speakermaster
I was surprised, actually more than surprised i thought i was going to hear the same old thing.
I was surprised, actually more than surprised i thought i was going to hear the same old thing.
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.
186 responses Add your response
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. |
Currently several SFAS members are auditioning Merrill's bigger Mono blocks in their own homes. One member bought the smaller set prior to the Audition. The sample of the larger set has so impressed others that it seems a couple more will also be purchased. Throw in a Christine Preamp sale too. Hardest thing has been waiting my turn! I have not heard them yet. I believe the Borreson amps are Class D, correct? If so his amps and speakers produced the best sound I've experienced. Never say Never, right? |
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. |
I purchased a pair of AGD Audions several months ago. I could not be more pleased with them. I have been an audiophile for nearly 50 years. Having had financial interests in 2 high end audio stores, I have been able hear dozens of high end amps in multiple systems. I have owned probably at least 2 -3 dozen amps over the decades from many high end companies. I think that all of these companies are still in business today. Many of the amps that I have owned were class A amps, but most were class AB with most costing 2-3 times the cost of the Audions. Other than the amps in my REL subs, I have never owned a class D amp before the Audions. I purchased these on a 15 day trial after reading a very positive review. In my system driving Magnepan 3.7i's, the Audions are by a considerable margin the best amps that I have ever heard regardless of class or price. I will be surprised if they are not the last amps which I ever purchase. They are that good. Even after these months of use, I continue to be amazed at the sonic picture which they portray in my music room. "The bloom has never come off of the rose". They are extremely detailed and yet not the least bit fatiguing. The just present the most realistic sonic picture of musicians in my room of any amp that I have ever heard. Putting them in the system was like getting a whole new set of speakers and source equipment which performed at a much higher level. I am not saying that there are not better amps out there, but only that they are the best that I have ever heard. I am not saying that they will be the best in your system. Every system is different. Remember that 2 of the biggest variables in systems are your ears and your room. I wish you the best in finding the amps that work best for you. I consider myself very lucky to have stumbled upon the AGD Audions. |
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. |
To all who are capable of buying AGD, I suggest you contact Mike Powell: YTC: OCD HiFiGuy Make an appointment and fly to Atlanta for a day or 2 Also, I have read 3 very positive reviews of PS Audio M1200s (tube input); 2 reviewers kept them. I have owned a EVS1200 (no tubes) from Tweakaudio for over a year and have zero qualms with it. I am still in anticipation of receiving a LSA Voyager (GaN amp), which has its' work cut out to significantly better the EVS1200 hth |
This reviewer seems to like it. http://enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0421/AGD_The_Audion_MkII_Review.htm Just posted in the April issue. |
I find the use of glass a gimmicky turn off. I had the same reaction. There are simple, practical ways to make a plug-in solid state module. Making it look like a vacuum tube and adding glow lighting is too much false bling for me.Not only that but all that power supply current has to run through those pins/sockets, which should by any tech standard, be a solid soldered contact. And which may oxidize with two dissimilar metals having heavy current run through them, time will tell. Just like it did I remember on all AMC 3030 tube hybrid amps similar contacts ended up charred and high resistance over time on every amp made. Cheers George |
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 |
Re: AUDION amps • here is what was conveyed to Alberto after some listening to his monoblocks in my system... “Everything is performing as it should... The clarity is phenomenal. One aspect which I greatly appreciate is the ability to effortlessly hear the enunciation of words sung on tracks with other competing instruments present. And the noise floor/distortion is so low that when listening to orchestral tracks, the Audions make interpretation of subtle fluctuations of instrument dynamics/articulation very clearly perceived. Another one for me is how the dynamic attack of the instruments especially drums/percussion is just more “REAL”... As a lifelong musician I’m very familiar with how true acoustic instruments hit the listener/performer. These amps have gotten me closer to that realism than any other to date. I could go on further but these are a few of the qualities that I haven’t heard to this degree with any other amps in my system.” :) |
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. |
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I have had the Audions for over two months and they are the best amps I've used (Berning, Parasound, SMC Audio, Benchmark, Air Tight, Conrad Johnson, etc). Combine speed, clarity, low noise floor and just a tiny bit of warmth and you have the Audions. And very practical, being small and light and very efficient. |
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. |
It appears that the long night of waiting patiently for the LSA Voyager GaN amp is coming to a close. I don't know whether it will still be $3K, but I doubt it will be anywhere near $7500 https://www.underwoodhifi.com/products/lsa-electronics |
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. |
Tweak 1, How can you say that it is coming to a close when he has promised a shipping date about 7 times and never met it. I do expect the "Waiting for Godot" amp to be released some day.....but already we have had an 18 month wait since you first said you were getting one soon. The odds that he will deliver on his newest date are very, very low. But, it will happen......some day.....maybe this year. I don’t know why you keep posting about it.......it has never been real. When someone has one in their hands then it is real. Here is a new GaN amp that is real.....just released. 200 watts a channel....and $699. Buy one now! Enjoy now! https://premium-audio.com/mini-gan-5-balanced-power-amplifier.html I am sure its not in the same sonic class as the AGD......but it is one tenth the cost and could be the best amp for the buck. |
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. |
I've just done a 14 day trial period of AGD Audions, with every intention of returning them if they weren't a significant improvement and good value over my existing amps. I even appreciated the Pelican case as making for an easy and safe return. Well, that's not happening as I'm definitely keeping these. They're easily the best I've had in my system. Just makes me wonder how the Vivaces sound. |
@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. |
tmcclintock Happy to hear you have experienced what i have and it gets better. It takes a lot to impress me and these have. |
