Peak Amplification AM-400C2G GAN amp module

[Audiovibes]

Innovations worthy of discussion in 2025 can be found in this new module. 95.8% efficiency. 375w X2 in a 75x35x25mm module without need of any heatsink. And the power supply is included on the board!

Technology

www.peakamplification.com

 

[antcollinet]

Reading the spec it sounds like only 2x200W with no heatsink.

375W must be BTL - which will mean only one channel per module - so two modules required for stereo. (See the words "scalable to")


But it does look interesting - depending on actual measured performance, price and reliability.

 

[Audiovibes]

But it says “Scalable to 375 W x 2 at 2 Ω without a heatsink”. If they meant by using more modules why stop at 2? They could say scalable to 375w x100 @ 2ohms.

 

[antcollinet]

But it says “Scalable to 375 W x 2 at 2 Ω without a heatsink”. If they meant by using more modules why stop at 2? They could say scalable to 375w x100 @ 2ohms.

Because most people don't need more than two channels.

It is there in the spec you quoted - 200W, no heatsink.

It doesn't claim no heatsink for 250W. Implication is that 375W needs a heatsink also - unless it also needs BTL -hence only one channel.


I'm happy to be proven wrong - but that's how I read it. Or by scalable, they mean they'll have a future product that can do 375W x 2.

 

[Audiovibes]

Because most people don't need more than two channels.

It is there in the spec you quoted - 200W, no heatsink.

It doesn't claim no heatsink for 250W. Implication is that 375W needs a heatsink also - unless it also needs BTL -hence only one channel.


I'm happy to be proven wrong - but that's how I read it.

They’re showing different specs at different power levels. At 200W output power into 4ohms it runs @ 80C. At 250W output power the efficiency is 95.8%. However it can also be scaled all the way up to 375W X2 without need of a heatsink. But the temp and efficiency figures aren’t provided for that use case.

The intended market for such a module will be active speakers, multichannel amps, AVR’s etc. As 2 channel passive speaker systems aren’t really benefiting much by shrinking the amp size. In fact most people running old fashioned passive speakers think bigger and heavier amps are better.

 

[antcollinet]

They’re showing different specs at different power levels. At 200W output power into 4ohms it runs @ 80C. At 250W output power the efficiency is 95.8%. However it can also be scaled all the way up to 375W X2 without need of a heatsink. But the temp and efficiency figures aren’t provided for that use case.

The intended market for such a module will be active speakers, multichannel amps, AVR’s etc. As 2 channel passive speaker systems aren’t really benefiting much by shrinking the amp size. In fact most people running old fashioned passive speakers think bigger and heavier amps are better.

So what power at BTL? Why do you think that is not the 375W?

 

[Bwaslo]

I believe ICEpower 200ASC modules did this (or close to: 200ish watts, no heat sink, power supply included) about 15 years ago?

 

[Audiovibes]

The demo platform appears to use a 100v variant of their 500W supply. So they’re not getting 375wx2 out of that demo platform. The efficiency of that supply is only 87%. Making the entire system no more efficient than many other offerings currently on the market:

 

[Audiovibes]

I believe ICEpower 200ASC modules did this (or close to: 200ish watts, no heat sink, power supply included) about 15 years ago?

Specs were likely not as good. Audio quality also plays a role. Not just efficiency.

But total system efficiency 79%

As far as size the Icepower was a single 200w channel and twice the size of the 375w x2 Peak module:

 

[Bwaslo]

Maybe. But they are still very good amps, I've been running them for about 20years, many of those years powered on continuously. No complaints of the sound at all, I can't tell them from UCD180s.

 

[Audiovibes]

If we compare to the Hypex 502MP, the supply is rated at 92% efficiency, and the amp section at 94% Yielding a total system efficiency of 86.48%

https://www.hypex.nl/media/ae/bf/93/1708610994/NC502MP_04xx_R13.pdf

And it’s a single board. Total size 230x115x 47mm. And this is getting you 500W X2 total.

If we compare the 252MP so the power output matches the Peak demo platform, the total system efficiency is 82.8%, and the footprint shrinks to 170x105x42mm:

https://www.hypex.nl/media/7f/85/fa/1708610358/NC252MP_04xx_R14.pdf

And a higher end NCx version of that is soon to be released:

Hypex NCx252MP amplifer module with power supply

The NCx252MP, a compact power dual-amplifier brick, represents the next generation of Class D amplification, incorporating our advanced NCOREx® technology.

www.hypex.nl

If we add the new Peak GAN module+ their 500w supply together total footprint size is 183x108x40.6mm. And total system efficiency is only 83.35%

Unless the audio specs are substantially better than the upcoming NCx252MP, we aren’t breaking much ground here using GAN.

 

[EERecordist]

Very interesting. The company in Taiwan responsible, https://www.elytone.com/ has some Power Over Ethernet and ATMOS/other surround decoders to AES. It would be fun to have Amir test a prototype and it would benefit the company to provide one to ASR.

I have always been interested in multichannel systems with Power Over Ethernet running the rear and overhead speakers.

 

[antcollinet]

like they made it sound.

Exactly - they are indulging in creative marketing - including (IMO) implying 375W x2 in one module.

 

[Audiovibes]

After seeing the full demo platform, it’s now clear what they were implying. As the demo platform only uses a 500w supply, more than 250w x2 is obviously not possible. However if used with a supply with enough wattage, a full 375w x2 is possible without a heatsink. They likely didn’t want to use their 1000w supply in the demo platform to keep the size smaller.

 

[antcollinet]

After seeing the full demo platform, it’s now clear what they were implying. As the demo platform only uses a 500w supply, more than 250w x2 is obviously not possible. However if used with a supply with enough wattage, a full 375w x2 is possible without a heatsink. They likely didn’t want to use their 1000w supply in the demo platform to keep the size smaller.

Well we'll have to wait for an actual data sheet or user manual to be certain - where they show us the 375W configuration.

 

[dlaloum]

Very interesting. The company in Taiwan responsible, https://www.elytone.com/ has some Power Over Ethernet and ATMOS/other surround decoders to AES. It would be fun to have Amir test a prototype and it would benefit the company to provide one to ASR.

I have always been interested in multichannel systems with Power Over Ethernet running the rear and overhead speakers.

Yes - there is potential for Dante based multichannel systems, with PoE powered amplifications allowing for a single cable connection - one CAT6a and you're good to go.

Trouble is, reliable operation of Dante across multiple differing vendors has always been a problem!

I wonder how many years it will take for something of the sort to become commonplace...

 

[dlaloum]

After seeing the full demo platform, it’s now clear what they were implying. As the demo platform only uses a 500w supply, more than 250w x2 is obviously not possible. However if used with a supply with enough wattage, a full 375w x2 is possible without a heatsink. They likely didn’t want to use their 1000w supply in the demo platform to keep the size smaller.

Amp small, power supply big..... well if you look at Class AB amps of the last 50 years... that is the common situation across the board.... It appears that even with switching technology both in the PSU and in the amp (class D) you end up with the same quandary!

On the other hand kg for kg and volume for volume you are getting a heck of a lot more (watts, amps)

 

[Audiovibes]

Yes - there is potential for Dante based multichannel systems, with PoE powered amplifications allowing for a single cable connection - one CAT6a and you're good to go.

Trouble is, reliable operation of Dante across multiple differing vendors has always been a problem!

I wonder how many years it will take for something of the sort to become commonplace...

Dante pretty much dominates the consumer audio over IP space now. Any other AES67 compliant players out there that one would use for consumer audio purposes such as Ravenna are quite reliable interoperating with Dante these days using AES67 compatibility mode.

However this is off-topic for this amp module discussion.

 

[Audiovibes]

Amp small, power supply big..... well if you look at Class AB amps of the last 50 years... that is the common situation across the board.... It appears that even with switching technology both in the PSU and in the amp (class D) you end up with the same quandary!

On the other hand kg for kg and volume for volume you are getting a heck of a lot more (watts, amps)

The GAN really needs to be utilized in the power supplies to bring any real world benefit to the industry. The silicon based amp modules already existing are small enough, efficient enough and perform just as good or better. The only drawback is more specialized knowledge is required to squeeze the highest performance out of the silicon based modules. But luckily we have companies like Hypex and Purifi who have figured that out already.

 

[Sokel]

Do they mean no extra heatshink or no heatshink at all?

Cause even at 90% efficiency there will be some 30-40W of heat that need to go somewhere for 375W delivery (not counting the PSU looses) .
Something is amiss here.