2. amps-preamps
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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.
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miveraaudio
111 posts
 
@sthlm78:

W4S is claiming to use Iceedge technology in their ST-750LE amplifier for $1750. However the specs are nowhere near the 1200AS module, and the 1200AS module is the only Iceedge based amp Icepower has produced yet. So it’s a bit odd.

Bel Canto uses Hypex NC-500 modules combined with a basic IC opamp based buffer stage in the Ref600M. I haven’t seen any products from them using the 1200AS.

So far to my knowledge, the only 1200AS based amps available today are from small direct sellers. No big brands. The biggest brand selling them is Nord.

@Ketchup: I’m no longer selling 1200AS based amps. You’ll need to talk to one of the manufacturers who are.


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miveraaudio
111 posts
 
No OEM's are not allowed to sell kits based on Icepower amp modules. I sold 20 kits at first, but then I found out about this policy and stopped. 

The power supply is integrated into the board. It's a complete self contained unit. Just apply power and connect speakers. 

Regarding Pascal, they haven't improved upon their technology since 2011-2012. They have made new modules with better efficiency, but none of them feature anything new that increases the sound quality. And they haven't made any claims about increased sound quality with this new lineup. The last time I tried an amp from them it was the M-PRO2, and I felt at the time that even my early generation NC-500 based build sounded better. 
sthlm78's avatar
sthlm78
24 posts
 
I checked Nord and Apollon websites and it seems they are very cheap compare to Ncore!

miveraaudio
111 posts
 
Yes because I sold the first 100 1200AS based amps that hit the market and set the price bar for the industry on amps based on that module. The amplifier manufacturers who are selling both 1200As and Hypex Ncore based amps would rather sell you the Hypex based amps for obvious reasons. 
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