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High End Amp Price Collapse musings

If Class D amplification becomes accepted by audiophiles there should be a glut of high end amps (Krell, Levinson, Pass etc) becoming available on the used market at prices a fraction of what they are now.

Think CRT TV when the flat panels began emerging.I think Ill hold off on a new/used amp purchase for a little while. Maybe I will bet a Boulder.

Has any one else considered this?

energeezer
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,951 posts
 
Good point. We’ll see what happens when it happens.

One caveat though is Class D can be relatively inexpensive and high bang for the buck but there are still many Class D amps not any less than competition. Smaller and lighter maybe, but not even that always the case. Depends on who’s making it and what their marketing and design goals are.

Definitely new competition for traditional monster and/or tube amps though. I tried Class D before going that or tube amp way and glad I did.
mechans
3,048 posts
 

I once thought that high power PA and studio amps by Crown for example would be an obvious way to get the big power I thought I wanted. That was 15 years ago, since then class D came along with much fanfare but left me wanting and even the vaunted B & O ICE module amps don't sound like the amps I have come to like most, which are moderate/medium power  tube amps running mostly in class A.

Believe me when I came back to audio I thought I was going to be a Krell guy all the way and still think I will want to get some Pass Class A biased amps someday. However, I'll keep my tube amps anyway even while having my dalliances with SS. 

energeezer OP
26 posts
 
I agree that class D is not there yet. There was a time when flat panel and digital projection could not hold a candle to CRT particularily in black level. Discerning home theatre enthusiasts would still put up with huge, heavy, inefficient CRT displays to get that black level. Once digital got close the value of CRT plummeted. At that time one could pick up high end CRT displays and projectors for dirt cheap. Arguably these displays still out performed all but the very best digital systems and it was heaven for those on a tight budget.
I agree this is a way off for amplification but I do believe the time is coming.
larryi
3,799 posts
 
There are a number of Class D amps that sound really good at their modest price points, such as the offerings by Bel Canto.  But, so far, the really high end and expensive models have not impressed me.  I have no idea why the Devialet amps get such good reviews for sound quality; they sound lifeless and I find myself losing interest quickly when listening to music through those amps (they look fantastic and are incredibly compact and versatile so I can understand their non-sonic appeal). 
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
The time may be coming, maybe not. Class D is not really new, it's been around for about 15 years now. I seem to think that Class D was more popular 10 years ago than it is today.

You keep trying to compare Class A to CRT TV's, how about you compare it to vinyl?
35(?) years after the release of digital, and vinyl is still very much alive.

Trying to guess what audio products will gain favor and which will lose favor in the next 10-25 years would seem to be an exercise in futility.
Mental gymnastics, nothing more.
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