Buckeye Purifi Eigentakt 1ET9040BA monoblock power amplifier Stereophile Measurements

[Julf]

From the vendors themselves ... North America is a much larger customer base (i.e. volume wise) than other continents, at least as far as audio is concerned.

Which vendors? Can you post the actual numbers?

 

[David_M]

According to Crowns on-line calculator, one gets 85 dB SPL with 20 dB headroom at 2,5 meters listening distance with 2x50W (at 8 ohm) amplifier and 8 ohm speakers with 88 dB/1W/1m sensitivity (assuming typical 3dB room gain and normal stereo two speaker set up).

Imho, this is easily enough for any sane person in home audio set up. Speakers with 88 dB sensitivity are nothing special, and someone who is after high SPL is hardly using small low sensitivity bookshelf speakers anyway.

Sure, for insanely high volumes, big spaces and long listening distances, the the power requirement raises logarithmically i.e. very sharply, but I'm quite confident that most of us don't have to worry about that.

The average listening level is less than 100W as someone intimated ... but you don't buy kW amps just because you want to play things loud. Its for those moments when high dynamic range recordings produce peaks that require much higher power, 10:1 ratio is typical for a brief second or so, if they are to be played effortlessly.

 

[David_M]

Which vendors? Can you post the actual numbers?

No. Private emails from vendors themselves. Not numbers, just % of volumes sold. This is becoming a weird and useless argument unfortunately. If you can't even imagine or accept the blatant fact that NA is the greatest consumer of all things tech (China is not far behind), then I have nothing else I'm interested to talk to you about. Peace out my brother!

 

[Sokel]

Not sure why you posted this population chart ...so by your reasoning, Africans at 1.5Billion buy more audio, video, all things tech than North Americans...simply because of their large population!?! Forget nation GDP, standards of living, World Status etc ... population is it, right?

It was about Europe's and US's population difference by 100 million.Now consider that most (class D) vendors are in Europe and around and of course that the modules themselves are made by European companies and...

 

[JiiPee]

The average listening level is less than 100W as someone intimated ... but you don't buy kW amps just because you want to play things loud. Its for those moments when high dynamic range recordings produce peaks that require much higher power, 10:1 ratio is typical for a brief second or so, if they are to be played effortlessly.

That 20dB headroom I mentioned is traditionally seen as big enough to handle peaks.

 

[Julf]

No. Private emails from vendors themselves. Not numbers, just % of volumes sold. This is becoming a weird and useless argument unfortunately. If you can't even imagine or accept the blatant fact that NA is the greatest consumer of all things tech (China is not far behind), then I have nothing else I'm interested to talk to you about. Peace out my brother!

Ah, so "I have inside information". Sure, US and China are greatest consumers of tech stuff in general, but that is not what we are talking about.

 

[David_M]

The US vendors?
Or all vendors?

Good/valid question...btw, I'm limiting my response to the Purifi/NCore based DIY Class D amps we are discussing here. I read March Audio's (Australia) largest market is the US. Ditto for Buckeye Amps but he can speak for himself.

 

[David_M]

It was about Europe's and US's population difference by 100 million.Now consider that most (class D) vendors are in Europe and around and of course that the modules themselves are made by European companies and...

Yes/true. Most are made by EUROPEAN vendors for sure... but most are bought by NA customers. See how that works?

 

[Julf]

The average listening level is less than 100W as someone intimated ... but you don't buy kW amps just because you want to play things loud. Its for those moments when high dynamic range recordings produce peaks that require much higher power, 10:1 ratio is typical for a brief second or so, if they are to be played effortlessly.

"A brief second or so", so short-term peak power. Except that 10:1 ratio is pretty old information. I suggest you look at average-to-peak ratio of most music published today. As media (both digital and analog) have actual limits on the maximum amplitude, and producers/ recording engineers want to optimize signal to noise ratio, the ratio of average level to maximum peak is surprisingly small these days.

 

[Haskil]

The average listening level is less than 100W, as someone suggested...but you don't buy kW amps just because you want to play loud. This is for times when high dynamic range recordings produce peaks that require much higher power, a 10:1 ratio is typical for a brief second or two, if they are to be played effortlessly.

"A brief second or so", so short-term peak power. Except that 10:1 ratio is pretty old information. I suggest you look at average-to-peak ratio of most music published today. As media (both digital and analog) have actual limits on the maximum amplitude, and producers/ recording engineers want to optimize signal to noise ratio, the ratio of average level to maximum peak is surprisingly small these days.

And even to reproduce transients whose duration is so tiny that we do not hear them as an increase in the listening level but they are necessary to reproduce the timbre of an instrument which is defined by its attack and the pars harmonics...

So a powerful amplifier should never be neglected, especially in an era where high-quality watts no longer cost as much as they did until the mid-1970s when an amp of 100 watts per channel was already a curious beast...
Nowadays, it is especially necessary for the amplifier to be unconditionally stable in the face of the complex load represented by an acoustic enclosure because these days the impedance modules are worthy of a roller coaster...

The good amp must fill the power cubes with impedances from 2 ohms and not flinch when the load is reactive and capacitive...

And the good speaker must be able to accept dynamic impulses that are perfectly audible as an increase in sound level... luckily, modern speakers have voice coils that are more heat resistant than many vintage speakers. ..

 

[Sokel]

That 20dB headroom I mentioned is traditionally seen as big enough to handle peaks.

If RC,EQ,etc is at play too you can safely subtract 6dB or more.

 

[Sokel]

Yes/true. Most are made by EUROPEAN vendors for sure... but most are bought by NA customers. See how that works?

I will see how that works when I see some numbers published by a credible source.
As everything else at ASR:

 

[muslhead]

View attachment 419048

???

He's likely referring to SAM not TAM

 

[EJ3]

"A brief second or so", so short-term peak power. Except that 10:1 ratio is pretty old information. I suggest you look at average-to-peak ratio of most music published today. As media (both digital and analog) have actual limits on the maximum amplitude, and producers/ recording engineers want to optimize signal to noise ratio, the ratio of average level to maximum peak is surprisingly small these days.

Maybe for music you listen to: Certainly not for the music I listen to.
Room size: (my mother's home was designed & built by family & friends, the rooms ceilings range from 3-4 meters high, likely a touch + than average).
I know that the rooms are bigger than the average room In Salzburg, Austria, where I was born.
I have a pair of 60 watt NAD 2100's as a stereo pair they do OK with 8 ohm speakers with 84 dB/1W/1m sensitivity in the master bedroom and the den, at my mother's house.
But the 6 dB Headroom makes these 'Low Wattage' amps viable.
NAD 2100
Continuous Output Power (into 8 Ω) : 60 W (17 dBW)
Rated Distortion (THD 20Hz - 20kHz): 0,03%
Clipping Power (maximum continuous power per channel): 70 W
IHF Dynamic Headroom (at 8 Ω): +6dB
IHF Dynamic Power (maximum short term power per channel)
8 Ω : 200 W (23 dBW)
4 Ω : 250 W (24 dBW)
For the living room, with 6 ohm speakers with 83 dB/1W/1m sensitivity, a lot more power is needed, with 3 NAD 2200's in use (2 bridged mono, one for each channel & one running @4 Ohm's stereo for the pair of subwoofers (96 dB/1W/m sensitivity [20-80 Hz].
2200's (100 watt amplifier) specs similarly (with a test of one of mine here showing):

NAD 2200 Vintage Amplifier Review​

 

[Julf]

Maybe for music you listen to: Certainly not for the music I listen to.

I have no idea what you listen to, but can you post the dynamic range plot (or just summary of average and peak)?

 

[Old_School_Brad]

This is "Flames" by David Guetta and Sia. A mainstream pop/EDM track. I was sitting about 3 meters from the speakers. Using the NIOSH app on an iPhone 11 Pro, I recorded a peak SPL of 86 dB (C-weighted) and an average SPL of 67 dB (A-weighted).

Spoiler: Measurement

This is "Laptovenmeri" by Pan Sonic. I recorded a peak SPL of 96 dB (C-weighted) and an average SPL of 63 dB (A-weighted).

Spoiler: Measurement

 

[Julf]

I recorded a peak SPL of 96 dB (C-weighted) and an average SPL of 63 dB (A-weighted).

You can't compare measurements done with different weight curves. For typical C-weight tends to show much higher values than A.

 

[pma]

I have no idea what you listen to, but can you post the dynamic range plot (or just summary of average and peak)?

I can do it for you, if you do not mind. Dvorak, From the New World symphony, movement 2.
It is impossible to generalize about peak to average ratio in music, It depends, strongly depends on what you listen to. Same applies to sufficient amplifier power.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

You can't compare measurements done with different weight curves. For typical C-weight tends to show much higher values than A.

The point is that you can listen to something that doesn’t seem very loud, yet it could still require significantly more power to handle the transients effectively.

 

[EJ3]

I have no idea what you listen to, but can you post the dynamic range plot (or just summary of average and peak)?

No, I can't. I am not computer literate enough to do so, I don't stream. I use analog sources (Reel to Reel, cassette decks, Turntables, CD, DVD, Blu Ray & 4K.
My system does not have either a computer or TV (although there is a 32" monitor for my videos). It is not hooked to the internet in anyway & is not in the same room as my communications desktop that I am on now.
While I know what information that you are talking about, I have no idea of how to go about getting that information.
I do know that if music/singing doesn't have great level changes (dynamic range 12 or above according to some computer internet site that I have seen), I am probably not listening to it. Unless it is some of my 78's from the 1920's.
I do not do general social media with either my computer or my phone. (I would have to stand on my deck within a 1/3 meter zone to have a phone conversation or I loose the signal. (It keeps conversations short & sweet). And I don't get a decent enough signal where I live to do any of those things, anyway.
I can literally fish of my deck & I see many kayakers a day & ZERO cars other than my own unless I leave my place to go somewhere.
Grocery shopping is about a 50 kilometer drive each way.
(Population: 140 people per square kilometer) and slowly going up. Another few years & it might be time to move further out.