Starke Sound AD4.320 Review (Multichannel Amplifier)

[nstzya]

Not exactly apples>apples there, my friend! ;-)
Please keep us updated on the return process. For others, could you elaborate on return process - for instance, did they provide return shipping? Require original packaging, etc?
And I strongly suggest creating a paper (or email) trail summarizing your phone conversation, including specific terms - full refund, return shipping, etc.

 

[JRaab]

Not exactly apples>apples there, my friend! ;-)
Please keep us updated on the return process. For others, could you elaborate on return process - for instance, did they provide return shipping? Require original packaging, etc?
And I strongly suggest creating a paper (or email) trail summarizing your phone conversation, including specific terms - full refund, return shipping, etc.

Yeah, but after the interactions with Starke I just decided to make the investment.

1- Call was short, provided return labels (through email) but not boxes (told me to wrap the amps in bubble wrap and send them in a good box.

2- Gonna pack them Monday/Tuesday and ship them out then. Gonna take a TON of photos showing they aren't damaged when they leave my care. I don't trust Starke not to try and claim some kind of after market damage and not give me an actual 100% return.

 

[greenpsycho]

Def keep us updated. I'm on the fence myself re: returning

 

[JRaab]

Def keep us updated. I'm on the fence myself re: returning

I'm returning strictly out of principle. I'm not paying to have my units tested and see if they're faulty, so since Starke has made no attempt to offer repairs, only returns for dissatisfaction, that's what I'm opting for. I refuse to support a company that's going to act like that, even in the off chance my units aren't affected by the issue.

 

[mdsimon2]

IMO this thread shows the importance of being able to make your own measurements. It is pretty darn easy to verify power ratings if you have some high power dummy loads and an audio interface or oscilloscope.

Michael

 

[nstzya]

IMO this thread shows the importance of being able to make your own measurements. It is pretty darn easy to verify power ratings if you have some high power dummy loads and an audio interface or oscilloscope.

Michael

Something a manufacturer should likely have on hand and readily be able to spot check, determine a problem exists and formulate a “we have identified an issue and are hard at work on a solution” response? Rather than ignore, evade, point fingers at Amir’s test method? For months? And continue to promote and sell the product?

 

[mdsimon2]

Something a manufacturer should likely have on hand and readily be able to spot check, determine a problem exists and formulate a “we have identified an issue and are hard at work on a solution” response? Rather than ignore, evade, point fingers at Amir’s test method? For months? And continue to promote and sell the product?

I was speaking more from a consumer point of view, but I agree that this is even more true for a manufacturer. Everything I've seen from Starke suggests they know they have a problem but do not want to openly admit it, very sad behavior.

Michael

 

[jamesoco]

Not exactly apples>apples there, my friend! ;-)
Please keep us updated on the return process. For others, could you elaborate on return process - for instance, did they provide return shipping? Require original packaging, etc?
And I strongly suggest creating a paper (or email) trail summarizing your phone conversation, including specific terms - full refund, return shipping, etc.

I bought this amp to drive Magnepan 3.7i's based on Jay's YouTube review - these are very revealing speakers (bad recordings sound really bad, good recordings will make your spine tingle). They like a lot of power.
This amp sounded good, but it was absolutely coloring the sound. Significant bass boost and tube like sound.
It did not get anywhere near as loud as the NAD C298 I'm currently using. When I bridged the Starke, I did not notice any increase in volume.
That was a clue that something wasn't up to snuff.
For over a month, I did critical listening tests to A/B it with the NAD, the NAD revealed much more detail and control.
With the NAD I could distinctly hear each instrument separated in the sound stage and it was uncolored.
This was not the case with the Starke. It did sound good, my wife actually preferred it, but I think she was reacting to the emphasized bass and tube like mid/highs.
With some songs I literally went back and forth between the amps over and over again many times.
I got good at swapping XLR cables fast! I'd play quietly and turn up the volume over time with both amps to see how they sounded at all volumes.
People have described the NAD as sounding like nothing. Just a straight wire with gain and I'd agree.
When I talked to Starke about the lack of volume in bridged mode, I got the distinct impression that this wasn't the first time they'd heard this feedback. They told me I'd have to pay for return shipping and a 10% restocking fee. Previously they said the opposite.
So I said, Ok fine charge me. I'm out a couple hundred dollars and that's the small price I'll gladly pay to realize Starke wasn't ever going to get my business in future. Just like a bad restaurant, you may end up paying for a bad meal, but at least you know not to come back.
They said they'd send me an email with a RMA. It didn't show up for a couple days and I called back and reminded them. That evening I got an email with a shipping label. I sent it back a couple days ago and will report back when they refund me.

 

[nstzya]

Jamesoco, Out of curiosity, which NAD?

 

[restorer-john]

As for reviews/previews, unless the title says "review" its NOT a review. This has been implicitly understood by our readers for 22+ years. In the past, I tried to separate review/preview content with tabs on the sectional pages but Google didn't like that. I also tried to separate reviews/previews into the new 2 column layout of the site but it would make pages with thin content in one category look wrong. Perhaps we can add a disclaimer at the bottom of preview articles stating it's a preview but honestly, the 5 or 6 critics here would likely just find something else to complain about my site and this hasn't been a problem for our readers.

It's pretty simple Gene. Your site clearly lists it as a 'review'.

You even double down at the end that it's a review:

It's just blatantly deceptive, plain and simple.

 

[amirm]

IMO this thread shows the importance of being able to make your own measurements. It is pretty darn easy to verify power ratings if you have some high power dummy loads and an audio interface or oscilloscope.

Michael

More that that, it shows that manufactures who can't be bothered to perform this simple test during manufacturing should be avoided!

Anyone can do this as you note yet the company couldn't be bothered to verify the same on the review sample that was returned to them almost two months ago!

 

[jamesoco]

Jamesoco, Out of curiosity, which NAD?

C298 - sorry for the omission.
Using XLR inputs from HTP-1.

 

[amirm]

It's pretty simple Gene. Your site clearly lists it as a 'review'.

I just don't understand what Gene is doing here. If I were him and had received a review sample with the same issue I had found, I would have cut all ties with them and that would have been that. Doing otherwise helped drag him in the mud now, doing damage to his brand as well.

As to calling a "preview" a "review," a number of times I have landed on AH pages when I am researching a product I am testing. I get my hopes high that they have proper measurements only to land on a fluff piece like this and leaving the site disappointed. Chasing search engine optimization is a fine strategy and I do that as well. But you have to be careful to not mislead people into it. Nothing that is not a review should be called such.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Hey Pascal,

I get what you're saying but I think for most of us it's not about how it sounds, it's the principle behind holding a company accountable to advertise their product as it truly is. If you buy a 2021 Honda Civic you don't want to get a 2015 Honda Civic. Yeah the 2015 might be nice and get the job done, but that's not what you were sold and that's not what you were paying for. As a consumer it's important to hold companies like Starke accountable for their advertising.

But I do understand what you're saying.

Better auto analogy is the Volkswagen diesel nonsense. We know how that ended.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

I can only add that I am the one who is doing the review. At the time the preview was written, we didn’t have a product. Typically our previews have not been in actual products. The term referred to a simple retelling is the manufacturers claims. As you already noted, this product looked compelling on paper. It did to us as well. We had no reason to believe it would have measured so differently than the spec.

That preview was written long before I even knew I would be reviewing the amplifier. That point is important. We didn’t find out that the amp was intended as more of a utility amp until I asked about its design and performance for the review. They made clear that the Class D amp is meant more channels, like ATMOS, where ultimate fidelity isn’t necessary. I thought, ok that is disappointing but not a deal breaker. A $1200 amplifier that can do the atmos channels, is well made, and reliable would still be a useful product. That assumed it measured as specified. Amir’s review came out before I could even open mine. That didn’t bode well for the product. So I opened it to see if I would get similar or different results. Maybe he had a bad unit. Mine measured similar. So clearly something was wrong. Maybe the amplifier was built incorrectly relative to what was specified. I once tested an amplifier with a similar problem, it turned out the wrong transformer was used in a number of batches. The rails were half what they should have been. The spec sheet sent to the transformer manufacturer said 25v center tap toroidal 350va. What they got was 12.5v-0-12.5v but what they needed was 25v-0-25v. I have no idea what is going on here, but we agreed to wait for a new amplifier and see if it measures similarly. Maybe it’s similar and a wrong part was snuck in by a supplier. With foreign manufacturing it’s very common.

$1200 atmos utility amp? What a crock. Then buy a couple xls 1500`s for a lot less money and Lotta Lotta more headroom.

 

[ethangab]

Well, the headline on the site says it all:
View attachment 156031
They don't understand Class-D



Nobody calls this sampling frequency..

Look on the inside:
View attachment 156032

just curious what chip this amp is using under its heat sink? could it be tpa3255? ? the layout of the parts on its module reminds me of tpa3255. from preamp section of the module to output inductor to filter caps kinda similar.

 

[peng]

The comment made to me was that this was not for high sound quality, that is what their Class AB amps are for.

Yet their website says the following about that amp:

"We are an audio equipment company focused on multi-channel movie and music reproduction in the home, pursuing the best sound quality from family room to private theater."

"Combining the high efficiency of class D and the warm sound of class AB amplifiers, AD4 also offers the flexibility of 4-channel or bridged 2 or 3-channel operation."

Seems quite misleading to me..

 

[Mack]

Something a manufacturer should likely have on hand and readily be able to spot check, determine a problem exists and formulate a “we have identified an issue and are hard at work on a solution” response? Rather than ignore, evade, point fingers at Amir’s test method? For months? And continue to promote and sell the product?

I just bought two of these units and compared to what I had which are old and thrift store audio pieces I kind of like the sound but if they are not what they're advertised to be that is not a good thing one is about a month old the other not a month old yet I was told if I'm not satisfied I can return them my question to someone with technical expertise can these be fixed or are they

 

[Mack]

I bought this amp to drive Magnepan 3.7i's based on Jay's YouTube review - these are very revealing speakers (bad recordings sound really bad, good recordings will make your spine tingle). They like a lot of power.
This amp sounded good, but it was absolutely coloring the sound. Significant bass boost and tube like sound.
It did not get anywhere near as loud as the NAD C298 I'm currently using. When I bridged the Starke, I did not notice any increase in volume.
That was a clue that something wasn't up to snuff.
For over a month, I did critical listening tests to A/B it with the NAD, the NAD revealed much more detail and control.
With the NAD I could distinctly hear each instrument separated in the sound stage and it was uncolored.
This was not the case with the Starke. It did sound good, my wife actually preferred it, but I think she was reacting to the emphasized bass and tube like mid/highs.
With some songs I literally went back and forth between the amps over and over again many times.
I got good at swapping XLR cables fast! I'd play quietly and turn up the volume over time with both amps to see how they sounded at all volumes.
People have described the NAD as sounding like nothing. Just a straight wire with gain and I'd agree.
When I talked to Starke about the lack of volume in bridged mode, I got the distinct impression that this wasn't the first time they'd heard this feedback. They told me I'd have to pay for return shipping and a 10% restocking fee. Previously they said the opposite.
So I said, Ok fine charge me. I'm out a couple hundred dollars and that's the small price I'll gladly pay to realize Starke wasn't ever going to get my business in future. Just like a bad restaurant, you may end up paying for a bad meal, but at least you know not to come back.
They said they'd send me an email with a RMA. It didn't show up for a couple days and I called back and reminded them. That evening I got an email with a shipping label. I sent it back a couple days ago and will report back when they refund me.

 

[Mack]

I bought this amp to drive Magnepan 3.7i's based on Jay's YouTube review - these are very revealing speakers (bad recordings sound really bad, good recordings will make your spine tingle). They like a lot of power.
This amp sounded good, but it was absolutely coloring the sound. Significant bass boost and tube like sound.
It did not get anywhere near as loud as the NAD C298 I'm currently using. When I bridged the Starke, I did not notice any increase in volume.
That was a clue that something wasn't up to snuff.
For over a month, I did critical listening tests to A/B it with the NAD, the NAD revealed much more detail and control.
With the NAD I could distinctly hear each instrument separated in the sound stage and it was uncolored.
This was not the case with the Starke. It did sound good, my wife actually preferred it, but I think she was reacting to the emphasized bass and tube like mid/highs.
With some songs I literally went back and forth between the amps over and over again many times.
I got good at swapping XLR cables fast! I'd play quietly and turn up the volume over time with both amps to see how they sounded at all volumes.
People have described the NAD as sounding like nothing. Just a straight wire with gain and I'd agree.
When I talked to Starke about the lack of volume in bridged mode, I got the distinct impression that this wasn't the first time they'd heard this feedback. They told me I'd have to pay for return shipping and a 10% restocking fee. Previously they said the opposite.
So I said, Ok fine charge me. I'm out a couple hundred dollars and that's the small price I'll gladly pay to realize Starke wasn't ever going to get my business in future. Just like a bad restaurant, you may end up paying for a bad meal, but at least you know not to come back.
They said they'd send me an email with a RMA. It didn't show up for a couple days and I called back and reminded them. That evening I got an email with a shipping label. I sent it back a couple days ago and will report back when they refund me.

Why should you pay a fee for a defective product and as far as restocking what are they going to do sell this broken product to someone else