What are the best GaN Amplifiers available today?
There have been a number of threads discussing the wonder of GaN and some of the individual amplifiers that have caught peoples attention, including those from AGD, Atma-Sphere, Peachtree, LSA, etc. Has anyone done a shootout against two or more GaN amps? If so, which did you prefer, and why? And on what speakers?
Also, of the one you preferred, do you prefer it over every other amplifier you’ve ever heard? If not, what non-GaN amp do you enjoy more?
Yes, its cheaper if you buy it directly from Giandel (for now). If you cannot figure out this inverter thing with research then just call me......I can walk you through it. I will put more info on my site in a few days that will give more detail about the inverter and battery requirements. We have taken this thread way away from amps......but with good intention......so, any more amp info? |
@derekw_hawaii Sorry to inform you that I have not sent the amp in to Ric (yet). I am not sure if I will sell it so I may not mod it. Since I sold my amazing RAAL VM-1a this week I needed to figure out how to get both my RAAL phones and my LRS+ to work with the gear I have. One result of this finding lead me to buy the Sanders Sound System MagTech amp today as the replacement for the GAN400 with the LRS+. I have been using the GAN400 with the RAAL phones the last couple of days and it is very good, but still has that slight hardness. I will use the GAN400 this way for a while. The KRELL Duo XD amps are better on the phones than the GAN400 but I have no money or space for the KRELL at the moment. I am listening to Robbie Robertson’s debut album on the LRS+ and the GAN400 as I type this, and I have never heard this album sound so good. I used to listen to this album at least once a week for maybe a decade. The 2 best speakers I had in the past were the Thiel CS3.7 and Revel Salon 1, but this LRS+ is just killing both of those with this album. Incredible sound for $1000. The GAN400 is also responsible for this so do not let my comments indicate that the GAN400 is a bad amp. Even though I have not modded the GAN400 I do not expect Ric to make it sound even close to the CODA #16. The PeachTree GAN1 is an entirely different animal and I like that whole modded GAN1 system almost as much as the #16. I say this as someone who had Ric mod the LSA Voyager 350 GAN amplifier. He made it sound much better. However, it was not as good overall as my CODA #8 with my Thiel CS3.7 (both now sold). The GAN400 is the same internally as the Voyager (per Ric), though sounds stronger on the bass region. If the KRELL Duo were not in the back of my mind, I would have already sent the GAN400 for mods. The CODA #16 is incredible. One reason I had comfort in buying the Magtech today is because I believe CODA made that amp for Sanders. Roger Sanders helped me figure out how to best setup the RAAL phones and speakers with my remaining gear. Great customer service.
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@yyzsantabarbara thanks for the update and no worries. Coincidentally, Roger's Magtech also has my attention, though budget and heat is a concern. I look forward to your listening observations via a vis the amps you have and had in your stable, and am curious as to how much heat the Magtech generate. |
@derekw_hawaii On TMR a Magtech came up for sale at $2800. I think it sold in minutes. I then contacted MagTech and discussed a few things with them. I bought a used Magtech from them for $4K. This amp was given a thorough update from MagTech. There was an issue I was reading about for heat and the MagTech (on A’gon). It seems it was an issue with some part from Motorola. That was rectified in 2015 so I am expecting my unit to also have the updated part. I get the amp on Tuesday. Send me a DM if you want to get my opinion. This is the GAN thread so I will not digress more on it. |
