XTZ A2-400 - ICEpower ICEedge Class D new power amp

[ofc]

The new A2-400 looks very promising. For me the coolest thing compared to it's smaller brother is the fact that it's not grounded. That's good for people using the unbalanced inputs which might cause ground loop issues (commonly caused by cable TV).

I don't understand the price though. I got the A2-300 for 410 € directly from XTZ so I expected the A2-400 to be somewhere between 600 and 700 Euros. For the current price of the A2-400 you can probably do much better. So I am keeping my A2-300 and the ground loop breaker

 

[AdamG]

The new A2-400 looks very promising. For me the coolest thing compared to it's smaller brother is the fact that it's not grounded. That's good for people using the unbalanced inputs which might cause ground loop issues (commonly caused by cable TV).

I don't understand the price though. I got the A2-300 for 410 € directly from XTZ so I expected the A2-400 to be somewhere between 600 and 700 Euros. For the current price of the A2-400 you can probably do much better. So I am keeping my A2-300 and the ground loop breaker

Welcome Aboard @ofc.

 

[GiFi]

I also expected a lower price but the construction is really good and the power is embarrassing. you probably pay for the novelty .... However it has features like autosensing and variable gain as well as several safety controls. I also believe that some internal components are made to last a long time and therefore are more expensive.

 

[GiFi]

Hello,
I left the amplifier running for a couple of days and when I listened to it again my initial impressions were confirmed and amplified. The amp has a spectacular tonal balance in the sense that it doesn't exaggerate in any register and has enormous bass control.
I come from a musical fidelity that was exceptional in providing a live effect to music with very present voices ..... well this amp as well.
I expected the voices to stay behind the MF, instead this amplifier easily reaches a good 90% of the MF presence which typically gives a good weight to the voices. What can I say..... Great !!

 

[kjb]

I own one, as well as ncore and purifi amps. I mix and match on a Lx521 setup.
Totally my own experience, and not scientific in anyway. However, the best way I can describe it is with a female vocalist. With the other amps the phantom central singer is fixed and precise. With the 1200AS2 its a more psychadelic experience as the phantom centre seems to "swirl" around. Not sure if this is due to phase shift, something else, or my imagination - but i found it repeatable. Now put the 1200AS2 on the bass drivers and its totally amazing. Efficient, incredible power/control and does not get too hot.

But anyway, most of what is measured these days seems to be beyond the threshold of audibility - in terms of differences. Does not stop me wanting the best engineered/measuring products

Can the 1200as2 really handle the low impedance of the woofters in parallell (~2.5 ohm)? The datasheet says "Minimum load impedance at 2.7 Ohm", or do you run the woofers in serial?

 

[maty]

Hello,
I left the amplifier running for a couple of days and when I listened to it again my initial impressions were confirmed and amplified. The amp has a spectacular tonal balance in the sense that it doesn't exaggerate in any register and has enormous bass control.
I come from a musical fidelity that was exceptional in providing a live effect to music with very present voices ..... well this amp as well.
I expected the voices to stay behind the MF, instead this amplifier easily reaches a good 90% of the MF presence which typically gives a good weight to the voices. What can I say..... Great !!

Are you still using it? What impressions do you have after these months?

 

[maty]

ICEpower-400A2

Output impedance and phase SE

 

[johannesalarsson]

My unit has been on 24/7 since I got it in March. I'm very satisfied with it. Initially it was on max gain, but I've lowered it to have a reasonable max volume on the receiver.

 

[GiFi]

My unit has been on 24/7 since I got it in March. I'm very satisfied with it. Initially it was on max gain, but I've lowered it to have a reasonable max volume on the receiver

Mee to, i lowered the gain at 50% because the high voltage of the DAC (5 Volt)
In my opinion the timbre is perfect because the Dac is well extended in high registers.
Very good soundstage.
I'm waiting for a serious review or labo test

 

[IvoDiy]

My two cents. I got XTZ EDGE A2-400 for 675EUR to serve as a reference amp for developing my dsp active two way speaker. It produces very clean natural sound up to the point of blowing my drivers. Before I used DIY ASX125(which is incredible value for money), and they used to distort when cranked up very loud. Only thing that could be bothering for some is hiss from the tweeter on max gain. When I power off my audio interface, hiss almost disappears. Am I hearing baseline noise from my audio interface Focusrite Clarett 2Pre? If that hiss is being the internal noise from the power amp, it would be there all the time, right?

Nice day!

 

[yavormoskov]

Mee to, i lowered the gain at 50% because the high voltage of the DAC (5 Volt)
In my opinion the timbre is perfect because the Dac is well extended in high registers.
Very good soundstage.
I'm waiting for a serious review or labo test

I wanted to ask you about this amp. Are you still using it? Any issues with it?

 

[GiFi]

Yes, no issues.

 

[PeteXian]

I wanted to ask you about this amp. Are you still using it? Any issues with it?

I have this amp too and am very happy with it.

 

[aaddas]

It is icepower 400as2 + 1000s power supply.

 

[huba]

I have a XTZ EDGE A2-400. Happy with it, connected to a RME adi-2 fs. Tried a friends diy hypex power amp(not nilai or ncx), and the soundstage and bass control appeared much better. Any thoughts?

 

[Stopeter44]

I have a XTZ EDGE A2-400. Happy with it, connected to a RME adi-2 fs. Tried a friends diy hypex power amp(not nilai or ncx), and the soundstage and bass control appeared much better. Any thoughts?

Not really, but the XTZ A2-400 is on my radar, as are NC252MP or NC502MP offerings from Audiophonics (for VFM) or Apollon (VFM and aesthetics). I suspect your friend went with one of those MCnn2MP modules.

Did you decide to move on from the XTZ amp ?

 

[Sokel]

Not really, but the XTZ A2-400 is on my radar, as are NC252MP or NC502MP offerings from Audiophonics (for VFM) or Apollon (VFM and aesthetics). I suspect your friend went with one of those MCnn2MP modules.

Did you decide to move on from the XTZ amp ?

Just make sure that the modules used in this amp is the Edge version,older XTZ ones didn't use them despite the fact they named their products "Edge" .

 

[Stopeter44]

Just make sure that the modules used in this amp is the Edge version,older XTZ ones didn't use them despite the fact they named their products "Edge" .

This is what it says in the Product description.

Designed for outstanding audio quality and high performance the EDGE A2-400 features a newly developed amplifier module incorporating the latest in state of the art custom ICEpower® ICEedge chipset technology capable of 2 x 420 W output into 4 ohms or 1 x 800 W into 8 ohms in bridged/BTL mode and a solid 1000W auto-switching power supply (universal mains 100-240 V, 50-60 Hz) designed for high continuous power with a standby power consumption of only 0.26 W (EU mains) or 0.19 W (US mains).

I can get this for 750€ shipped, which strikes me as, at least, a correct price. Opinions ?

 

[Sokel]

This is what it says in the Product description.



I can get this for 750€ shipped, which strikes me as, at least, a correct price. Opinions ?

By the description it must using the 400a2 module which is really nice.
At 750 euro I think is fair.
But the next question is,can you DIY a little?
To the point drilling holes in a case and connect cables.
Cause if you can you can get a 1200a2 at about this price,all included,case,etc.

 

[Stopeter44]

But the next question is,can you DIY a little?
To the point drilling holes in a case and connect cables.
Cause if you can you can get a 1200a2 at about this price,all included,case,etc.

Well, if it's only drilling a few holes and connecting cables, I could do that. OTOH, I really don't like soldering, never was much good at that. I also think that c. 400W is more than adequate for my use case.