chips666
Active Member
Since al three are better than human hearing, and since that will not ever change, I think the only rational thing to do is to buy the cheapest watts that are well made. Talking about watts, if there is one thing that may change in your future, it is that you may move up the housing ladder and into something bigger (been there). Even a little bit bigger demands a lot more power in my experience. So that is where your future proofing should be.
All three share great energy efficiency, and that will also be important in future.
Concerning cost/performance (initial question)
Recently i was able to listen to some class D amps for several months
Hypex NC502MP
Hypex NC400 dual mono
Icepower 1200AS2
TPA3255 from 3e audio (stereo and dual mono)
TPA3255EVM
I must say subjective differences in my system with my ears are very small
Probably not able to pin point the different amps in a proper blind A and B test setup
Finally went for the TPA3255EVM, which i own already for some years
Also the cheapest one (during TI discount period)
Sold both Hypex and the Icepower
So, if you want performance/measurements - go for NC400, Purifi or Benchmark
If you go for cost take the Hypex NC502MP
All available at Audiophonics
Oh... and yes... i have not heard the Purify and the Benchmark
I must admit... would love to audition them (does not every audiophile wants to?)
Am i missing something ? Probably not...
System: Hqplayer > RME adi-2 dac > TPA3255EVM > Klipsch rp-8000f
Enjoy...