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[Gallium Nitride amplifier] Impressions of the Mini Gan 5 by Premium Audio, pictures / video inside

OP
daniboun

daniboun

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There are only two sorts of amplifiers: good amplifiers and bad amplifiers. Amplifiers that sound "good" are bad amplifiers, because good amplifiers have no "sound". Good amplifiers simply amplify the electronic signal, be it what it may. You therefore can't hear the amp, but only the music .... or voice, or birdsong, or movie, or whatever.

As such, what measure defines a good amp? I want numbers

Always, if you have ****** ears, it's useless to have a good amp lol ))))))))))))))
 

SIY

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Perhaps subjective evaluation....
Let's use the real words, not euphemism. No controls, peeking.

So such "evaluation" is worthless from the standpoint of sonic reality, but great for marketing and storytelling.
 

catluck

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There are only two sorts of amplifiers: good amplifiers and bad amplifiers. Amplifiers that sound "good" are bad amplifiers, because good amplifiers have no "sound". Good amplifiers simply amplify the electronic signal, be it what it may. You therefore can't hear the amp, but only the music .... or voice, or birdsong, or movie, or whatever.

Your comment and the list of amps you posted bring to mind a quote, supposedly attributed to Alan Parsons:

"Audiophiles don't use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment."

Jim
Jim
I take your point. However, "good" can mean transparent with low distortion, noise, etc. "Good" doesn't necessarily mean a colored spectrum or non-linear, etc. In fact, that's what I do mean by good. But, in any event, reliance on measurements alone doesn't always or necessarily yield the best sounding kit. If you disagree, I respect that. You'll make your purchasing decisions and I'll make mine. For myself, I've heard kit with apparently superior measurements and which sounded thin and/or lacking some aspect of musicality. Psychoacoustics is a complex and knotty consideration - ghost in the machine. Distortion spectra hit us all differently. Within the realm of "good" amplifiers, and I'm supposing you mean better measuring amps, there are many choices with different presentations. All one need do is listen to know the truth of this claim. However, over the years the contest between objectivists vs subjectivists has raged and continues on.... Again, I prefer the better measuring kit ceteris paribus.... But the importance/relevance of subjective evaluation seems to me inescapable... And, as I noted in my thread, what's to lose with a 15 trial period? Nothing but a learning experience.
 

DonR

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As such, what measure defines a good amp? I want numbers

Always, if you have ****** ears, it's useless to have a good amp lol ))))))))))))))
Have you had your hearing tested? Do you know what level of SINAD is audible to you? Do you know what range of FR is audible to you? How do you separate what you actually hear from what you think you hear i.e. your subconscious biases?
 

catluck

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I have had my hearing tested many times over the years. What level of SINAD is audible? Depends on all manner of variables - sleep, listening time, fatigue, etc. Separating what I actually hear from what I think I hear? If you "think" you hear something it may be logically indistinguishable from actually hearing it. But your comments, while theoretically valid, just don't inform my daily experience of listening. Do you know what level of SINAD is audible to you? At all times - under all conditions? It's a silly question to me. Amps are only "good" or "bad"? A bit reductive and simplistic perhaps (responding to another thread). What I see more than anything else here, in the responses, is a tendency to the objectivist desire to be right. A bit totalitarian in flavor. The bottom line - buy what you like. Doesn't matter a whit to me if I like a piece of gear that doesn't measure "up to" another piece whose presentation I find less engaging, i.e., musical, and for whatever reason. To deny the interplay of subjective appreciation with objective metrics is, I think, at best, uninformed.
 

fpitas

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Interestingly one subjective review says the amp is bright while the other says the bass is boosted. Both claim it is fatiguing.
When something is composed of its opposites, it has reached a Zen-like state of illumination. I bet the harmonic interconnectedness is through the roof!
 

DonR

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I have had my hearing tested many times over the years. What level os SINAD is audible? Depends on all manner of variables - sleep, listening time, fatigue, etc. Separating what I actually hear from what I think I hear? If you "think" you hear something it may be logically indistinguishable from actually hearing it. But your comments, while theoretically valid, just don't inform my daily experience of listening. Do you know what level of SINAC is audible to you? At all times? It's a silly question to me. Amps are only "good" or "bad"? A bit reductive and simplistic perhaps (responding to another thread). What I see more than anything else here, in the responses, is a tendency to the objectivist desire to be right. A bit totalitarian in flavor. The bottom line - buy what you like. Doesn't matter a whit to me if I like a piece of gear that doesn't measure "up to" another piece whose presentation I find less engaging and for whatever reason. To deny the interplay of subjective appreciation with objective metrics is, I think, at best, uninformed.
If that is your reasoning, any subjective comment you make on a piece of equipment can be dismissed as a useless observation since it is influenced by so many uncontrolled variables. One day you may find an amplifier fatiguing and the next day it lifts veils. The amplifier has not changed. That is why objective measurements and double-blind testing must take precedence. Thinking you are hearing something is not the same as actually hearing it because it is rarely repeatable as it is subject to ever-changing subconscious biases. Most people here have no issue with people buying whatever they like, they just need to make sure they are not being fooled by their own minds.
 

fpitas

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Ironically, GaN transistors are probably a good choice for class D. You can switch faster and have better efficiency. Whether the fidelity is better is somewhat doubtful...
 

catluck

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If that is your reasoning, any subjective comment you make on a piece of equipment can be dismissed as a useless observation since it is influenced by so many uncontrolled variables. One day you may find an amplifier fatiguing and the next day it lifts veils. The amplifier has not changed. That is why objective measurements and double-blind testing must take precedence. Thinking you are hearing something is not the same as actually hearing it because it is rarely repeatable as it is subject to ever-changing subconscious biases. Most people here have no issue with people buying whatever they like, they just need to make sure they are not being fooled by their own minds.
Your reasoning proves my point unless, of course, you are that special person who doesn't suffer from the very vagaries you describe, i.e., daily discontinuities in perception. Regardless of an amplifier's measurements we are all subject to individual and continuing discontinuities in perception. Moreover, and more importantly, the scenario you describe has rarely occurred in my life (fatiguing to lifting veils - wildly, IMO exaggerated scenario) albeit that may demonstrate the limited utility of blind testing as it seems to be that only over time and longer listening to various genres of music can we really form a "reliable" opinion of any kit's sound qualities. At best, we hope for a "mean" sound of gear. Not fooled by your own mind? Tell me the criteria which you employ to determine that you're not being fooled by your own mind? In any event, this is just a passionate hobby, the love of music. Yes, gear is fun and subject to all manner of assessment when determining musicality and purchasing decisions. For me, I choose to be ravished by the music I listen to and I don't give a shit if it comes from two mice spinning a wheel. And, again, this is not to say that with roughly equal sounding kit I'd likely choose the better measuring kit if only because I would expect it to demonstrate it's musicality more reliably over the long term. I respect and value the responses to my post but at this point it seems we're going in circles. I really do respect good engineering and objective pursuit but they aren't, for me, the final determinants when choosing gear. It's been fun. Over and out. Take care all.
 

Lattiboy

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Could we have one goddamn thread that doesn't re-tread the same arguments that I've been hearing for a decade? Oh, we cant? Because you are sure that next time you say "My 'golden ears' are objective measurements!" or "Beyond the audible threshold" the entirety of audiophilia is going to stand up and clap while carrying you off on their shoulders?
 

Lattiboy

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And yes, I know that on a bunch of other sites aimed at fools with too much money you have to hear about how some 75 year old guy is SURE that his $12,000 power cable "brought out the airy highs and increased dynamics" of his DAC when his ass can't hear past 8000Hz, but we don't have to be the dark twin of that!
 

fpitas

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Could we have one goddamn thread that doesn't re-tread the same arguments that I've been hearing for a decade? Oh, we cant? Because you are sure that next time you say "My 'golden ears' are objective measurements!" or "Beyond the audible threshold" the entirety of audiophilia is going to stand up and clap while carrying you off on their shoulders?
I'll state the obvious. Sometimes we have a troll problem. Yes, even on ASR.
 

DonR

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As long as people continue to post subjective impressions as meaningful, I will push back. OP says amp sounds "less harsh". What can one learn from that statement? How can we judge its usefulness if we don't know the limits of his hearing? His listening training? What was his mood at the time of listening as compared to times when he listened to "more harsh" amplifiers?
 

Lattiboy

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As long as people continue to post subjective impressions as meaningful, I will push back. OP says amp sounds "less harsh". What can one learn from that statement? How can we judge its usefulness if we don't know the limits of his hearing? His listening training? What was his mood at the time of listening as compared to times when he listened to "more harsh" amplifiers?

I read this in Data's voice from Star Trek.
 

sq225917

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I think we need a moratorium on subjective commentary beyond the use of versions of the following, " I liked how it sounded- more, less, just as much, not at all" everything else should be banned.
 

beren777

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As long as people continue to post subjective impressions as meaningful, I will push back. OP says amp sounds "less harsh". What can one learn from that statement? How can we judge its usefulness if we don't know the limits of his hearing? His listening training? What was his mood at the time of listening as compared to times when he listened to "more harsh" amplifiers?

Is there even a standard definition for what "harsh" is or how it is measured? Was it 1.22 catlucks more harsh than the other amp?
 

SIY

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Could we have one goddamn thread that doesn't re-tread the same arguments that I've been hearing for a decade?
More like 4-5 decades. Same bullshit excuses.

Controls take all the fun out of storytelling.
 
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