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Digital, Low Mass, ClassD, Less expensive, Let it happen!

Well here we are! Not that you can't go back and buy boat anchors, but now we know sound is better with low mass designs. Digital source? Yep, the tide has turned. ClassD amplification is also here to stay. Lower mass speakers, on their way back too. The audiophile hobby is getting less expensive and better sounding.

I guess we can debate this, but it's happening anyway. The hobby is simply growing up and becoming more aware of how to get great sound, and get it smart. There has been a lot of myths passed down when we only had paperback magazines, mostly for marketing, but the internet has finally caught up with audio reality. Instead of $20,000.00 components we have $20,000.00 whole systems (including all the trimming). Shoot, there are $5,000.00 systems that excel. The Trade Shows are changing, the market is changing and we are changing. Want to stay old school? No problem, there will always be old school and plenty of used gear (at least for our lifetimes). There will also be smaller niche companies that spring up to tempt us.

The hobby is entering a new era for the extreme listener. It will be a hobby of doing and exploring Electrical, Mechanical and Acoustical as equals. Components will be much smaller and more flexible, and more time will be spent on playing our whole music collection, and not just a few recordings. Many HEA debates will be making their way to the archives as the hobby grows closer to mainstream. Mainstream as in higher quality audiophile mainstream.

Are you ready? I sure am!

Michael Green


http://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/

128x128michaelgreenaudio
ketchup
459 posts
 
This thread has to be a joke.
but now we know sound is better with low mass designs.
Oh, we do?  Who is "we"?  This has to be one of the most ridiculous generalizations I have ever heard!


michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio OP
643 posts
 

Let me give a personal example of what I talked about in my post above. Where I live (small apt on the Vegas strip) visitors stop by my place. They always sit for a quick listen and talk audio as we watch the strip action. I usually have several amps right as they enter my place and they are rotated slowly in and out of my 2 systems. Before this I had a place with 6 listening rooms but I felt was too far from the Vegas Strip, convention center and airport. I mention this to explain why I have the need to rotate every 3 or so months for my work as compared to letting amps settle in the system for years. anyway current picture painted

A little less then a month ago I introduced a small Class D amp to the system and as people stopped by the shock was more than a little for folks at not only how great the sound is but also how cool these folks (all audiophiles) thought the look was. The major shocker though was when I let them know the price of the new amp setup. All of them did and are doing the "wait a minute". But the most interesting reaction is how cool they think this new amp paradigm is. "Sounds as good or better, looks very cool, is so tiny". To these folks this is a very exotic, new age approach that is more sexy to them. Before I even mention the price folks like this new style better.

mg

erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
What’s HEA?

@geoffkait,

High End Audio

michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio OP
643 posts
 

"This thread has to be a joke." and "ridiculous generalizations"

You know, I think people who have not been exposed to what has been happening over the past 10 or so years in the way of amplifier innovation and those who have expensive over built high end audio products would say what you just have. Shoot if I didn't have expensive overbuilt amps to compare to I might find it a bit of a joke as well.

kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
Oh.... Like my obscenely simple F5? Or the First Watt J2 that won Amplifier of the Year from Stereophile? Or the SIT-3 that just got a glowing review? How about the myriad tube amps out there? Those over-built amps? The ones using simple, linear power supplies and simple topologies with a minimum of components? Those are the "expensive over built" amps you're talking about that get great reviews and sell so well for fairly modest money? 
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