tmcclintock
Happy to hear you have experienced what i have and it gets better. It takes a lot to impress me and these have.
Happy to hear you have experienced what i have and it gets better. It takes a lot to impress me and these have.
AGD Audion GaN Class D In The House
During the last decade i have managed to try in my home 95% of the Class D amps offered to the public these include the so called break thru offerings of the last year or two. While there has been progress the class D signature remained and this included what was lacking in class D amplification.
When i heard about AGD i thought here we go again because i had been there and done that so many times with class D but the GaN tech had me intrigued so i bought a pair of the Audion amps, i thought i would give class D one more go.
I received the amps two days ago and have about twelve hours of listening. From the first minute onwards these amps had my full attention. There is no connection between this class D amp and class D i have heard in the pass no connection what so ever. Forget classes A, A/B, D or whatever this is just an excellent sounding amp, it delivers music that belongs at the upper levels of Hi End audio reproduction.
It`s only been a couple of days of listening but i`m so taken back at the quality of sound i just had to share. I will add more the more i listen, good or bad.
When i heard about AGD i thought here we go again because i had been there and done that so many times with class D but the GaN tech had me intrigued so i bought a pair of the Audion amps, i thought i would give class D one more go.
I received the amps two days ago and have about twelve hours of listening. From the first minute onwards these amps had my full attention. There is no connection between this class D amp and class D i have heard in the pass no connection what so ever. Forget classes A, A/B, D or whatever this is just an excellent sounding amp, it delivers music that belongs at the upper levels of Hi End audio reproduction.
It`s only been a couple of days of listening but i`m so taken back at the quality of sound i just had to share. I will add more the more i listen, good or bad.
Showing 42 responses by rh67
kijanki Never mentioned 95 amps but 95%. If you really want to know or experience something you need to bring into your home and i do, i need to know for myself. |
roxy54 Thank you! I have been pleasantly surprised. |
arcticdeth I was like you before i bought and brought these amps into my home. These amps surprised me that`s all i can say. |
speakermaster I was surprised, actually more than surprised i thought i was going to hear the same old thing. |
lalitk..... I love class A and SET amps, i have a Pass XA25 and the Wavac EC-300B and a LM 508ia. I would say that the AGD is closer to the sound of the Wavac than the Pass or LM. What has me excited about this amp is not because it`s the best class D that i have heard but one of the best amps i have heard and what i`m hearing especially at it`s price point. My opinion is not from what i have read but real in home experience which is what counts as opposed to hearing equipment at a show or dealer. A couple weeks ago i had asked here if anyone had experience with AGD amps and got no response so i decided to put my money where my mouth is and purchased the AGD Audion amps, i never comment on anything unless i hear it in my home. |
rsf507.. It`s really not necessary to do that. I do not want this tread to turn into what most class D treads turn into. So i will refrain mentioning names of other class D amps that others like. The AGD goes well beyond what i had expected and i`m just listening. |
mapman True, it`s part marketing but also a brilliant way to upgrade the amp simply by replacing the tube. In Dec. 2020 the tube was upgraded to what AGD calls the MK11. I never heard the original tube so no idea of the extent of the upgrade. |
lalitk Pre, built for me a one off Lampazator DHT/Dac, LTA pre and Supratek DHT/6SN7. Speakers, Magico M3, Raidho D-1, DeVore Super 9`s and Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1. These amps will be paired with the Wilsons there is some magic going on with the Wilson and M3`s when played thru these amps. Wife said that our house is starting to look like a stereo store so some of these speakers will be leaving but not the Wilsons. |
russ69 One attraction of class D is lighter weight. There are many ways to look at things, my 38k 100lb SET amp puts out 10 watts both amps are close in sound, the SET costs 5 times as much. For some the AGD would be considered a bargain. |
arcticdeth Cool, let us know what you think. |
bigkidz The manner in which i post is not the message here, your reading but you really are not. Your really not interested in the amps but feel the need to comment so you post ridiculous rantings that has nothing to do with said product. I post when i know something about a product otherwise i keep my mouth shut. I have no desire or the need to post, i post when i have something that is beneficial to others or possibly could be. You mention that you build class A amps how is that relevant to this tread? Many here know my background, is it relevant to this tread? No, it is not. This tread is about the AGD Audion it`s not about me. |
chorus So true never say never. The Merrill`s i did not audition although they were offered. The reason was price. Hope you enjoy them when it`s your turn. |
bigkidz Once again this thread is not about you. It`s a tread about the AGD Audion and MY experience with them nothing more and nothing less. The more i listen the more i`m impressed. Put class D aside these are just great sounding amps and these are the entry level amps, it makes me curious about their upper level amps??? |
kingrolo Good amps for the price but they do not have the SET like presentation of sound that i like or the soul of class A. AGD amps have those two virtues which sets them apart from the rest for me. |
I was going to ask if anyone had AGD`s contact info. Several members sent it to me via PM. I got the contact info. and ordered the amps. I have had interest in class D for the last 15 years and i would ask manufactures or dealers to send me product to use in my home and that is what i was doing with AGD but this time the amps delivered what was promised and these are not going back. |
assetmgrsc The M33 is way better than the M32 but sound wise the class D heritage is still evident, for ME it`s an amp i would not consider buying. Also there is way too much going on, i like DHT pre amps, i also like USB which the M33 does not have. I have found that i can taylor the sound using a great pre, the M33 does not allow this. It sounds fine but that`s not good enough for me. |
rdoc I agree with everything you have said. Myself i was on the quest to find the best class D amps, i instead found one of the best amps i have heard in my home. |
A week with these amps and all i can say is that listening to music is enjoyable and fun, this hobby is about fun and emotional enjoyment of what we are listening to otherwise whats the point. When we attend a live musical performance at the end we hope to walk away satisfied and entertained what the experience becomes is an event. When listening to the Audion amps i feel as if an event is happening, listening to music and not equipment. |
I have 83 hrs. I believe that i read it takes about 165 hrs. to fully break in. What i have noticed from day one to now is that the soundstage is real in dimension, performers are real in size. Sometimes with even the best and most expensive equipment while the performance can be fine the mental image is that the performers are 3-4 feet tall. Without being forward the Audion is projecting a real life image. I have heard this very few times, that the Audion is capable of doing this at it's price point to me is impressive. |
In my decade search for a great class D amp i have heard two other amps with with GaN outputs and while they sounded good they were not great. I just came across this video with Alberto of AGD that explains that the GaNs in his amps were designed for audio, this explains for me a big part of the reason that his amps sound not good but great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3eqQUs5HPc |
The pairing is excellent. I really like DHT pre amps but i'm enjoying the 6SN7 stage so much that i have not even tried the 300B stage yet. What i'm hearing is so real and life like i have had no desire to change a thing. Once i get totally familiar with what i hear from these amps i will try the DHT stage of the Supratek. Right now music is once again an experience thanks to the AGD Audion's. |
95% of the class D amps over a decade of trying class D amps. There really was no need for me to find a great sounding class D amp as i have great sounding class A and SET amps it just sort of became a quest as every year new and improved or best you ever heard claims for class D were in the forums or print so curiosity would always get the best of me. So after a decade and many thousands of dollars spent the ONLY class D amp that delivers the goods are the AGD amps, class D that compares to my SET and class A amps. I not only found a great class D amp i found a great amp period. |
Just like Class A, A/B some amps cost more than others. All i can say is that regardless of class the AGD Audions sound superb some of the best sound i have ever heard regardless of amp type and this includes tube amps. I feel that the AGD's are a bargain at their price but i understand that everyone has a budget. Also to note that the GaN devices used by AGD were designed for audio and not battery chargers. |
Just a quick update. These amps continue to impress, huge holographic soundstage with proper scale, performers are proper size and not 4 ft. high but full scale. Lot's of air in the highs with proper separation, excellent tone from top to bottom. Without spending mega bucks this is one of the best amps i have heard so far. I will keep updating as time goes by. |
@ricevs I could write a small book on my audio adventures but here is a small introduction. Built amplifiers during the late 60`s and beyond, early 70's worked with Grateful Dead building speakers for what is now called The Wall Of Sound, mid 70's hooked up with Marco Karpodines designing building and selling the Delphi Imager speaker later to be called simply The Imager speaker, during this time Bendini gave us amps that we modified to our own specs that had our own face plates, we brought in some of the first Goldmund TT's some with Imager logo, helped with the listening of the first Infinity speaker along with the development of the Infinity amp, friends from the Skunk Works developed the Lazarus amps had a small part in that, ect. ect. My real job was working for the Federal Govt. and in the early 90's i had to bail from Marco Karpodines and the audio industry because my job required more of my time, i could no longer do both so i stuck with what offered me a retirement and medical benefits. After my retirement 17 yrs. ago i started going to Audio shows again, i started to meet people that remembered me and before i knew it i was evaluating equipment for manufactures and several importers, not for money i did this because i enjoyed it, i did this for some European company's that did not even have a market base here in the US along with many well know manufactures. I did this up until about 7 years ago as it got to the point where it started to feel like a job and most of what was sent to me during the latter period were DAC's and streamers. During the end of my evaluation period i was introduced to class D most being from European manufactures, i heard potential but too many boxes were left unchecked, to be honest i cannot count how many variants of class D i evaluated. I continued on my own to investigate the latest of class D, buying with my own money or having in home trials offered by some manufactures, the in home trial was how i was introduced to the AGD Audions and i bought them because they fulfilled the promise. They are some of the best sounding amps i have heard period. Direct comparisons Pass Labs XA25, First Watt SIT 3, Wavac 300B, Boulder, Diablo 300, LM 805ia. There is 40 years in 6 paragraphs. |
dmcclintock The midrange is now in balance with bass and treble. I'm hearing more detail than ever - never noticed some of the mastering splices I can now hear. And like someone above said, voices are so distinct, I can follow words I could never make out before. They're the most even-handed amps I've had. It's like getting to hear all my music fresh again. I could not agree with this statement more. In many ways i feel like i'm hearing music for the first time the way it was meant to be heard. Listening to familiar recordings always brings a pleasant surprise, there is more more music, it's hard to describe it has to be experienced. Old class D provided a clarity but it was empty, the AGD's have the clarity but within that clarity comes the life of a recording of a studio or live performance it's pretty amazing to experience. |