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Class D is affordable and sounds as good or better the SS/Valve why buy anything else ?

I have spent a fair amount of my hard earned money on big ticket brand new SS and VT/Valve amplifiers over the years without hesitation, with state of the art 2019 class D amplifiers becoming cheaper and sounding better, i wouldn't join in again.

For older technology amplifiers SS VT/Valve to compete with State of the art class D, Their prices are going up and up.

One example is Pilium Audio from Greece or Bulgaria their Divine Line the prices are all over £100,000 for their pre amps and power amps, I know the UK importer he said they sound OK,

Another example FM Acoustics again up to and over £100,000 for pre and power amps. i have owned FM Acoustics pre and power again their OK,

I am not saying they do not sound good, i am saying why spend this much when state of the art class D probably sounds as good now and can only improve with the GaN capacitors and is nearly up to 100 times cheaper.

Is there still a market for multi thousand £$s SS or VT/Valve amplifiers ?

When class D finally overtakes SS VT/Valves what will people do with their multi thousand £$ amplifiers, keep them knowing there is something better ? Or will we see the market flood with exotic used amplifiers ?

Digital technology is rapidly growing pace and becoming cheaper, with GaN capacitors being introduced the sound is going to get better and better and will slowly or quickly become even more affordable.

If you had 50,000 to spend on an Amplifier, would you buy a high ticket SS amplifier and hope for the best ?

Would you stay safe and go with high ticket valve amp, class D can never match good valves right ?

Or would you sit tight and see how the GaN capacitors can further improve the performance of state of the art class D ?

Please feel free to join in, everybody is welcome, i think its a very delicate/touchy discussion for some people with big bucks invested in older type amplifiers.
townshend-audio
tweak1
870 posts
 
I owned a hi-end retail company in decades past. I owned a lot of amps (SS & Valve; even a Gain Cell amp) but I looked into the future and started getting on board the class D train, first with W4S monos, then stereo, then their multi-channel, followed by Emerald Physics 100.2SEs + upgraded fuses (IMO they lacked midrange warmth). Next up was Audio Alchemy DPA-1 stereo amp (it is a terrific amp, but not powerful enough for my extra large room) I now have PS Audio M700s (MSRP $3995 the pair!). These are the best amps I have had with the possible exception of a Kinergetics KBA 75 (> 10 years ago), which made the electric meter spin at high rpm. Clearly class A or A/B consume a ton of power and probably internal parts

I have no doubt GaN will bring more to the hobby, but for <$4K Im more than happy wth the PSA M700s
douglas_schroeder
1,824 posts
 
Fyi, I didn't read all the posts, but the Benchmark AHB2 is not class A/B. It is a new design called Class AAA and was developed in conjunction with THX. It outperformed all the class D amps I reviewed. You can see my review of it at dagogo.com

I still am using the AHB2 and it is capable of stunning sound quality. I run them in Mono mode and it is glorious. One of the best setups is the Exogal Comet DAC running Schroeder Method ICs (see discussion on the thread that bears my name, and the seminal article regarding Schroeder Method at dagogo.com) direct into the amps and using either the software volume control or the Comet's internal pre. 

However, dismissing class A or A/B is shortsighted. These amps are also improving over time. It's not like they are frozen and can't compete. That's a stilted perspective, imo.  
beetlemania
471 posts
 
Class D . . . sounds as good or better the SS/Valve
 Not to my ears.
tweak1
870 posts
 
 mivera, I don't doubt your knowledge of the PS Audio Ice modules age, but the sound is amazing, especially at its price point (music processed through th PSA Stellar GC dac). Wires and cabling mid level WireWorld and a Core Power 1800 PC: and as I stated above, I have owned considerable kit

This past weekend I had a friend over who previously heard my system with an Audio Alchemy DPA-1/DDP-1 (sans PS 5) - an excellent class D amp, but underpowered in my very large room, OR, it was unable to grab my Emerald Physics KC IIs (95dB) by the balls, or...?

Anyway, we had a rock concert night spinning SRV (Stevie Raye Vaughn), Peter Gabriel Live, and The Pointer Sisters Greatest Hits, all at very high levels. He was amazed at how well the system sounded, and I was blown away. I do not recall ever having such a complete experience

Does this mean the M700s are my final class D purchase. Hardly, but, they are an outstanding value 

FYI, I went to what I thought was your site, but only saw a dac. where are your amps? 
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