TEAC ant their upscale sister ESOTERIC (Japan)
Top models have dual-mono design including power supply, and the best class D circuits from ICE Power (Denmark) and Hypex (Netherlands)
The two TEACs I own sound impressive for such a compact design.
What is your favorite Class D amp?
Moving to a new home with a smaller dedicated listening room has caused me to rethink my entire system. I have always been a fan of EL34 tube amps and presently have a Primaluna HP (4 tubes per channel), but the size and heat make this a bit more difficult in my new set up. So I have been thinking about going with a smaller, less hot class D amp. But being a tube guy, I have never seriously looked into or listen to these amps.
so what is your favorite class D amp? New or used, in the 5k range, but could go up to 10k. Preamp is a Conrad Johnson ET-7. Speaker will be in the monitor/mini-monitor class (so I don’t need high power for a smallish room) but have not made my final decision on speakers as the amp/speaker synergy makes this kind of a joint decision.
I purposely asked for “favorite” to be a bit more open in your relies.
thanks, Bill
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I wanted the efficiency of class D for a large speaker system, but without the stereotypical sound character of class D (sterile, clinical, lean, or glassy). I did find the latest Hypex and Purifi options appealing due to their modular designs and price/performance ratio. The Hypex Nilai is well regarded, but I was impressed with the flexibility of the Purifi Eigentakt platform, which allows third party designers to engineer their own buffer stage, and it is here that the overall character of the amp can be individually tailored to a significant degree. Having seen a YouTube review by Thomas & Stereo (of Galion Audio), I took a chance with the VTV Purifi 1ET9040BA monoblocks with the Sparkos designed vacuum tube buffer with Weiss op amps. I can vouch for this combination delivering analog-like character and a bit of vacuum tube imaging, but without softened transients or being syrupy. I don't see how anyone could audibly distinguish this from a class AB amp. The same configuration is available for the smaller stereo 1ET6525SA, which is relatively economical. For tube lovers, I believe combining this configuration with a good tube preamp would certainly be worth a listen. |
@goleksiak - Congrats on the Von Schweikert Ultra 55. Looks like a real keeper. The Stereophile review said that the minimum impedance was ~2 ohms. Based on your comments it appears that the AGD Duet has no problems with that at your volume levels. Enjoy! |
@reavesdc I've never had an issue. I asked Grok about Duets with 2ohms loads: Key Performance Expectations with 2-Ohm Loads:
In your high-end system, pairing Duets with 2-ohm-dipping speakers would likely yield punchy, fatigue-free playback—far better than amps that falter here. For confirmation, AGD offers in-home trials to test with your specific setup.
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