It is not questionable that we need the designers. What folks like ricevs and angela gilbert yeung do is " take a design that they like ", and simply improve upon it. Anything can be improved. A few years ago I was contacted by a friend of a friend, who wanted me to work on an older, very high end ss amp, retailing about $20K when introduced. My reputation proceeded meš. All six sides of the chassis, the heatsinks and many other areas inside were so tinny and resonant. The top panel and heatsinks were an embarrassment for a 20K amplifier. Ring ring ring . Anyway, I damped the crap out of it, changed out the rubber feet, created a quieter mechanical isolation between the transformers and the chassis, and so on and so on. These damping mods are more in line with what angela gilbert yeung does. ric might or might not get the idea, as he and I have discussed this matter here. To say that this owner, and might I say, listener, thought he was hearing a newer, more modern version of his amplifier. Cleaned things up. I did not change any parts, except the feet. Everything matters. There are a few different kinds of attitudes here, with the most irritating being those that do not believe...., or canāt hear, or have an inferior set up / system, or never tried, just believe science. Those who have not tried, for an example, an upgraded power cable. $50. bucks on Amazon, please see the thread, "A Stupid Question About Power Cords". I reveal it there. It is under the Amps and Preamps category. To build a cable superior to this, it would cost me more than the $50. With a return if you canāt hear the difference, and get your ears professionally cleaned and your hearing checked. Enjoy ! MrD.
Could Class D really be that good?
I've heard statements praising modern class D amplifiers all the time but was sort of hesitant to try. Lately, one particular model caught my eye, the Fosi V3, which costs sub $100 but is praised for having refined sound like class A/B. To fulfill my curiosity, I quickly ordered one and tried it with my Burchardt S400II and Wharfedale Linton speakers. Basically, this is a neutral sounding amp but, to my surprise, the sound is clean, open, airy, with full mids, wide soundstage, good imaging/separation, with nearly null traces of the edginess, dryness, or lean sound that traditional class D amplifiers have. The background is just as quiet as my current systems. The core is the TPA 3255 chip from TI and comes with a 32v, 5A power block, which is supposed to deliver approximately 65 watts per channel (into 8 ohms). It drives the S400II/Linton without any hesitation, as well as my 130-watt-per-channel high-current Parasound A23. Very impressive.
Measurement is not everything. However, according to the lab test results, when operated under 10-60 watts, the distortion level (THD) is below 0.003%, better than a lot of high-end (price) gears. I am going to build around it for my fourth system with upgraded op-amp and LPS. I believe it will outperform my current mid-end (price) amplifiers.
I know, I know, quite a few Audiogoners' systems are above $100k, and mentioning this kind of little giant that costs a fraction could be rather embarrassing. But I thought this is just like gold digging with a lot of surprises and fun. Don't you think?
- ...
- 166 posts total
- 166 posts total