I leave my Nuforce STA200 (class a/b) on all the time and heat is not an issue. I'm sure leaving class D on all the time is not an issue at all. So turning an amp on/off every now and then (vacations, etc) should not be a big deal. One should have at least an arm's width above-around the unit anyway.
Life With Ric Schultz' $2200 Highly Tweaked EVS 1200 class D IcePower Dual Mono 600w Amp
Unboxing: no expensive tool and die laser cut foam, though I
suspect that will change once the word gets out. However, it Is EXTREMELY well
packed. After all, these are Rics’ babies
Listening: I have listened to my system, as is, for a good 3 months, so I am very familiar with the way it sounds on various types of music, including red book and SACD/DVD-A My sole/soul reason for ordering the EVS 1200 was my DPA-1 is undersized for my large room. It would be totally unfair to compare to my DPA –1 @ 125 wpc vs the 1200s 600wpc,since my large room robs a lot of the DPA-1s goodness out of it, especially on dynamic music. (this was evident when I compared it to the PS Audio M700s MSRP $2999.) In a large room there’s no substitute for sheer power.
A fair comparison would be to the new Elac DPA-2 (same designer as the DPA-1) which is 210wpc as a stereo amp, BUT with the flip of a switch it becomes a 625w mono amp @ $1499: 2 DPA-2s is $2990. Factoring in built in dealer markup, pretty much apples to apples price-wise. Now, unless someone sends them to me, it’s anyone's guess how they would stack up. Besides one power cord is cheaper than 2. My DPA-1 sits on my rack connected direct to 20 amp dedicated wall outlet with a WireWorld series 7 PC.
Initial Set Up: I don’t have room in my rack unless I remove the DPA-1, just in case I wanted to compare. No need! Instead, I put a milk crate in front of my rack. 4 x 4” ceramic tiles were placed at the corners. On top of the tiles is a large 3/4” thick acrylic shelf, with 4 Machina Dynamica springs directly under the 1200. Alas, the WW PC is too short. Not to worry, I have an excellent TekLine PC ~ $900 MSRP that has been powering one of my subs. It’s well broken in and long enough to make the connection. Not exactly 100% the same, but under the circumstances, close enough.
Prior to the 1200s arrival I listened to Yo Yo Ma’s Soul of the Tango, which is very clear, but not a demanding disc, and it sounded terrific. Logically, it was the first disc I played through the EVS 1200. Although initially lean sounding, which I find typical of new kit, or kit that has been unplugged for a good while until the parts get warmed up and/or broken in. However, immediately the 1200S provides a deeper sound stage and the instruments sound BIGGER. Just what the doctor ordered. I can tell good things are at hand. YMMV
This is all I will say about the EVS 1200 until it has considerably more hours on it
A NIT PICK: I forgot to put the resistors on last night, or to flip the enable/disable switches on the back of the amp to standby. I know Ric is all about keeping things simple BUT, moving the toggles to the front, actually, replacing them with push button switches that light up red for standby/green for play (or just green for play) would not only be helpful (who wants to go behind their rack every time to enable/disable the toggles?), but would look cool on the otherwise plain Jane faceplate. Not doing this means instead of sipping one watt of juice the amp is gulping 54 watts 24/7. That’s probably less important then protecting the amp in case of overnight electrical storm or neighborhood transformer blowing up as they are want to do in S Florida during the high electrical use summer months and storms
Listening: I have listened to my system, as is, for a good 3 months, so I am very familiar with the way it sounds on various types of music, including red book and SACD/DVD-A My sole/soul reason for ordering the EVS 1200 was my DPA-1 is undersized for my large room. It would be totally unfair to compare to my DPA –1 @ 125 wpc vs the 1200s 600wpc,since my large room robs a lot of the DPA-1s goodness out of it, especially on dynamic music. (this was evident when I compared it to the PS Audio M700s MSRP $2999.) In a large room there’s no substitute for sheer power.
A fair comparison would be to the new Elac DPA-2 (same designer as the DPA-1) which is 210wpc as a stereo amp, BUT with the flip of a switch it becomes a 625w mono amp @ $1499: 2 DPA-2s is $2990. Factoring in built in dealer markup, pretty much apples to apples price-wise. Now, unless someone sends them to me, it’s anyone's guess how they would stack up. Besides one power cord is cheaper than 2. My DPA-1 sits on my rack connected direct to 20 amp dedicated wall outlet with a WireWorld series 7 PC.
Initial Set Up: I don’t have room in my rack unless I remove the DPA-1, just in case I wanted to compare. No need! Instead, I put a milk crate in front of my rack. 4 x 4” ceramic tiles were placed at the corners. On top of the tiles is a large 3/4” thick acrylic shelf, with 4 Machina Dynamica springs directly under the 1200. Alas, the WW PC is too short. Not to worry, I have an excellent TekLine PC ~ $900 MSRP that has been powering one of my subs. It’s well broken in and long enough to make the connection. Not exactly 100% the same, but under the circumstances, close enough.
Prior to the 1200s arrival I listened to Yo Yo Ma’s Soul of the Tango, which is very clear, but not a demanding disc, and it sounded terrific. Logically, it was the first disc I played through the EVS 1200. Although initially lean sounding, which I find typical of new kit, or kit that has been unplugged for a good while until the parts get warmed up and/or broken in. However, immediately the 1200S provides a deeper sound stage and the instruments sound BIGGER. Just what the doctor ordered. I can tell good things are at hand. YMMV
This is all I will say about the EVS 1200 until it has considerably more hours on it
A NIT PICK: I forgot to put the resistors on last night, or to flip the enable/disable switches on the back of the amp to standby. I know Ric is all about keeping things simple BUT, moving the toggles to the front, actually, replacing them with push button switches that light up red for standby/green for play (or just green for play) would not only be helpful (who wants to go behind their rack every time to enable/disable the toggles?), but would look cool on the otherwise plain Jane faceplate. Not doing this means instead of sipping one watt of juice the amp is gulping 54 watts 24/7. That’s probably less important then protecting the amp in case of overnight electrical storm or neighborhood transformer blowing up as they are want to do in S Florida during the high electrical use summer months and storms