restorer-john
Grand Contributor
AHB2 has a switch-mode power supply tho.
A very high quality SMPS too.
AHB2 has a switch-mode power supply tho.
I buy this over the LA90 every day . it has more power ( the most important spec of a power amplifier ) and seems more robust and serviceable .Agree, as far as Class A/B goes, this puts another good option on the table. You have Topping's LA90s with cleaner audio but only 60w. Then you have this, which will probably be transparent for any realistic listening scenario, with more than 2x the power at the same price. I see it as a good addition to a slate of good options, if you are into Class AB.
Far too many people on this forum are getting way too hung up on SINAD. On any amp measured that exceeds the 'double zeros' vs the 'double zero' amp, yr not gonna hear a damn bit of difference (provided that yr not a bat or a dog.)
Yes agree... simply saying class AB is always more reliable is a misnomer and much too general.Class AB reliability huh... This reminded me that Swan M200 and M50W were well known for their capacitors dying left right center, yet the comparable products from their competitor Edifier using SMPS and class D didn't have issues
If two devices are audibly transparent but one is much more so than the other, what difference does it make? It is like drowning if you can't swim and the shore is too far. It doesn't matter if the water is just 3m deep or 1000m, you will drown anyway. Other factors like price, built quality, materials, design, functionality, features, etc, weigh then much more. At least to me and I would say to any sensible personAt the risk of repeating myself, ASR is a barometer of performance and if Amir takes time to test it is precisely because commas count here. If you are convinced otherwise then it is better to trust the dythirambic poetry of audiophile sites like Stereophile or others which argue without evidence
Will do. Thanks. I was not aware of this topic on ASR.We've been over this many times in the past with plenty of members weighing into various threads. No need to dredge it all up again- use the forum search.
Extrapolating it to 26db gain,let's say another 2db down?With 19 dB of gain the LA90D still has around 117 dB of SINAD, around 29 dB better than the Vidar 2:
View attachment 367113
Deleted. Apologies in advance to the mods.all this discussions on this forums following every product from China and The United States... it gives off a rather nationalistic vibe.
It has been a very long time since I heard an amplifier with a significant second harmonic (it was even higher than the Vidar's). What I do remember is that it sounded "sweet". Some people like that sound, some people don't.single H2 will be heavily masked with music
Here the H2 is at around -90db.Klippel test's best result is at around -70db,so I expect it to be inaudible.It has been a very long time since I heard an amplifier with a significant second harmonic (it was even higher than the Vidar's). What I do remember is that it sounded "sweet". Some people like that sound, some people don't.
Also, psycho acoustically people do get used to a particular sound signature, and start to prefer it. When I first moved away from the high H2 amp to a more neutral amp, at first the more neutral amp sounded a little "dry". The more time I spent with it, though, the better it sounded to me. At some point I then tried the high H2 amp again and, to me, it sounded worse than I remembered. That probably is because I had become used to the sound signature of the more neutral amplifier.
As a side note, I hypothesize that the psycho acoustic aspect of getting used to a sound signature is why some people are so convinced that burn-in is needed for all of their equipment. The longer they listen, the better it sounds to them. Little is due to the equipment changing, though, but more due to how their brains interpret the sound.
Noise is the other side of SINAD.Amps are different of course,there other things at play too.
Shades of the Phoebus cartel!And now the LEDs proudly state lifetimes that they never achieve. The internal switching supplies are deliberately designed to overheat and fail prematurely. I write the date I install LED globes on the base and rarely do they achieve more than 2-4 years. All of the autopsies performed by me show the LEDs themselves don't fail, the SMPS supplies in the caps die (caps mostly).
Nothing has changed, the bulb makers are at it again.
Well, now. I have immense respect for Amir and ASR. Thanks to ASR, I have several pieces of gear, all excellent and modestly - priced. But that's not my point. As I will tell anyone who will listen, SINAD is important -- up to a point. But there is an audible limit to its importance. Anyone who buys an amp based solely on the number of zeros after that 'comma' is being foolish, if not an outright fool. As for me, I would be delighted to own the VIDAR 2. PS Hope PSG does well this year, great team.At the risk of repeating myself, ASR is a barometer of performance and if Amir takes time to test it is precisely because commas count here. If you are convinced otherwise then it is better to trust the dythirambic poetry of audiophile sites like Stereophile or others which argue without evidence
It's an additional reason, or was if you prefer, not the only reason. Clearly you intend disrespect, no point in the faux preface to the contrary.I know this is an English-speaking forum, and most of you guys are from the USA. Made in America is not the badge of reliability everywhere in the world, as seems to be the opinion here. Perhaps you guys export all the bad stuff and keep the good stuff to yourselves? It is also good to not purchase promises, as they tend to be broken regardless of nationality. Labor-costs should not be too much of a worry in the USA as well, at least it seems that the people on the factory floor won't become rich with the wage-standards over there. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but all this discussions on this forums following every product from China and The United States... it gives off a rather nationalistic vibe.
Coming from a country that manufacturers little to nothing, and where everyhing is imported anyways (whereby the cost of transport overrides most guarantees in terms of overall cost) I see little value in this particular amplifier compared to others. If it was imported by a dealer here, and the price would be close to what can be found on the mainlands, I would consider it on grounds of performance.
I have two dead Schiit products if anyone want's to put them on a pedistal "See thems there audio gadgets Billy Bob? They were made right here, in the god-loving all mighty U.S of A. Sure, now, them did fail. But I'll take good-old american failure over thems made in China I'll tell you. When it failed it sounded like a bald eagle being shot with a .50 on the fourth of July. *crying* Sorry Billy Bob, I just love the USA so god damn much."
This probably would have been worded better if I had an iPhone...