2. amps-preamps
  3. 1138151143

UcD vs TriPath Digital amps.


I have been enthusiastic about the CarverPro ZR1600 digital power amp which I have used for several years with Magnepan MG1.6 speakers. Actually I have three ZR1600, each driving a MG1.6 with one channel and a two-driver subwoofer with the other. The ZR1600 uses the Tripath digital control module.

I have just purchased three CI Audio D-200 amps, which use the UcD digital module. The TriPath module does its digital switching at a commanded variable frequency (“spread spectrum”). The modulation pattern is between 200 KHz and 1.5 MHz. The UcD module is self-oscillating (like the ICE module) at (I think) 44KHz.

Let me say at the onset that the ZR1600 is a very fine amplifier, and mates particularly well with the MG1.6. My reasons for replacing it are not primarily on account of its sonic character. I wanted an amp that I could attach directly to the rear of the speakers, thereby avoiding any issue with speaker cables. This is not practical with the ZR1600 because it has a cooling fan, and needs to be in a remote location, like the cellar. Also, as my subwoofer system has evolved its impedance has ended up at 2 ohms. While the ZR1600 is rated for 2 ohm operation, distortion with this load is increased, and I am worried about what happens to the other channel, which shares the power supply. My plan is to drive one subwoofer driver with each channel of a ZR1600, and use a CI Audio D-200 for the Maggie.

All three ZR1600, six channels of 600 watts at 4 ohms, cost me less than $2500. Three D-200, 325 watts each, cost me almost $3500. If cost is important I think that the ZR1600 wins.

Thus far I have simply inserted the D-200 amps in place of one channel of the ZR1600, in the cellar without changing speaker cables, but initial listening is encouraging. Playing a Mozart violin concerto, Pentatone SACD PTC 5186 064 (an excellent disc) the sound is really smooth, sweet, tube-like (?), without loss of the clarity that I liked in the ZR1600. I find that violin is most affected by any sharpness in the midrange. More extensive listening will be interesting, especially when I get around to relocation of the amps at the speakers without speaker wires.

The CI D-200 is well built. It has received enthusiastic reviews by the various gurus, and it seems that this is not hype.
eldartford
cwlondon
1,198 posts
 
As we look forward to interesting answers here, I would just like to just say, yes - violins sound like dentists' drills on most equipment.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
The ZR1600 does not turn violins into dentist's drills, but I know what you mean. Perhaps the CI D-200 turns ordinary fiddles into Stradivarius violins. This is not exactly the ultimate of "fidelity" but it does sound nice, which , in the end, is what we want. (Same argument as for tubes).
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Eldartford, your description of the D200 is similar to my impression of the D100 when I tried them. I imagine they are a great match with sources and preamps that favor accuracy and extension, and perhaps not so ideal with warmer gear.

What do you think?
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Tvad...The D200 is just an "up voltage" version of the D100, so they ought to sound the same within the D100 power range. I have not gone into a full blown review because the journals, with access to many amps for comparison, plus bench test equipment, have done that task. My role is just to observe that these positive reviews appear to be justified, and not the result of an advertising relationship (as so many skeptical audiophiles seem to think).
Your observation about not mating these amps with "warm" sources makes sense in a general way...too much of a good thing. But some have said that there is no such thing as too many tubes. Albert is up to about 100 at last count (and I don't mean the several hundred he has on a shelf waiting to be rolled :-)
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Eldartford, I'm thinking in particular of the synergistic mating between the Modwright SWL9.0SE and the D200 monos that has been reported in several user reports and reviews. IMO, the Modwright is very linear and accurate, and benefits (or could benefit) from some slight warming somewhere in the signal chain, whether the warmth is from an amp or tube rolling in the preamp itself.

None of this is to suggest the D200 are overly warm or syrupy. Far from it. They are quite accurate and detailed in their own right, but more musical than the NuForce amps, from my experience, and therefore more to my liking.
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