Best amplifiers at each price bracket?

[F1308]

I think perhaps it should be taken into account the fact that while performance is somewhat fixed [assuming a standard production that makes a given product the very same regardless of its serial number ], prices are not. Be it time passing by or many other things...
In a nutshell: a 3000$ brand new amplifier could very well be found for 2000$ or even less.
Announced for 2999$, a Benchmark AHB2 demonstration unit is at my home after paying 1899$, shipping, taxes and everything included, almost 37% cheaper.
While should I go for the top ones...?
I have no money to spend twice: for the cheap unit that will have to be replaced, perhaps, as one never knows; and for the second one, the one I didn't buy first to save money, the one that will finally deliver what I was expecting.

 

[simplywyn]

I think perhaps it should be taken into account the fact that while performance is somewhat fixed [assuming a standard production that makes a given product the very same regardless of its serial number ], prices are not. Be it time passing by or many other things...
In a nutshell: a 3000$ brand new amplifier could very well be found for 2000$ or even less.
Announced for 2999$, a Benchmark AHB2 demonstration unit is at my home after paying 1899$, shipping, taxes and everything included, almost 37% cheaper.
While should I go for the top ones...?
I have no money to spend twice: for the cheap unit that will have to be replaced, perhaps, as one never knows; and for the second one, the one I didn't buy first to save money, the one that will finally give what was expected.

I'm trying to find this out for myself to be honest. I dont' want to buy 5x amplifiers at 450, 500, 1000, then 1500 to find that the 2500 one is perfect for me. Then I would've spent over 5000 dollars (plus the time trying to sell them and taking a loss) when I could've spent 2500 day one, gotten the best and forgot about this subject.

 

[F1308]

I'm trying to find this out for myself to be honest. I dont' want to buy 5x amplifiers at 450, 500, 1000, then 1500 to find that the 2500 one is perfect for me. Then I would've spent over 5000 dollars (plus the time trying to sell them and taking a loss) when I could've spent 2500 day one, gotten the best and forgot about this subject.

Good luck...
I did it by contacting some dealers just by email, asking them to kindly let me know of any discounts in that amplifier; no time frame was requiered...It just took a couple of hours to get the first offer, which I accepted very willingly.

 

[Karu]

I would first answer the power question - how much do you need: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/how-much-amplifier-power-is-required.10781/

Then what is the SINAD you can live with - both how sensitive are your speakers, and psychologically what is the gap to the best available you can live with without the pressure to upgrade.

Then, as in the another thread today, if you don’t have very sensitive speakers, just need the power amp, and the power is enough for your use case, there is no reason not to go with the A800.

If you need more power, go up the Hypex/Purify ladder until you get the power you need. Then find the builder that matches your other supplementary preferences.

 

[F1308]

I think perhaps the very first thing to be made clear is the minimum value a given measured parameter is to have so as to comply outwards of the human envelope, not within the boundaries. If within the envelope, it will be unsuitable.
If science says my hearing could range from 12 to 28000 hz and both, my chest and sking feeling from 5 to 35000 Hz, there is no need to pay for more...but a report saying a product goes from 40 to 15000 will make it clear the performance is to be considered an underachievement. Pay for that if you wish, but it is not complying...and you know it.
Is an 800 HP engine required if I am to get to church on Sunday...? No, it is not. But 500 will grant you a nice trip.
Do I need those ceramic brakes to go shopping...? Surely not, but they will last till you die.
Do I need to wait for a 9999 signal to noise ratio...? I don't know...no idea of the value required... just know 100 is better that 60.
Channel separation should be 200 dB or 125 is enough? 80 will do?
Do I need less than 1.9 seconds to make 0/60 to get to school...? Surely not...
So firstly I need a list of data to be measured and then ideally three values: maximum achieved so far, minimum required, measured.
Then add price...

 

[RayDunzl]

We on the other hand compress the absolute crap out of the video and use really smart tricks to reduce the image quality as much as possible.

Really.

 

[Objectivist01]

What's Best to one person is not necessarily best to another, in all cases, in all domains, to which I have been exposed.

I do appreciate "Good Enough", and in a pinch, "Better Than Nothing".

Objectively according to what we strive at this forum, it’s less of personal preferences but more of accuracy that’s universal to all people who believe in measurement. So what’s best to one person (objectively accurate) here would be a solid recommendation to all others

 

[simplywyn]

Really.

Image quality is optimized to minimum human perception for bandwidth issues ultimately.

we even look at limits of display port, where we need to do some kind of compression so you optimize speed

 

[Todd74]

So then will the VTV NC252MP be what the doctor ordered for my 4ohm Dynaudio Excite X18 bookshelfs?

 

[Eetu]

So then will the VTV NC252MP be what the doctor ordered for my 4ohm Dynaudio Excite X18 bookshelfs?

Yes! The Ear review stated that Dynaudio used a 140W/8 Ohms, 280W/4 Ohms T+A amp during a demo. The reviewer drove it with a Pass Labs 60W (4 ohms) amp with no problems apparently. So the NC252MP should be great.

 

[samsa]

So then will the VTV NC252MP be what the doctor ordered for my 4ohm Dynaudio Excite X18 bookshelfs?

There are various Hypex nCore NC252MP based amps on the list. Whether you order from VTV or Audiophonics or March Audio or Nord or ... depends on how you feel about the build quality, what the shipping costs are to your location etc.

Do some research. There was a ... lively ... discussion of the built quality of the VTV amps in the discussion thread following @amirm's review.

 

[Eetu]

@samsa is right. I had only read the first page with mostly positive comments, but @Todd74 make sure to read the whole thread. Up to you how much a near-perfect implementation / build quality is worth. Shipping costs/taxes of course to be considered as well. Power/module-wise the NC252MP is a good choice.

 

[Colonel7]

I'm curious if people can really hear the difference. I mean the question was always do you hear a difference, and the answer is always SINAD this SINAD that, noise ratio, FFT graphs!

I've never really gotten a straight answer to that question from anyone. It seems to me everyone just like spending money on getting stats, and not really real world testing.

Have you checked out this post and thread? It's worth the time. While it's not the be all and end all it gives some nice boundaries to start at. https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-thresholds-of-amp-and-dac-measurements.5734/

 

[CDMC]

So then will the VTV NC252MP be what the doctor ordered for my 4ohm Dynaudio Excite X18 bookshelfs?

It works well with my X12s. That said a NC252 should work well in 95% or more of applications. Unless your room is very large, your speakers very inefficient, you listen very loud, and/or your speakers have a wonky load, it should be enough power. With 85 db efficient speakers listening from 12 feet, it will drive them to about 101db before clipping, which is quiet loud.

 

[Matias]

While I agree that the NC252MP works for 95% of the cases, the NC502MP works for 99% and costs only a little more. Both measure very very well. That is why I ended up buying an NC502MP based amp recently.

Nord has them for +100 pounds difference.
https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/nord-one-hypex-ncore-mpxxx-stereo-p

 

[Bear123]

Thanks for all those who helped - if we can put links and price in USD I can compile a good list with everyone's help.

Monolith Monoprice 2/3/5/7 channel ; these amps only require 1.43 volts to achieve full rated power, allowing budget AVR's like the Denon X3500 to provide a SINAD of -95 dB from pre-outs
measurements: https://www.audioholics.com/amplifier-reviews/monoprice-monolith-7-channel-amplifier-review
-5 channel $1299 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15593
-3 channel $1099 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15594
-2 channel $999 https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=15595
Really for a couple hundred bucks would be silly to not just get all 5 channels, even if not currently used.

Nord Hypex NC500 for 2/3 channel:
-3 channel $1800 shipped to USA with 12v trigger: https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-nc500dm-mkii-3ch
-2 channel $1385 shipped to USA with 12v trigger: https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/product-page/nord-one-nc500dmst

 

[CDMC]

While I agree that the NC252MP works for 95% of the cases, the NC502MP works for 99% and costs only a little more. Both measure very very well. That is why I ended up buying an NC502MP based amp recently.

Nord has them for +100 pounds difference.
https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/nord-one-hypex-ncore-mpxxx-stereo-p

Absolutely agree. In my case, for my desktop, I will never need more than the 252mp. For someone on a tight budget, the $100, pounds, or Euros could represent a significant difference, but if not, well worth the extra money for 3db more headroom.

 

[CDMC]

We are remiss if we don't include Emotiva:

PA-1 140/300w into 8/4 ohms. Class D Mono (Icepower). $299 each- https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/pa-1

XPA-2 300/550w into 8/4 ohms. Class H (Class A/AB with variable supply rails). $999 for the two channel https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/pa-1

XPA-DR2 550/800w into 8/4 ohms. Class H, full differential. $1599 for the two channel. https://emotiva.com/collections/amps/products/xpa-dr2

Kind of funny, but this is pretty much how the goodsound for cheap FAQ started on usenet, which ultimately became goodsound.com and then got folded into soundstage. A bunch of us on rec.audio.misc decided to put together a FAQ.

http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/sub/usenet/gsfc.txt

If somebody is ambitious, it would probably be great for the world if a new one was done.

 

[Todd74]

While I agree that the NC252MP works for 95% of the cases, the NC502MP works for 99% and costs only a little more. Both measure very very well. That is why I ended up buying an NC502MP based amp recently.

Nord has them for +100 pounds difference.
https://www.nordacoustics.co.uk/nord-one-hypex-ncore-mpxxx-stereo-p

So the VTV NC502 over a pair of Outlaw monoblocks or a used Parasound Halo A23 for $700?... or Parasound 2125 for $600?


Has anyone reviewed the OSD XA 5180 5x125 amp for $599? Class H amp. Seems like competition for the Outlaw 5000.
https://www.outdoorspeakerdepot.com.../200w-5-channel-class-h-stereo-amplifier.html

....or this Avontone Pro CLA-200 Studio Pro? 200x2 AB amp. 30 lbs.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CLA200--avantone-pro-cla-200-studio-reference-amplifier

 

[Wes]

This is the wrong THREAD to debate Class D designs and their warts - please repost your question in your own thread.