Even better- I did it with tubes!You've never baked cookies on a class A amp?
Even better- I did it with tubes!You've never baked cookies on a class A amp?
These "Alchemy" series amps from ELAC sound really nice. They are designed by Peter Madnick of the original Audio Alchemy. They use a Class A first stage and then a Class D second stage providing the power. This allows the amp to retain the sweetness of a class A design without the expense, heat, weight, etc. https://www.elac.com/series/alchemy-power/dpa-2/?r=us
Didn’t see what your budget was. They are configurable as stereo or mono blocks so you only need one.I mean sure if I had $4k to drop the on some monoblocks I’d try ‘em
I had the same issue when I had one of the 1502 - with the gains all the way up I could hear a gentle hiss from about 1-2 feet away from my Buchardt S400 (these are not efficient speakers) and PS Audio GCD. I used balanced connections (and no connections at all), through a power regenerator and still the same. If I turned down the gains to about 75% the hiss went away, but no other amp in my recent future had this issue, and it was not something was going to live with. There was plenty of power/volume with this combination but not an impressive experience. Having been a musician in my former life I knew better than to try to use what amounts to a PA amp for critical in-home listening, but I thought I'd give the Crown a try, due to all of the glowing reviews I'd read.So I’ve now lived with the Crown XLS 1502 for a while. I can’t tell if it’s just psychological or what but it doesn’t sound as crystal clear as my memory of the Vidar is. If I put my ear up to the speaker there is a slight hiss/hum which is reduced by lowering the gain. It is nearly eliminated by changing the input sensitivity to 1.4 and putting the gain at 12 o’clock. However if I do this I can turn my pream(Schiit Saga S) all the way up and barely hit 80db.
I have read that using the balanced inputs eliminates any hiss or hum. I have also heard that a high gain preamp is needed to provide enough headroom to keep the noise floor low.
So the question is now: what preamps pair best with an amp like this? Are there cheap, high gain, balanced preamps out there? I haven’t been able to find much.
I have a Chord Qutest, which has an adjustable output voltage of 1V, 2V and 3V, would that be enough to use the pass through option? If so, what benefit would that give?For its part, the Audiophonics one has a pass through option that could be used with a DAC with high voltage output.
Hi, I am afraid that Im not expert either. The Audiophonics site indicates that the amp would need 10 volts with the pass through setting. Most DACS can't provide this. The advantage, per Amir's measurements for the Purifi, would be a somewhat better SINAD level. However, I doubt that the difference would be audible, certainly not for me, and I expect that a properly built Purifi, or Hypex 400, would be very good even with 2 or 4 volt inputs from a DAC, which seem to be the typical levels. Welcome to ASR and good luck with this!I have a Chord Qutest, which has an adjustable output voltage of 1V, 2V and 3V, would that be enough to use the pass through option? If so, what benefit would that give?
(Sorry for my ignorance, its my first post and i'm relatively new to the site, i'm trying to read as much and as many posts as I can on ASR but the real technical data is still over my head)
I’m torn between these:
-DIY NC400 from diyassd
-Pre-assembled NC400 from audiophonics
-Ghent Icepower based GA-M500P
-Emotiva PA-1
-March Audio
...
Do not place the amplifier on the speakers due to vibration.
I’m torn between these:
-DIY NC400 from diyassd
-Pre-assembled NC400 from audiophonics
-Ghent Icepower based GA-M500P
-Emotiva PA-1
-Any others I don’t know about?
Currently using a Schiit Vidar to power X-LS Encores from GR Research. Looking to free up space in my main cabinet and having the amps close to or on top of the speakers. Also looking for something more efficient and cooler to run.
All other things being relatively equal I’m inclined to go with the Emotivas unless there’s something big to be gained by going up in price. I’ve only seen measurements of the NC400 so I don’t know how the Emotiva or Ghent would compare.
Looking for any info or suggestions.
D Sonic are built here and the owner is a good guy to talk with about your particular situation. Perhaps he would send one to Amir for testing?
https://www.d-sonic.com/
No, they don't. Highly misleading IMHO...Am I missing something, or does the site not specify what modules are used in their amps?