BTW....I continue to LOVE the Tempo which is a wonderful amp. I have also had the Alto and Andante preamps here and the Gran Vivace power amps. They are all shockingly good at the prices they sell at. I have done some direct comparisons vs. some expensive gear and have been pleasantly surprised. I would say all of these units represent a value, even flagship stuff.
AGD Tempo in the house
It is very interesting to spend time with amps. You go to shows or even go to someone's house and listen to and amp and because it isn't on your gear and in your environment, it sounds good but it is insanely difficult to judge vs other gear.
So AGD is a brand I had been flirting with and finally a customer asked for a demo so I put in my order and a few days later the Tempo arrived. I dropped in into my system and all I can say is WOW. It has all the grunt required to drive my Vivids. Is warm and sweet with an extremely wide sound stage.
Even fresh out of the flight case, (no box here) it didn't sound digital at all. This sounds closer to Class A to me than Class D. I have not heard a different GaN at this point but I am fascinated by this and how good it sounds compared to other Class Ds and even Class ABs.
The other surprising part is this unit is about 1/3 the size of a normal component. I know I am a hair late to the game with GaN but damn, is it ever too late to celebrate a product.
Showing 8 responses by verdantaudio
Class A, yes. It is warmer and seems to have tons of power despite the modest rating. SET…no. Certainly not my 300B I have sitting right next to it. I have not really heard anything that can replicate a SET. Even the First Watt stuff falls a hair short despite its relative brilliance. What will be interesting is when I do a compare between the AGD and my reference KT88 monos on a speaker with proper impedance for the monos. That will expose flaws/shortcomings. The shock was more from a prior experience. I dropped an NAD C298 into my system and it was a push vs the amp in my integrated. I enjoyed that amp immensely and understood completely how it got an A rating. The AGD was obviously better than my two integrated amps. Not saying it is flawless by any stretch, but it is very, very good. When you consider size, energy efficient and price, it is a fascinating amp. |
@atmasphere Fair enough. That being said, I have had multiple Class D amps that sound cold and unnatural fresh out of the box and warm over time. I also have had some that have never improved and sound cold and unnatural forever. Of course, I can think of some Class AB and A amps that are just as bad. Use of "digital" was poor phrasing. |
@voodoochillin I don't have a ton of preamps here to test. That is a bit of a shortcoming with my current inventory. I did have it paired with an AVM 5.2 which was quite nice. Regarding a range of speakers, that will build through time. When the amp comes back from my customer I will test it with my own speakers (Verdant Brand) and hopefully my new Wilson Benesch's will be in. It is going to get a workout breaking those in when they arrive. I can say it is pairs nicely with my Vivids which are a bit forward but are also miserable to drive. The stated min impedance is 2.8 ohms, stereophile measurements said 2.4 ohms. It handled the Kaya 45s well. I would probably avoid warmer speakers like Vandersteens as the system might sound a little dark. Otherwise, neutral to forward speakers are likely to do well. |
@atmasphere agreed! |
They get progressively better. That said, the Tempo can and does compete sonically with amps that are in the $10-$15K range. I say that without a hair of hesitation. As you rise in quality, the amps progressively get better. The move from Tempo to Audion is noticeable as you are moving to two separate PSs so any risk of crosstalk is gone. As you rise further, parts, filtering, etc... gets better. But it is evolution, not revolution. It is obvious they are from the same company and if you listen to the Tempo vs the other amps you would say they are progressively a little better. It never works that amps that are 3x more expensive are 3x better. Vs external competitors, I would tell you that each amp is fairly priced in terms of the quality it delivers. Vs other AGD amps it is tough because the Tempo sets a high bar for their entry level amp. Eventually I will have one of each of these (tempo, audion, gran vivace, alto and andante) to loan out. I need to sell enough to justify that investment and the Tempo represents the line quite well. |