gaussianmist
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- Apr 4, 2021
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Many people on this forum have expressed interest in the Tonewinner 7300, 7-channel amplifier that is only available from one distributor in N. America, SummitHIFI. This amp is considered by some to be very handsome since it has a huge VU meter (originally spelled UV on the earlier versions) that spans almost the width of the unit. (Although I don't quite understand the utility of 1 VU meter on a 7 channel amp.)
Of course I am interested (sucker for pretty faces) but I don't like to buy a pig in a poke. So I wrote to Amir (not our Amir) at SummitHiFi and asked whether he would send this amp to ASR for review. I never received an answer, so I called and asked whether he would do it and he said that it already had been tested by Tonewinner and the acid test is to listen. When I said I would need a disinterested third-party to measure the amp, he gave me no assurance he would do so.
O.K., now the meat of this rant: It's been opined by many that Tonewinner makes Emotiva products. There is a current Emotiva amp that spec-wise is the twin of the Tonewinner. It is the Emotiva XPA-7 Gen3 7-channel amp. (From their current line up.) This unit (like the Tonewinner) has a switch-mode power supply and rail-modulating class-H operation. Spec by spec these amps are virtually identical. Since SummitHiFi won't send the Tonewinner to ASR why can't we use the review of the Emotiva as a proxy? It just so happens that there is such a review performed by John Atkinson of Stereophile on the 2-channel version. (This is a modular amp.) And the URL is:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/emotiva-xpa-gen3-two-channel-power-amplifier-measurements
It was not a stellar performer, evidencing high IM distortion and increasing THD with upper frequency.
Of course I am interested (sucker for pretty faces) but I don't like to buy a pig in a poke. So I wrote to Amir (not our Amir) at SummitHiFi and asked whether he would send this amp to ASR for review. I never received an answer, so I called and asked whether he would do it and he said that it already had been tested by Tonewinner and the acid test is to listen. When I said I would need a disinterested third-party to measure the amp, he gave me no assurance he would do so.
O.K., now the meat of this rant: It's been opined by many that Tonewinner makes Emotiva products. There is a current Emotiva amp that spec-wise is the twin of the Tonewinner. It is the Emotiva XPA-7 Gen3 7-channel amp. (From their current line up.) This unit (like the Tonewinner) has a switch-mode power supply and rail-modulating class-H operation. Spec by spec these amps are virtually identical. Since SummitHiFi won't send the Tonewinner to ASR why can't we use the review of the Emotiva as a proxy? It just so happens that there is such a review performed by John Atkinson of Stereophile on the 2-channel version. (This is a modular amp.) And the URL is:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/emotiva-xpa-gen3-two-channel-power-amplifier-measurements
It was not a stellar performer, evidencing high IM distortion and increasing THD with upper frequency.