Hmm, Class D amps. In the old days, I was just a Class A amp sort of guy; I went from an Pass Aleph 5, to an Aleph 2, then to the Aleph 1.2, which are big bruiser amps that when they reach their stride in terms of operating temperature, it can turn my listening room into a sauna - not a good feel, hah! I've been toying with a second system where I enjoy swapping components in and out, and I bought a very nice pair of Audio Research DS450M monoblock amps, which are Class D. For an amp that is not the current Class D design, I like it, as long as it is connected to a good tube preamp. It stays cool to the touch during extended play time, and it is fast and dynamic; at 650 wpc in to 4 ohms, and it has something like 180,000 uF of capacitance in each mono which aids in that fast overall presentation. That ARC amp really gets my Utopia and VSA VR-4 SR Mk IIIs singing good. I like it, but like all things, some will hear and feel different about it. In any case, congrats on the new amps!
Atma-Sphere Class D… Amazing
Today I picked up my Atma-Sphere Class D Amps. These aren’t broken in yet. And they are simply amazing. I’ve listen to a lot of High End Class D. Some that cost many times what Atma-Sphere Class D costs. I wasn’t a fan of any of them. But these amps are amazing. I really expected to hate them. So my expectations were low. The Details are of what I’ve never heard from any other amps. They are extremely neutral. To say the realism is is extremely good is a gross understatement. They are so transparent it’s scary. These amps just grab you and suck you into the music. After I live with them some and get them broken in. And do some comparisons to some other high end Amps Solid State, Tubes and Class D’s, also in other systems I’ll do a more comprehensive review. But for now, these are simply amazing amps.. Congrats to Ralph and his team. You guys nailed on these.
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I’ve been a 45/46 SET guy for several years now. I’ve been looking for a Class D solution that can approach my experience with the SET amps. I read some of Ralph Karsten's (who I have much respect for) comments re: his Class D monoblocks, I ordered a pair. I waited a little over 3 months to receive them and have now had them in house for about a month. I can’t say they are equal to the 45/46 SETs sonically, but they are the closest that I’ve heard from a solid state amp. Admittedly, I don’t have a lot of reference for that statement, just the best that I have heard. One additional comment, while waiting for the Atma-Sphere monoblocks to arrive - I purchased an M3a-800S Stereo Class D from a local company D-Sonic. I will say that to my ears, it’s an outstanding amplifier. I haven’t compared it side to side against the Atma-Sphere amps, but it is very close, and at $1500 is a real bargain IMO. The two amps are playing in different rooms through different systems. I have no idea what the measurements are for these amps, and don’t really care - they both sound really awesome to my old ears and I’m very happy |
@ghasley +1. I don’t believe for a second that @mbmi has heard the Atmasphere Class D amp and is just pulling this stuff out of his arse because he likes his Peachtree and can’t afford Ralph’s amp. Sad. |
@charles1dad How are the LavriCables working out for you? Still liking them? |
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