2. amps-preamps
  3. 147124-123701

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.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xtownshend-audio
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
My class D sounds incredible to my ears and cost me 2k,

How much is the entry level amplifier you make please ?

How much is your reference amplifiers please ?
I'm glad that works for you! High end audio should be fun and musically satisfying.  But high end audio though is not about cost, its about getting the music to sound real, IOW intention. I find that on these forums, audiophiles often use the same words to describe what they hear, but there isn't any standard to allow them to express the degree of their experience. So its all relative.

Because high end audio is about intention, the idea of a 'reference' amplifier strikes me as a bit odd. Shouldn't all the amps one makes be capable of 'reference' performance?

But to say that today’s class D isn’t mature, without any experience with today’s class D, doesn’t hold much weight. Especially for me since I do have experience with today’s class D.
To imply that I don't have any experience with class D doesn't hold much weight either, does it :)     I'm pretty sure you've not met me. You've not been to our shop, not been to my house... pretty bold, don't you think, to make an assumption like that??


helomech
766 posts
 
@helomech you are spreading false statements base on ur feeling not facts! The Devialet as I remember is not a pure class D and has their own design
False statements? Sorry, the Devialets are in fact class D. Their integrateds have a class A preamp section that attempts to smooth over the typical class D sound, though based on my auditions, MY OPINION, is that it wasn't successful.




helomech
766 posts
 
I’m sure my post will get deleted again by admins but I really think statements like this fall under the category of marketing for personal gain. Am I the only one who sees what’s going on here???
Yup, don't accuse anyone of marketing, especially any of the insider members, regardless of their obvious, blatant tactics, your post will be deleted.
helomech
766 posts
 
When I listen to tubes all I pickup on is the loss of resolution, high noise floor, and often buzzing sounds coming from the speakers.
This just proves you have no experience with a half-way decent tube amp. Maybe instead of postulating nonsense here, your time would be better spent gaining real experience with designs other than class D or Icepower.
miveraaudio
111 posts
 
@atmasphere 

You have no idea how real music sounds with Iceedge based amplifiers. As technology advances, costs go down. This how technology works. Things get more efficient, quality gets better, and costs go down. How much did the first Apple computer cost back in the 70's? How much does it it cost for 1000x better performance today? a $40 Raspberry Pi has far more power. 

If you have so much experience with class D then the proof will be in the pudding. But it better be good, and based on ASIC's if you want to compete in today's market. We haven't even seen what ESS is coming out with yet. This will be the next big contender.


More to discover