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AGD Tempo in the house

It is very interesting to spend time with amps.  You go to shows or even go to someone's house and listen to and amp and because it isn't on your gear and in your environment, it sounds good but it is insanely difficult to judge vs other gear.  

So AGD is a brand I had been flirting with and finally a customer asked for a demo so I put in my order and a few days later the Tempo arrived.  I dropped in into my system and all I can say is WOW.  It has all the grunt required to drive my Vivids.  Is warm and sweet with an extremely wide sound stage. 

Even fresh out of the flight case, (no box here) it didn't sound digital at all.  This sounds closer to Class A to me than Class D.  I have not heard a different GaN at this point but I am fascinated by this and how good it sounds compared to other Class Ds and even Class ABs.  

The other surprising part is this unit is about 1/3 the size of a normal component. I know I am a hair late to the game with GaN but damn, is it ever too late to celebrate a product.   

128x128verdantaudio
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verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio OP
1,499 posts
 

I just asked Alberto.  He said the gain for the unit is 23dB and sensitivity is 2V RMS input.  

verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio OP
1,499 posts
 

BTW....I continue to LOVE the Tempo which is a wonderful amp.  I have also had the Alto and Andante preamps here and the Gran Vivace power amps.  They are all shockingly good at the prices they sell at.  I have done some direct comparisons vs. some expensive gear and have been pleasantly surprised.  I would say all of these units represent a value, even flagship stuff.  

soix
9,456 posts
 

How would you say the Tempo compares to the pricier models?  I’d guess the law of diminishing returns kicks in rather hard but love to hear your impressions.  Surprised you don’t have the Audions. 

verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio OP
1,499 posts
 

They get progressively better.  That said, the Tempo can and does compete sonically with amps that are in the $10-$15K range.  I say that without a hair of hesitation.   

As you rise in quality, the amps progressively get better.  The move from Tempo to Audion is noticeable as you are moving to two separate PSs so any risk of crosstalk is gone.  As you rise further, parts, filtering, etc... gets better.  But it is evolution, not revolution.  It is obvious they are from the same company and if you listen to the Tempo vs the other amps you would say they are progressively a little better.  It never works that amps that are 3x more expensive are 3x better. 

Vs external competitors, I would tell you that each amp is fairly priced in terms of the quality it delivers.  Vs other AGD amps it is tough because the Tempo sets a high bar for their entry level amp.  

Eventually I will have one of each of these (tempo, audion, gran vivace, alto and andante) to loan out.  I need to sell enough to justify that investment and the Tempo represents the line quite well.  

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