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Power Amplifier - Maximum Resolution & Detail!

I am assuming some of you have experienced the following.... All else being the same in the chain, you replaced a power amplifier and started hearing more resolution and detail, perhaps a lil more in a track that you have heard a thousand times.

Ime, the higher you go up in price doesn't necessarily guarantee that you could experience the above mentioned. It seems to come down to the nitty gritty of the circuits under consideration, i.e., the black art of power delivery and analog circuit design.

What is a power amp you may have experimented with that provided the maximum detail and resolution at any price? (Not just perceived changes in tonal balance, etc).

I am hoping to shortlist a power amp based on some suggestions here for a future purchase.

 

P.S. If you are an ASR type of guy who thinks all power amps sound the same, this may not the right thread for you, I suppose...

deep_333
mbmi's avatar
mbmi
587 posts
 

Aavik U-150......

fredapplegate
105 posts
 

I'd suggest Schiit Tyr. I have Aegirs as monoblocks and like them very much.

(I've heard the Tyr, but haven't used it in my system.)

jaymark's avatar
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jaymark
514 posts
 

I just acquired brand new Stellar PSAudio M 1200 hybrid class D monblocks.  Though I have less than 75 hours on them, I find them to have exceptional clarity with a wide deep soundstage with very nice extension.  Very fine, reasonably priced amplifiers indeed.

ghdprentice
7,272 posts
 

@yyzsantabarbara

 

+1 Be very careful what you wish for. As uy’s example Benchmark is great at detail, but at a big musical cost. In my past I have pursued detail and imaging and found myself without music… lean midrange and little rhythm and pace. Companies like CH Precision bring both, but at a real financial cost. Make sure you spend a lot of time actually listening to the music… being carried away (or not) by the music or you can end up with a fatiguing, dry, scientific instrument, where after you measure the sound characteristics of the album, you quickly want go do something else. Nothing wrong with this as a hobby… as long as that is your goal.

yyzsantabarbara
4,941 posts
 

@ghdprentice I have owned the AHB2 about 6x for both headphones and 2-channel. It was great with some gear not so great with others, such as my NS5000 speakers.  I no longer have an AHB2. I have a Benchmark HPA4 preamp that is similar to the AHB2 for my future headphones, RAAL 1995 Immanis.

What I have now is close to being great with my NS5000, the CODA #16. Though, I miss a tiny bit of that detail the AHB2 had. That is why the SimAudio and the Luxman are a potential second amp for me.

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