Forgot something important. As ithers have discovered, my IcePower amps need 48bhours of being on to sound good. No idea why. Don’t need to be playing, just stay on.
It is warm up time, not break-in.
New Class D amplifiers
Hello. I'm very interested in getting your opinion on the newer Class D amplifiers. There has been a couple of very positive reviews (by Guttenberg) of the Bel Canto C6i and NAD M23. These, and perhaps some others are offering new technology that significantly lower the class D noise level and other drawbacks.
I currently use a Class A amp, Pass Labs INT-25 (with Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers) which has a wonderful sound. But I am transitioning to another location, and due to using Roon primarily I find that this system stays on most of the day. Due to heat and power usage of Class A amplifiers, I'm interested in translating to Class D if I find something comparable.
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@erik_squires is there a standby mode? My Orchard Audio is in standby as long as it is plugged in. My Ice powered PSAudio S300 has two power switches to toggle between the two modes. Thanks, aldnorab |
@aldnorab - There is! My amps did not take advantage of this feature so I’m not sure if that would fix my problem. :) My 250 ASP units were 2W in Standby (not used) and 7W idling. |
It is a difficult choice between the AGD Audions and the Atma Ds. I may keep both. Speaking generally, they are greatly characterized by the nationality of their designers. Alberto, being from Italy, has created amps that, very much, have a romantic, organic bent. The tube like output stage of the Audions is more than a way to easily upgrade. But a tribute to SETs which also inspires the sound. The Audions are beautifully and lovely to listen to. Easy on the ears. Delicious detail. Terrific sound staging and imaging. And mellifluous. The Atmas are American meat and potatoes. More meat on the bones. More detail. And tremendous bass. They are also more dynamic. They sound like Ralph’s tube amps with more clarity and bass. I use an Atma MP-1 preamp and there is clearly synergy. This may ultimately inform my decision on which to keep. |
How about the Marantz Ruby amp? I nabbed one for less than $3k, open box it certainly does not sound "cold" nor "clinical" , nor does it sound overly warmed nor colored... just clear, spacious, image-rich, robust with great dynamics, headroom, reserve however, it is an all analogue design... my dac work is done well by the accompanying Ruby sacd player and @nonoise +1 ... like nonoise, I'd suggest: If you want to go "higher" (though honestly there isn’t really all that much more "up there" from the Ruby), there’s the newish Technics, like the su-r1000, which is not exactly D but in the ballpark and has excellent dacs built in and includes what is supposedly an unsurpassed phono section (if you’re into vinyl) . The less expensive Technics g700m2 is also an option, if you want to go smaller and save some $$. |
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