more than 100 times higher distortion according to the specs) gives more natural and (surprisingly) notably cleaner sound (THD of the class D amp is 0.001). The soundstage of the class D amp is not so bad but that of the tube one is still better.
I remain attracted by class D amps though.
Any fresh suggestions on reasonably priced class D amps (i mean excluding non-reasonably priced class D amps, e.g., Merrill amplifiers)?
Any comments on non-reasonably priced class D amps are also welcome (so far i was not able to audition many class D amps and am curious if there are some which could really compete with Class A).
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@atmasphere, this would be true if i were living in the US (it is too complicated to import equipment to Mexico for trial test, each time you receive a gear, you have to pay quite a lot of $$$ due to the duties/taxes). Meanwhile, as a "temporary solution", i got a Nuprime ST 10 amp from a local dealer, a reasonably priced used one (i was left with no class D amp - the right channel in my Cherry Megaschino is almost silent, i tried to contact Tommy O'Brien lately without any success so far. the site is there but the emails come back, the telephone is out of service. He was personally dealing with most things, i suggest there is nobody else that can reply or take care of support. Hopefully Tommy is fine (a nice guy), but have no idea on what is happening with his company). After 3 days of auditioning, i decided to keep the amp. In fact, it has surpassed my expectations. It is quite fast, dynamic, airy with a considerable sound stage, frequency extension is good, details are fine. The sound is extremely very clean but still the distortion is tolerable. It is a non-standard class D design, it does get quite hot. The sound is slightly colored, the base is a bit exaggerated, heights are clear, but a bit colored. The overall sound characteristic resembles Pass amps, if you like them, you may like ST 10 (much cheaper, much less power consumption...). This amp can be better than all (more expensive) class D amps i had except the Megaschino (which is broken now). After a few days of auditioning, I suggest that this amp deserves consideration, it is a serious piece of gear. In fact, the reviews i read more or less objectively describe performance of this amp. I wonder how much better could the overall sound be with other available options including more or less reasonably priced Voyager 350 and Orchard amps.
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@axo0oxa thanks for this complement. You may still have more successful jumps, you never know. I made similar jumps also replacing amplifiers, and am not sure if more jumps are required. Compared to your tube SET amplifier, what exited you the most in your Vivace amp (except its cool look, i understand that these "tubes" looking as candles at night, may give an intimate peace-like feeling)? |
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/rip-tom-o-brian-of-the-cherry-amp-co @niodari Sorry, Tom passed away last December. |
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