Spectron Musician III MK.2 or Audio Research DS450


Has anyone listened to the new Audio Research DS450M mono blocks or the DS 450 stereo Class D amp's and compared them to the Spectron Musician III MK.2?..
audiozen
Audiozen, You said all class D and Hypex, not just some of the Hypex. My remarks are again just on the NC1200.

Your assumption is totally wrong as Merrill has added his own "tweaks/special sauce" as they say to the Veritas. And no I am not at privilege to discuss and I do not know all of them but they are there. He has no desire to assist his competition. It is easy to call him silly but I do not see you putting your money were you mouth is.

The reason that the NC1200 only has an XLR input is it sounds better by XLR and if a RCA is added then it degrades the sound of the amp.

I do not understand way it is so important that the NC1200 has to have a RCA input when it is easy to use an adapter.
And if it bothers you so much then do not buy it.

So your opinion is in order to justify a price point a product MUST have SIZE, WEIGHT, MANY PARTS, BIG POWER SUPPLY, but not GREAT SOUND to justify the price. I would think great sound should be the only point not how the manufacture satisfied the bias of old school thought.

So if I put in a bunch of parts and made it large and heavy but they did not alter the quality of the great sound but were there for show, that would be OK then for you. You see a bunch of parts and size, they do not add to or alter the sound, but now it justifies the price.
This a new tech just like the D-Sonic is. So why do you think IT MUST HAVE all the add ons of the past Class D to sound great. You have no idea all the tech that is behind the NC1200. It is not just what is built into the product.

The NC1200 puts out a whopping 1200 watts into 2ohms but so what if it is 2 or 4 ohms if it does not sound any better for it.
You have no reason to put down a product that you have not heard but from your remarks I doubt it will matter.
To end this I must say again I have no financial or otherwise with Hypex or Merrill Audio.

If you have noticed I have said that the D-Sonic looks interesting and I would love to hear it. I have not questioned the integrity of the manufacture or the quality of the sound or product based on price or components or what he did or did not add to it. In my book the quality of sound is what matters. So until you HEAR a Veritas and a Mola-Mola M1 do you think you have an opinion.

End of discussion.
There is something special about Class A or enriched Class A/B with high current and massive power supplies...the sound is more colorful and organic!
Dave b

I agree that Class A (not so much A/B) can sound great and is hard to beat.

But after hearing the new NCore NC1200 by Hypex (done right) IMHO Class A has a fight on its hands. I have seen DIE HARD Class A / SS-Tube Audiophiles sit slacked jaw hearing the Veritas in their systems. Then they start bobbing their heads and toes a tapping with big smiles on their faces. I am talking about Pass Labs, ARC, Lamm, Mcintosh, Atma-Sphere, Krell, Melos, and other well known names and not so well known.

And I love the sound of a Class A Pass Labs mono amp.

I have had High current and Massive power supplies amps in my system and not one has made my hard to drive B&W 802D SING from top to bottom. They sound like a different speaker. And everyone remarks how they sound so much better. I never ask, they say it on their own.
And yes some were the names above.

Dave, put aside what Class the amp is and get a demo. It will put a smile on your face. (but please NOT a NC400 DIY amp)



Hifial..I am not putting down any company. Other companies using Hypex amps selling in the same price range, do much more upgrades than Merrill. Merrill adds his own flavor? The only upgrades done to the Veritas using Hypex, is wiring. 10 awg Cardas litz wire to the power board. 11 awg Cardas litz bi-wire for power transfer from the board and 19 awg Cardas wire to the input connectors and 14 awg internal ground wire and solder mounting instead of screws. Thats it.
There are no additional p.c. boards or added power supplies or larger transformers that
you will find in amps from Genesis and Channel Islands using Hypex amps.
I called back Bill Parish at GTT Audio four days after Bruno left from Beta testing The Mola-Mola M1's at GTT.
Bill informed me the sound is magnificent and the most musical Class D amp he has heard to date. Bruno is also coming out this year with his new Mola-Mola Preamp that is his own design. It appears at the current stage of where Class D technology is at, that the Hypex 1200 and the SOA Core amp used by D-Sonic, are the two most advanced amps currently on the market.
Forgot to mention..that Hypex will also be coming out this year with an integrated amplifier using the Hypex 1200 amp.