New Orchard Class D amp

[Vhond]

What are your expectations about the new Orchard Class D amp: The new Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium 500 Watt?

Starkrimson® Ultra Specs - Orchard Audio

Specifications and test results for our award-wining, state-of-the-art, Starkrimson Ultra 500W GaN audio power amplifers.

orchardaudio.com

 

[USER]

Does it have that giant, ugly logo on it as well? I don't understand why they sabotage their business that way.

 

[JustJones]

You mean the tree? Yeah looks like it does but it's on top. $2150 for 1 mono block.

 

[WillBrink]

You mean the tree? Yeah looks like it does but it's on top. $2150 for 1 mono block.


View attachment 382612

That would not prevent me from purchasing that amp at all personally. It's tastefully done, albeit could be a tad smaller.

 

[kemmler3D]

Not what I'd call a great (or terrible) value per channel-watt but I do agree the logo isn't ugly.

 

[Vhond]

No comments on the technical quality, thought this was a forum with a scientific approach?

 

[Norcal]

Maybe people didn't catch that there are measurements in the link...

 

[Jon L]

You mean the tree? Yeah looks like it does but it's on top. $2150 for 1 mono block.

That would be the Preorder price, after which $2500/each, $5000/2-channels.

The very first sentence of Orchard's product description kind of turns me off though:

"The Starkrimson® Mono Ultra Premium amplifier is not just an amplifier; it’s an embodiment of sonic perfection."

 

[antcollinet]

Not remotely interested. I’d rather get the known quantity of Hypex or Purify amplification at around 1/3rd the price of this almost unknown interloper.

 

[mhardy6647]

Not remotely interested. I’d rather get the known quantity of Hypex or Purify amplification at around 1/3rd the price of this almost unknown interloper.

Totally. I have become a Hypex fan -- and I haven't even encountered one of their Class D amplifiers yet!
Just one of their (kit-built) preamps.



PS The only salient thing that the two components shown above have in common (other than being interconnected via an out-of-frame switchbox) is that both sport luridly bright displays.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I like the looks actually. I do think it might be good to put the inputs and outputs on a side so it could be stood up like a book. Then the Orchard logo would look nice. Performance looks quite good. Price is a little high I think. I think some people will want this.

 

[gwing]

Seems to be claiming it is class A not D on your product page. Which is it?

 

[Matias]

What are your expectations about the new Orchard Class D amp: The new Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium 500 Watt?

Starkrimson® Ultra Specs - Orchard Audio

Specifications and test results for our award-wining, state-of-the-art, Starkrimson Ultra 500W GaN audio power amplifers.

orchardaudio.com

What's new about the Ultra? AFAIK it was announced 3 years ago. Am I missing something?

Original thread:

Starkrimson® Ultra Amplifier Modules -- 250/500W into 8/4ohm

I am proud to introduce these audio power amplifier mono modules that are capable of 250/500W into 8/4ohm loads. The modules can be preordered here: (preorder pricing ends May 31st): https://orchardaudio.com/shop/ols/products/strk-ltr-mdl Features: Fully balanced from input to output (w/...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[restorer-john]

Another US manufacturer who needs to rapidly change his advertised (inflated) power output specifications to be compliant. Cherry picking numbers to appear SOTA is finished. The 500W headline figure is gone and all the other power figures are relegated to lower prominence additional specifications.

The 60 days after listing in the Federal Register is almost up. 17 days to go @orchardaudio...

Something more like this (taken from your AP plots):

Power output and Distortion:

With 4 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 300W continuous average power, no more than 0.004% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.
With 8 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 160W continuous average power, no more than 0.006% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.

Thing is, you've only tested from 100Hz to 6.67kHz and we know what happens at high frequencies (up to 20kHz) and at the low end...

 

[orchardaudio]

Another US manufacturer who needs to rapidly change his advertised (inflated) power output specifications to be compliant. Cherry picking numbers to appear SOTA is finished. The 500W headline figure is gone and all the other power figures are relegated to lower prominence additional specifications.

The 60 days after listing in the Federal Register is almost up. 17 days to go @orchardaudio...

Something more like this (taken from your AP plots):

Power output and Distortion:

With 4 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 300W continuous average power, no more than 0.004% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.
With 8 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 160W continuous average power, no more than 0.006% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.

Thing is, you've only tested from 100Hz to 6.67kHz and we know what happens at high frequencies (up to 20kHz) and at the low end...




View attachment 383070

The exact wording you want may not be there, but all the data is.

So it comes out to be this:
With 4 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 500W continuous average power, no more than 0.08% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.
With 8 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 250W continuous average power, no more than 0.016% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.

 

[orchardaudio]

The exact wording you want may not be there, but all the data is.

So it comes out to be this:
With 4 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 500W continuous average power, no more than 0.08% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.
With 8 ohm loads, from 20Hz-20kHz, rated 250W continuous average power, no more than 0.016% total harmonic distortion plus noise, from 250mW to rated output.

P.S. All my measurements have been verified by @SIY at AudioXpress. You may find his articles on the AudioXpress website/magazine.

 

[restorer-john]

The exact wording you want may not be there, but all the data is

It's not what "I" want- it's what is required if you want to continue advertising your amplifiers as having any power rating above 2W. It's not optional.

And no, all the data is not all there and you know it. You are still cherry picking (example: excluding noise in THD figures is non-compliant with the Rule) and now defending the practice.

P.S. All my measurements have been verified by @SIY at AudioXpress.

It doesn't matter what you or he "tests" or "verifies". You must advertise and rate your amplifiers in accordance with Federal laws which have now been beefed up and clarified to prevent the ongong deceptive conduct by numerous manufacturers. You can be better than your advertised specifications- they are a minimum. Get a copy of the rule, read it and understand it. Implement it. It will be interesting to see the compliance action orders the FTC makes to companies who continue to flout the regulations going forward.

 

[orchardaudio]

It's not what "I" want- it's what is required if you want to continue advertising your amplifiers as having any power rating above 2W. It's not optional.

And no, all the data is not all there and you know it. You are still cherry picking (example: excluding noise in THD figures is non-compliant with the Rule) and now defending the practice.



It doesn't matter what you or he "tests" or "verifies". You must advertise and rate your amplifiers in accordance with Federal laws which have now been beefed up and clarified to prevent the ongong deceptive conduct by numerous manufacturers. You can be better than your advertised specifications- they are a minimum. Get a copy of the rule, read it and understand it. Implement it. It will be interesting to see the compliance action orders the FTC makes to companies who continue to flout the regulations going forward.

For the THD numbers you are correct to exclude noise, but that particular measurement is heavily driven by the distortion, not by the noise. Noise is orders of magnitude less than the distortion. I will update the website to have the statement posted above once I verify it, thanks for bringing it to my attention. But the power numbers will not be changed.

Are you putting the same scrutiny on other manufacturers? You seem to have cherry-picked me. There are many manufacturers out there that don't post any measurements...

 

[antcollinet]

It will be interesting to see the compliance action orders the FTC makes to companies who continue to flout the regulations going forward.

I'm not holding my breath in the short to medium term.

 

[restorer-john]

For the THD numbers you are correct to exclude noise, but that particular measurement is heavily driven by the distortion, not by the noise. Noise is orders of magnitude less than the distortion. I will update the website to have the statement posted above once I verify it, thanks for bringing it to my attention. But the power numbers will not be changed.

Are you putting the same scrutiny on other manufacturers? You seem to have cherry-picked me. There are many manufacturers out there that don't post any measurements...

You can keep all your current specifications as optional disclosures, but they must be clearly marked as not tested under the FTC standard. See below:

It is the headline specifications you must add which are the requirement of the Rule. They are not optional and must be prominent right down to the size/bolding of the fonts.

Your 500W headline figure is non-compliant:

The FTC standard test conditions may enable you to potentially claim even greater power than you already do, but it must be across the entire bandwidth (20-20k) from 250mW to full rated power as the threshold is 1% THD+N for a minimum of 5 minutes continuous sine wave.

You no doubt produce some awesome products and are a very talented amplifier designer. That doesn't mean you can continue to thumb your nose at compliant advertising, especially as it has now been set in stone (again) with even more clarification than ever before. It's a long time coming and consumers will be better served by manufacturers and importers taking this seriously.