I'm not very familiar with class D from personal listening experience so it would be a bit of a gamble as to how I like it but I'll look over Nord's offerings. class D is such a can of worms around here ;-)
Amplifier suggestions please
Hi - I'm reworking a 2 channel system, had some very basic components and now trying to step up a bit. DAC is currently a Schiit Yggy, I'm on the waiting list for a Freya+ which means I'll be running balanced connections. Speakers are Philharmonic Audio 3's. I was using a pair of Emotiva XPA-1L monoblocks (differential/balanced) but want to upgrade. I could stay in the Schiit catalog and go with a pair of Vidar's but although there are no real bad reviews I feel like they don't quite get raved about like the Yggy does (and the Freya+ to some extent). I'd like to stay around $2K, definitely under $3K and I prefer new (I've had my fill with trying used). I know its asking a lot to find a pair of balanced monoblocks in this range so I'm not opposed to a stereo amp (XLR inputs). I could also be talked into canceling my Freya+ order and switching to a preamp from the amp builder if there is better synergy in that pairing. I've looked an Van Alstine and Odyssey, what else should I be looking at?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Showing 6 responses by jumper75
I'm bad with using all the buzz words correctly and coming from an entry level such as Emotiva I would hope my upgrade would be an improvement in all areas. I do know I want good frequency response top to bottom as my Phil 3's are full range, I feel like I'm missing some punch in low end from the XPA-1L's and the highs tend to be a bit rolled off as well. Lots of other variables go into that was well so I fully acknowledge factors such as the room, treatments, etc. |
@auxinput Thanks for the insight onregarding transformer size, I'll be sure to take that into account. With your advice in mind both the Rotel and the Parasound recommendations above seem solid. I usually favor the smaller direct brands but from what I've just read over the past hour the RB-1590 and the Halo A21+ look great. I'm going to go review the ATI suggestion now. |
@yyzsantabarbara Based on the recommendations on this post I'm liking the grouping of the following: Parasound A21+,
ATI AT6002 , Benchmark AHB2, and Rotel RB-1590 (I know these stretch my stated budget a bit). I'm going to compare them and pick a front runner - from there I can take a look at class D offerings and compare. I'm not jumping right into class D as I don't have experience with them, feels like a bigger leap of faith for me as I'm much more familiar with AB amps. Would you lean more towards Purifi monos vs an AHB2? |
@
yyzsantabarbara Thanks for your additional info, much appreciated. The AHB2 seems to be quite a unique animal. I'm looking at how it differs from a more traditional AB amp in that price range, such as the Rotel RB-1590 suggested above that I'm really liking. The AHB2 is very lightweight (SMPS vs large transformer as discussed above), lower on rated power, and I'm wondering about the adjustable gain - obviously low gain setting is ideal but is that intended more for the Benchmark DAC's or would its low gain setting work well with my system. It seems like I need to wrap my head a little more around the AHB2 much like I would going with a Purifi amp. The RB-1590 (and the A21+ / AT6002) I don't really have questions or doubts from a design standpoint. Thanks for everybody's suggestions so far, they've been great. I feel my answer is in this thread somewhere - so much to consider! |