Altmann BYOB vs. Audiosector Patek vs. 47 Labs

All good stuff you probably can't go wrong with. The BYOB will do what you need and honestly, I do not believe it is a chip amp. I'm no expert so I may be wrong, but despite its looks, I think it is a traditional amp. It is also mighty powerful and better sounding than a lot of stuff out there.

I was thinking about giving one of Pete's amps a try -- maybe one of his newer Patek integrateds. I would love to try one out for a while. Best,

Gmood1,

As you know from having owned his DAC Peter is pretty talented. He sent me photos of the design and prototype. Unlike his traditional non-TVC integrated design, this does not require the separate preamp module. Everything is built into the standard Patek chassis. Looks very clean.

He also sent me a link where he showed some photos of how he implemented the S&B transformers into the Patek chassis. I wish I could get one of those, but alas no more.

Interesting Clio, Peter told me he had some form of RVC volume control in the works. He has been working on that for well over a year. Nice to read he's implementing it into his integrated. It should sound fantastic!

I'm looking at the Audio Sector after having considered the 47 Labs. The integrated Patek can now be built with a Placette type 128 step RVC. I'm seriously considering it and matching it with a pair of Zu speakers.

Yup..I'm with Bob here. I never noticed the traits you describe Cdc.I'm pretty positive the AudioSector will drive those 4 inchers easily. Rawsonte makes some good chip amps I've been told. You may want to check him out as well.

I have not conducted the comparison you are seeking, but I do have some experience with the Audiosector Patek v2 chip amp, which I have used for at least some period in all three of my audio systems. I have definitely not encountered any of the negative characteristics that you mentioned with the Audiosector amp. That is to say that the amp has excellent dynamics, it is not at all thin sounding, and its treble is pretty refined and not at all grainy.

The Audiosector amp has significantly more power than is needed to drive my speakers to extremely loud levels (my speakers range in sensitivity from 93dB to 98dB). Based on the average SPLs that you mention, I would expect the Audiosector amp - at 40 to 50 solid state watts per channel - to have enough power to drive your 88dB efficient speakers. However, I wonder about the sort of impedance load that is represented by your speakers. I think you will get the most out of any chip amp if you present it with a higher impedance load and minimal dips below 4 ohms. Chip amps tend to run hot and experience stress if you ask them to drive low impedance loads at other than subdued decibel levels.