Digital, Low Mass, ClassD, Less expensive, Let it happen!


Well here we are! Not that you can't go back and buy boat anchors, but now we know sound is better with low mass designs. Digital source? Yep, the tide has turned. ClassD amplification is also here to stay. Lower mass speakers, on their way back too. The audiophile hobby is getting less expensive and better sounding.

I guess we can debate this, but it's happening anyway. The hobby is simply growing up and becoming more aware of how to get great sound, and get it smart. There has been a lot of myths passed down when we only had paperback magazines, mostly for marketing, but the internet has finally caught up with audio reality. Instead of $20,000.00 components we have $20,000.00 whole systems (including all the trimming). Shoot, there are $5,000.00 systems that excel. The Trade Shows are changing, the market is changing and we are changing. Want to stay old school? No problem, there will always be old school and plenty of used gear (at least for our lifetimes). There will also be smaller niche companies that spring up to tempt us.

The hobby is entering a new era for the extreme listener. It will be a hobby of doing and exploring Electrical, Mechanical and Acoustical as equals. Components will be much smaller and more flexible, and more time will be spent on playing our whole music collection, and not just a few recordings. Many HEA debates will be making their way to the archives as the hobby grows closer to mainstream. Mainstream as in higher quality audiophile mainstream.

Are you ready? I sure am!

Michael Green


http://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/

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MG, if I correctly understand you, the class D amps (or really anything for that matter) aren’t simply dropped into your system(s). Don’t you tune or modify them in some respect?

Hi celander

Correct. Every product I work with get's tuned or is made variably tunable. That doesn't mean every product gets taken apart, but most do.

In many cases I'll be working on a component that one of the Tunees has as well. That way we can ping pong tuning ideas together and I usually will then make custom tuning toys for them to use or test.

mg

It sounds a lot like Geoff is going to have to ditch his Grados and dig out the lightweight headphones that came with his Walkman.
Those vintage Sony Walkman lightweight headphones are worth their weight in gold. I just sold a pair for $75. That’s more than new Grados. Reason? Sound quality. Metaphors be with you. 👻 👻 👻 You might think you know something but you don’t.