@hilde45 , Earlier in this thread I mentioned the First Watt F7 clone that I tried in my second system and also on LSA Voyager GAN 350. The Voyager needs a lot of break in hours indeed, I think it was over 800-1000 hours when it started to sound well. It is really worth trying. If you have any chance to get a used one. Mr. Walter Liederman from Underwood hifi had it for about $2200, which was a real bargain (in fact, one of its modules was broken but Mr. Walter was so kind to send me a replacement - so far, the amp works fine). It has a lot of power (notably more than the other GaN amps that you mentioned in this thread), deep bass, nice mid and high range. It does not sound precisely as a tube amp but does have real-life natural sound reproduction. The First Watt F7 clone, that I suggest that sounds more or less as an original, has a nicer mid-low range and slightly deeper sound stage. In all the rest, Voyager is much better. Having auditioned a few GaN amps (but not an AGD), I suggest that the differences in sound reproduction between them is not really essential, where the Voyager has enough power to drive non-sensible speakers. Give that, you may add this amp to your wish list and extend your comparative study.
Expanding the Class D Conversation: How Would You Characterize Their Differences?
Expanding the Class D Conversation: How Would You Characterize Their Differences?
I'm currently trialing the NAD M23 (1st gen. Eigentakt-based), and I find it intriguing enough to want to understand it better — which means understanding the broader sonic landscape of class D. So I'm crowd-sourcing.
In a recent exchange, the estimable Ralph Karsten (Atma-Sphere Music Systems) made two comments that stopped me cold. For those who missed it, here's what he said:
"IME, class D amps vary in sound more than tube amps, which is to say, quite a lot."
"IMO there is a bigger difference between various class D amps than you hear between various tube amps. IOW just because you heard one class D amp says nothing about how the next one might sound."
Link: https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2885828
As I think through this more carefully, these are genuinely important claims. My own experience with tube amps confirms that they produce audibly distinct characters across topologies and designs. If Ralph is right and class D exceeds that range, then generalizing from one class D experience to another is even more hazardous than I assumed.
One specific question for Audiogon members:
If you have a Class D amp or have compared class D amplifiers, how would you describe their character(s)?
Here are some criteria I use:
- Frequency balance — Is the tonal response even across bass, mids, and treble, or does it favor certain regions?
- High-frequency texture — Are the highs extended and smooth, or edgy, grainy, and fatiguing?
- Bass definition — Is the low end tight and articulate, or loose and bloated?
- Midrange character — Does the midrange feel present and natural, or recessed and thin?
- Transient speed — Does the amp respond quickly to dynamic attacks, or does it sound sluggish and rounded?
- Dynamic range — Does it scale convincingly from quiet passages to loud ones, or compress the difference?
- Soundstage width and depth — Does it create a convincing three-dimensional image, or sound flat and narrow?
- Image specificity — Are instruments and voices placed precisely, or do they blur and wander?
- Background noise floor — Is the silence between notes actually silent, or is there grain, haze, or hash?
- Long-term listenability — After an extended session, do you want to keep listening, or has something been quietly fatiguing you?
If you can include relevant system context — room, speakers, preamp — please do. Those variables will help me interpret what the amp itself is contributing.
I'm less interested in rankings than in understanding what Ralph mentioned, namely the [vast] range of sonic signatures class D is capable of. Eigentakt, Hypex, Pascal, Purifi, GaN-based, etc. — all fair game.
Price is no constraint here — I'm interested in the full range of what's out there.
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@niodari Thanks for the LSA Voyager GAN 350 tip. I will look into that! I see that used it's out there for around $1k. Pretty reasonable experiment. |
@hilde45 , A nice opportunity to continue your study! Most probably, the one you found has enough burn-in hours. Keep us posted about outcomes! |
Question to Ralph @atmasphere: You clearly stated that you consider your class D amp superior when compared to your own OTL designs. Is this statement absolute or relating to lower efficieny speakers? I for one have yet to hear a system more immediate and musical than an OTL or SET driven high efficiency or field coil speaker |
You clearly stated that you consider your class D amp superior when compared to your own OTL designs. Is this statement absolute or relating to lower efficieny speakers? I for one have yet to hear a system more immediate and musical than an OTL or SET driven high efficiency or field coil speaker @antigrunge2 On our shop speakers (which are 16 Ohms and 93 dB) or my home speakers (98dB and 16 Ohms, flat to 20Hz), the big difference between our OTLs and the class D is a bit more focus from the class D in that its slightly easier to tell what's happening in the rear of the sound stage. The class D has the added advantage of being easily able to drive speakers that our OTLs cannot. So I prefer to listen to the class Ds at home and at work, although I still enjoy tubes very much and we are still working on tube amp products.
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