Finally decided to pull the trigger on a new stereo amplifier, and this time to go for one of the modern switching amplifiers which are getting such positive reviews.
This will be driven from a miniDSP SHD, and will drive a pair of Magico A3 loudspeakers. These aren't exactly easy speakers to drive, but practically speaking, I doubt I will need anywhere near the amount of power some of the latest creations can pump out. Especially since I don't typically listen at high volume.
I'm trying to keep this decision as reasonable as possible. So one one side there's performance - this seems to be practically transparent and therefore indistinguishable (on paper at least) between the different options. On the other side is the price. Looks has some weight in this decision, but I can't say its too important. Most of these look like a black box anyway
After some though, I'm currently leaning towards an NCx500 based option, with my 2 top contenders being Apollon NCx500ST and Audiophonics LPA-S600NCX. On paper pretty similar. The lack of trigger isn't too relevant for me, the gain adjustment via external switch neither vs internal switch, not much of an issue either.
The Apollon was recently reviewed here, so the performance I will be getting is known. The Audiophonics should perform basically the same, but since I haven't found any measurement data, its not guaranteed. On the other hand, its about 20% cheaper (not a deal breaker, but a bonus no doubt). So currently its some peace of mind regarding performance, vs a cost.
Seeing as my mind isn't made yet, I would appreciate any relevant inputs you might have based on your experience. For instance, is there anything else that is different between the units and I should consider? Is there any reason to prefer one company over the other in terms of service/support in case of need? Anything else I might need to consider in this situation?
This will be driven from a miniDSP SHD, and will drive a pair of Magico A3 loudspeakers. These aren't exactly easy speakers to drive, but practically speaking, I doubt I will need anywhere near the amount of power some of the latest creations can pump out. Especially since I don't typically listen at high volume.
I'm trying to keep this decision as reasonable as possible. So one one side there's performance - this seems to be practically transparent and therefore indistinguishable (on paper at least) between the different options. On the other side is the price. Looks has some weight in this decision, but I can't say its too important. Most of these look like a black box anyway
After some though, I'm currently leaning towards an NCx500 based option, with my 2 top contenders being Apollon NCx500ST and Audiophonics LPA-S600NCX. On paper pretty similar. The lack of trigger isn't too relevant for me, the gain adjustment via external switch neither vs internal switch, not much of an issue either.
The Apollon was recently reviewed here, so the performance I will be getting is known. The Audiophonics should perform basically the same, but since I haven't found any measurement data, its not guaranteed. On the other hand, its about 20% cheaper (not a deal breaker, but a bonus no doubt). So currently its some peace of mind regarding performance, vs a cost.
Seeing as my mind isn't made yet, I would appreciate any relevant inputs you might have based on your experience. For instance, is there anything else that is different between the units and I should consider? Is there any reason to prefer one company over the other in terms of service/support in case of need? Anything else I might need to consider in this situation?
