Not going to happen. Bruno does not care for GaNs......of course, he could? change his mind.
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@soix --- what gan amps have you personally tried? and what are your thoughts so far i coughed up the big $ and bought a set of agd audions... they are spectacularly good... then on the low end, just for fun, i just ordered a mini gan 5 from tom at class d audio in corona ca... for $750 w 15 day money back trial i figured it is worth hearing what a gan amp just 10% of cost of the other might sound like... we shall see... |
@jjss49 — unfortunately I haven’t heard any GaN or Purify amps. I’ve got a defunct McCormack DNA-0.5 Rev A amp I was planning on sending to Steve for repairs and/or upgrades (thinking it’s probably the dreaded and fatal input board failure given my unit’s age), but after reading the reviews of these new amps I’m rethinking that now. The Mini GaN 5 was one I was eyeing but looking to hear more real-world feedback before possibly trying one, so obviously I’d be very interested in your impressions especially since you’ve got the Audions as a reference for comparison. Anyway, that’s my story for now. |
Interesting Proposition. What type of rig will you be comparing on ? By the way, my apology if you are one of my customers and I dont recognize your AudioGon Moniker. If anyone wants to send one of them my way, Id be happy to give it a test run on a $100K plus HiFi Rig . where the AGD exceeds all the other designs Ive tried is not in the frequency domain, thats easy stuff.. Lows mids highs , you either do them well or you dont . Where AGD steps ahead is in realism and Lucidity. I was comparing last night several amplifiers and I could hear the singer moving away from and towards the microphone not audible in the other amps . In a weird way its a subtle difference, but that subtle difference results in a whole other experience not even close the first one. For example the difference between a cracker and a flat noodle , they are both made from the same raw materials and have the subtle difference of moisture content , but the experience when eaten seem like two opposite ends of the spectrum. Something clearly different . This is how GaN from AGD can be described. Whats more is its not subjective . Any true audiophile will prefer the AGD . I have not heard one person to date that liked the sound of what they currently had better than the AGD. Theres nothing not to like, it sounds more real. Its interesting also jjss49 how the "Big Bucks" is the entry amp and best value in the AGD line, the Audion. Its a pair of monobloc amps with audio grade power cords in a pelican flight case for only $7500. and this amp competes with some of the greatest designs the globe has to offer , so that's not Big Bucks comparatively, especially with Merrills GaN at what ? $30K or better ? My point I guess is its highly unlikely you will find anything for $750 that will even be able to fairly compete. Its even kind of interesting you think its possible which sort of denotes a latent desire to have the $750 sound as good. I guess its a common fantasy.. Happy Listening MP |
If I had to guess I would say that Bruno prefers the ease of heatsinking his output devices, which is why he does not use GaNFETs. Back about 5 years ago there was a distinct improvement in switching speed offered by GaNFETs but that's all but gone with recent MOSFETs. So these days the design consideration might have more to do with the body diode of the device and how you heatsink it. |
I don't think that is a good guess. Ease of heatsinking? Have you seen the tiny heatsinks that people use on the GaN's. Look how tiny the heatsinks are on this new Orchard 250 watt into 8 ohm module are: https://orchardaudio.com/starkrimson-ultra-module picture is at bottom of opening scene.....just scroll through them....you will see. The GaNs are much faster than the mosfet Bruno uses. Here is what Bruno and Lars of Purifi say: https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/merrill/2/ |
highly unlikely you will find anything for $750 that will even be able to fairly compete. Its even kind of interesting you think its possible which sort of denotes a latent desire to have the $750 sound as good. I guess its a common fantasy.Nobody said they thought a $750 amp would compete with an amp 10x the price — you made that up in your mind somehow. We’re all just wondering how the Mini GaN 5 sounds for only 750 bucks and need other amps to compare it to is all. May be be a dumb question, but couldn’t another designer/manufacturer buy the Purify modules and incorporate GaN devices in an amp on their own? |
@mikepowellaudio By the way, my apology if you are one of my customers and I dont recognize your AudioGon Moniker. i am Its interesting also jjss49 how the "Big Bucks" is the entry amp and best value in the AGD line, the Audion. Its a pair of monobloc amps with audio grade power cords in a pelican flight case for only $7500. and this amp competes with some of the greatest designs the globe has to offer , so that’s not Big Bucks comparatively, my purchase of the set of agd’s was the single largest dollar spend on a single item i have made in my 35 years playing with audio gear (not by much, but still...) ... so it is ’big bucks’ to me... i am hardly short on money or choices of where to spend it, it is just that i’ve spent a lifetime earning my money, so i try to spend it wisely (and otherwise support charities and causes i care about) while i certainly have a lot of hifi equipment i have fun playing with, for me, spending 30k on an amp is grossly unwise, and unnecessary, to achieve outstanding sound - i've been at this since my late teens in college, and sometimes, i am prepared to open my wallet to see what is on offer as the market for gear progresses and innovates (and as the hype often ensues) as with other things in life that has gotten me to this point, i trust my own ability to decide, select, compare and assess |
I don't think that is a good guess. Ease of heatsinking? Have you seen the tiny heatsinks that people use on the GaN's.Yes, I saw that. And I read that bit, but its really not in conflict with what I mentioned and I agree with it. At 500KHz the extra speed of the GaNFET just isn't a thing- sure you can run a tiny bit less deadtime. But Bruno is running a **ton** of loop feedback (the Purifi module's patents are all about how he does that) so the distortion he's getting really isn't affected by the small difference in deadtime he might get with GaNFETs. Its not cost either since that's not a thing anymore, or wasn't a year ago anyway. That is why I think its something else- and the body diode would be a good example of that. If I were him I don't think I'd be trying to educate anyone on what that's all about in an interview :) |
@jjss49 I really appreciate your taking the plunge to compare what a low cost GAN amp sounds like versus a much more pricey one. GAN seems to be the new exciting development in amplifiers and I'm definitely interested in hearing someone so experienced and knowledgable like yourself help the rest of us better understand what these new circuits can do at various price points. Is it the GAN tech or is it the implementation? Guess its likely both. It is terrific that someone like you will try and report back on real amps, whereas others here just post and post more about what they think or believe without any real basis. |
mini 5 received today, plugged into system, at first it sounded pretty chalky, but the sound is taking shape after about an hour in... will let it burn in for 24 h and revisit btw - system is bluesound node rca dig out into doge 7 tube dac into XXX amp into Spendor SP100 R2 - streaming qobuz hires - might swap in chord m scaler/hugo tt2 at some point for max transparency, removing any tube beautification planning compare this baby gan with recently acquired agd audion, and longtime reference amps hegel h20, ss arc 100.2 and tubed arc ref75 running kt120’s, all accept balanced-in direct from dac, w/o linestage its a 15 day trial so i won’t get into swapping speakers or sources much, just keep those relatively constant |
I wouldn't worry about it any competently built purifi has distortion and noise way below human hearing for that matter so does hypex and benchmark amps. I have tried different purifi, hypex, pascal and other class D amps and I have never heard any difference which stands to reason as speaker distortion is considerably worse. |
That depends on the distortion signature, which seems to be more important than **how much** distortion is present. If "designed properly" (IOW having a similar distortion signature) I would expect the same sound quality too. This is simply because most of what we audiophiles describe as differences in amplifiers comes down to their distortion signature. |
The "distortion signature" is just one of an infinite amount of things that effect the sound. So no, no two different implementations of Purifi amps sound the same (I am trying two new mods tomorrow on a Purifi amp and I am sure I will hear two new "different" takes). Its the same with two amps with the same "distortion signature". They will sound different for a thousand different reasons. EVERYTHING makes a difference......I state this over and over again as it is my direct experience of testing parts and execution and circuits for over 45 years. You change the fuse in an amp and you have a completely different sound......even though the "distortion signature" remains the same. Believe what you want. I know what I experience......experience is the only valid path to truth. You must directly listen to something to know anything in audio. "Designed properly".......now that is funny. There is no consensus in high end audio as to what that means. You have the nerd types who say it is in numbers....and you have the subjectivists who believe what they hear.....many of whom....hear different things....he he. In drag racing you can measure the results (elapsed time and speed). In high end audio......what the result is.....is subjective.....totally.....so there is no reference....just beliefs.....some beliefs based on theory and some on experience. I say again.....you must listen to know what is "real" for you. If all you need is a certain "distortion signature"......then why make a new amp? There are already amps with that signature.....nothing new there. We are constantly evolving.....everything is. We discover more and more each day.....new things that cannot be measured that make the sound better. This is good. When we finally can measure all that we hear it will be a miracle of miracles. Of course, our life is already infinitely miraculous. 60 trillion cells in every human body.....dancing in the light of God. No one knows what amp will be best in the end......for there is never an end. I keep modding the Purifi and I will keep modding the GaN amps......they will all keep getting better and better. I believe, that in less than one year.....high end audio will start to have its mind blown......not saying any more. In three years....we will be swimming in the infinite possibilities most have never known. Good stuff....I mean great stuff.....for very little $ coming to your door soon. |
The "distortion signature" is just one of an infinite amount of things that effect the sound.It is true that phase shift can cause colorations. But beyond that almost anything else that results in an audible difference is likely due to how it affects the distortion. "Designed properly".......now that is funny. There is no consensus in high end audio as to what that means.This is true. For me, 'designed properly' (which I hope was easily inferred from my prior post) simply means that the amp will have a distortion signature that allows it to be neutral (while otherwise allowing the amp to be usable and reliable....). I don't regard most solid state amps as neutral because their distortion signature includes unmasked higher ordered harmonic distortion which is audible as brightness and harshness; literally the reason that vacuum tubes are still around. They aren't 'designed properly' IMO. If all you need is a certain "distortion signature"......then why make a new amp? There are already amps with that signature.....nothing new there.This is true as well. However the reason to make a new amp is simple: the amps that have had the right distortion signature in the past are all tube amplifiers. None are solid state. Class D offers the ability to have a similar distortion signature, but at a much lower level, easily over a magnitude lower. This allows the amp to also be more neutral. A class D amplifier also does not need regular service, makes a lot less heat and is more compact. If you can offer all those advantages over tubes with the same smoothness and detail thru the mids and highs why on earth would you **not** do that? The trick here is understanding how the measurements correlate with what we hear. This is rarely done in the spec sheets which give you very little information about how the circuit actually measures. This is why I'm talking about the distortion signature since it is something that can be easily measured with today's equipment and its predictable that if you get it right the amp will sound like music to the human ear. Here are some aspects of a proper distortion signature:1) the THD measures the same at 100Hz, 1KHz and 10KHz (usually only the 100Hz distortion is shown in reviews and on spec sheets)2) the primary distortion components should be the 2nd and 3rd harmonics (which are nearly inaudible to the ear) in sufficient amount such that they mask the higher orders. A tube amp makes more higher ordered harmonics than almost any solid state amp, yet sounds smooth because the lower harmonics are masking the presence of the higher harmonics. If you don't get these two things right the amp will not sound musical and organic. The chief engineer at Scott once said "If it measures good and sounds bad, -- it is bad. If it sounds good and measures bad, -- you've measured the wrong thing." It was true when he said it and its still true today. |
Class D offers the ability to have a similar distortion signature, but at a much lower level, easily over a magnitude lower. This allows the amp to also be more neutral. A class D amplifier also does not need regular service, makes a lot less heat and is more compact. If you can offer all those advantages over tubes with the same smoothness and detail thru the mids and highs why on earth would you **not** do that?Does this notion give anyone else a slight bulge in their pants? |
I had been on the class D roller coaster for over a decade and was about to throw in the towel. Then someone here on this forum mentioned the AGD Audion, i thought ok i will give these a try. Needless to say i was taken back everything my WAVAC 300b could do the AGD's could do better. And i have the entry level amps. So yes you can have the SQ of a tube amp and take the best of a SS amp within a class D amp IF designed properly from the start. Having to do mods tells me design is in question. |
in the front or the back?Yeah I was definitely referring to the front and not the back — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Having to do mods tells me design is in question.Not sure about that — coulda just been cost constraints in designing to a price point. Always trade offs. That’s where modders and model upgrades (looking at you ARC) come in. |
rh67, The guy at AGD modded the crap out of his first GaN tube to make the second version (which is what you have). Look at the difference in the circuits inside the fake tube on this page: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0421/AGD_The_Audion_MkII_Review.htm What’s a matter for him?.....he did not get it right the first time? What, he is human? There is no getting it right the first time......there is no RIGHT! Everything is evolving and changing. We are all evolving....some at different rates. All products evolve over time....or they get left in the dust. There will be a third generation.......or maybe a completely different model amp that blows this one away by AGD or by others. What you have it already outdated!...he he. Ask the designer if he has some more mods up his sleeve.....I dare you......of course, he would not tell you or anyone.....would screw up his sales......better just to spring it on people when it is ready to sell.....then let them weep.....he he. It's $2000 to upgrade your old GaN tubes in these babies........what will Gen 3 cost? |
Anything bought today could be considered outdated tomorrow, what you never buy anything because it will eventually become outdated? He did get it right the first time but like anything products evolve. Do a Google search for Alberto you will find his background is pretty amazing, the work he has done with the GAN tech which he holds several patents for is very important for audio he did not go to a parts store for GAN he designed his GAN products. I have heard several other GAN amps and they cannot compare to the AGD's period he knows how to design a circuit using GAN. |
upgrades are part of the game, part of the continuing development... same with cars, cameras, what have you... at least in audio we don't have strictly articulated model years that prod producers to introduce new stuff , engineering improvements, ad nauseum each year... part of my curiosity already having the agd audions and hearing their lovely sound and greatly respecting their capability is to understand the gan technology better, in different applications - clearly agd has tried to make their gear higher end, more unique, clever and romantic packaging, w top flight materials and workmanship indicating a more elite, luxury positioning -- so in contrast, i think it's educational for me to hear when another enterpreneur tries to do a much much lower dollar product, single chassis stereo minimalist case, ’nothing but the essentials’ approach with the same basic gan technology, and see if the sound quality can compare reomotely, or favorably - of course i would expect it to not be quite as good as the 10x price audions, but is it 20-30-50-70-80 percent of the way there? initial reactions to the mini 5 are quite positive btw... still listening, swapping, assessing, will report findings in about a week or so i would hope |
Is it any wonder that the AGD products are superior to other GAN amps out there? Not if you consider the following: 1. Alberto worked for the inventor of the GAN. 2. He uses a PROPRIETARY audio GAN version. 3. His circuit layout AND pcb are specially designed with RF in mind. As for ther new power "tubes" rendering the old ones "outdated", seriously? Alberto PURPOSEFULLY used 400kHz in the first version because he noticed no improvement in sq beyond that. His amps were considered awesome with that frequency. The newer tubes now use 800kHz, purportedly offering increased resolution across the frequency board.By the way, the use of these frequencies certainly disproves George’s position of go 1.5MHz or don’t go at all. Of course that assumes one loves AGD’s sq! Do I think Bruno will match AGD’s performance? No. His knowledge and experience with the GAN simply cannot compete with Alberto’s. |
@soix short answer yes... it is crystal clear now... very nice... just trying to judge its various subtler characteristics in comparison to my references @rh67 i think we who have spent much time with tube amps, and in particular super sweet single ended low powered ones, have ears that to some degree have been conditioned to tube-borne 2nd order harmonic distortion, which gives a special sense of warmth, fleshiness and body to the music... super clean solid state, even the really top stuff that is not hampered by odd order harmonic and im distortion (heard as hardness, harshness and stridency) amplify the music with the ’sweetening’ even order distortions to varying degrees... so i understand what you are saying as you term ’the missing link’ -- to some degree when we get really top ss amps, we may need to relearn how to listen and appreciate well recorded music is presented with almost no distortion at all... |
Been down that path with massive Amprex 805 SET monoblocks, and yes it was very novel for a couple of years, but music seem to loose itself of sense, immediacy, slam, and startle factor. To me nothing beats out Linear SS Pure Class-A to at least >50w then you have your "warmth" and "fleshiness" but also with hyper detail and sense, immediacy, slam, and startle factor. The rest can be A/B out to 200w. Like a Gryphon Antillion switched to 50w-A or even better 100w-A Class-A mode, (10w-A was a little bit artificial but good for non serious listening dinner music), mind you this is on Wilson Alexia’s Cheers George |
Alberto PURPOSEFULLY used 400kHz in the first version because he noticed no improvement in sq beyond that. His amps were considered awesome with that frequency. The newer tubes now use 800kHz, purportedly offering increased resolution across the frequency board.By the way, the use of these frequencies certainly disproves George’s position of go 1.5MHz or don’t go at all.As you increase the switching frequency you run into an issue with deadtime. I'm not going to go into what's actually going on here but I'll just say that the output filter plays an enormous role in the switching. So you may find that if you increase the switching frequency you may have more need for deadtime, not less! If you increase the filter frequency you get on a different part of its discharge curve and this will have a direct effect on the deadtime required. But the overarching issue is controlling noise and ringing as you increase the switching frequency! @georgehifi You might consider that because you heard one particular tube amplifier, that does not mean you've heard them all! I'm not a particular fan of SETs either, although I'm very aware of some of their strengths. I think their weaknesses outweigh their strengths and like you, I want more detail and impact than they seem capable. |
To me nothing beats out Linear SS Pure Class-A to at least >50w then you have your "warmth" and "fleshiness" but also with hyper detail and sense, immediacy, slam, and startle factor.I’m a fan of Class-A amps’ sound as well — not so much the electric bill that comes with them tho. Similarly a fan of tubes but not a fan of their limitations on which speakers they’re comfortable driving or tube cost/maintenance. Maybe I’m just kidding myself, but I’m hopeful for the first time these new GaN and Purify amps can finally and effectively bridge the gap enough between both technologies and at a lower cost while being more Earth friendly. The fact that a guy like Ralph is finally building one and has so many positive things to say about the new tech’s potential is especially encouraging to me. Hey, I’ve got a wife, a mortgage, and two kids soon headed for college so gotta be able to dream about something. |
reporting back on the mini gan 5 top-line -- for 750 bucks it is very very good... but not close (and with very different voicing) to the agd audions in overall performance, i would say perhaps 60-70% of the way there to the really superb agd’s i have not yet compared to the full bevy of ss and tube amps i have on hand, but so far i have let the mini 5 run in for 48 hours and listened to it for 3 days exclusively, enjoyed it a lot, then i made a swap, changing in the agd audions, then went back and forth a few times to confirm what i was hearing (reminder - source is chord hugo tt2 w m scaler in amp mode, straight into the amps’ xlr inputs, driving spendor sp100r2 speakers, i know 9 grand worth of dac front end, into 10 grand plus speakers, but this allows for a clear comparison/revelation of sonic deltas) - the spendors are not a difficult load but are very revealing throughout the range - i do not have ’torture test speakers’ needing gobs of current into low impedance at troubling phase angles... on purpose, i might add :) the mini 5 is a superbly clear amp, you can hear the speed, the openness, ultra low distortion, the excellent image it throws, wide and fairly deep, locates instruments quite well, nice timbral purity and excellent bass control - the treble is especially clean and impressive, it is clean without stridency - no typical class ab type of hardness, minimal grain here, very impressive in this regard - it is also very dynamic, the black background allow notes to hang in the air, and leading edges are exceptionally clean and expansion of loudness in music happens effortlessly the build quality is what i would call good, well conceived budget gear... solid case, not too resonant, decent feet, plugs and binding posts are what you would expect at this price level, solid choices made here... on/off button feels fine, is positive -- the only thing that feels notably ’cheapie’ is the plastic jumper plugs on the back that allow for choice of input gain (a nice feature!)... they kinda stick out some from the back panel and can be broken or hit if not careful now... swap in the agd’s... immediately you get a sense of a different voicing and ’a tier above’ kind of sound... the agds are clear, but also notably rich and ’full fat’ while the mini 5 is leaner -- more a tasty ’ice-milk’ than luscious haagen daz through the midrange and midbass... one hears the agd’s are ’luxurious’ where the mini is crisp, cheerful and clear with more prominent, forward (but very clean) lower treble ...thus a more ’solid state’ presentation from the mini 5 whereas the agd’s are quite tube-like (in the best possible way) from highs through mid bass - the agd’s have more of a sense of relaxedness/ease, effortlessness, richness to the music - both are built on a very solid tuneful powerful (when called for) bass foundation... in terms of imaging, the agd’s have a magic where the music is saturated in tone but the image is deep and location and specificity is also superb... once again, it is a ’no tradeoffs’ kind of sound - you get everything that tubes give (sweetness, density/body, holography, tonal truth) but with effortless speed, and inner light and deep powerful ’no excuses’, ’best of solid state’ quality of bass another way to describe the mini 5 is it is a fairly miraculous 750 dollar amp with a sound that would qualify as outstanding mid-to-upper middle tier solid state (think mccormack dna or belles class ab) type of sound, sibilance very well controlled, excellent spatial capabilities (more wide than deep), transparent nuanced, if a slightly lean midrange, and great bass whereas the agd’s are a true ’highest order’, you-can-have-everything-you-hoped-for kind of amp - what so many of us has sought and pursued, best of tubes and solid state, at the same time, nothing sacrificed (except 7500 bucks hahaha) what i will do now is compare the mini 5 to some others such as the nuprime ida-8, w4s st series ice power amp, belles sa-30 class a, arc 100.2 (old stalwart and fave)... |
jjss49 I share your thoughts about the AGD's, you can have your cake and eat it too. |
@jjss49 Very nice review of the Mini GAN 5 and it matches my experience of the amp. It is an amazing value at $750. I have the Nuprime IDA-8 and I would be shocked if you found it competitive with the Mini GAN 5. I also have the Peachtree GaN 400 which I like very much. You might want to give it or the Voyager GaN 350 a try, I think both companies offer a 30 day return policy. I love pretty much everything about the GaN 400 except it also lacks that juicy fat midrange which is especially noticeable on male vocals. On the other hand the amount of separation and amazing purity, clarity, and tonal accuracy are huge positives. It would be very interesting to see how you felt it compared to the AGDs. |
jjss49 Very good review of the Class-D Audio USA amps. If know how to mount these into a box that's basically it, these "should" for $940 be much better as they are GaN made by Gan!!! And they have in them a dac, preamp, volume, and dsp with "Audio Curtain" laptop adjustable audio parameters) https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/GaN-Systems/GS-EVB-AUD-BUNDLE1-GS?qs=%2Fha2pyFaduh5O8IrjWWQf9kM... they just sold out 36 weeks lead time https://www.richardsonrfpd.com/Products/Product/GS-EVB-AUD-BUND they still have 5 https://www.mouser.com/pdfDocs/GS-EVB-AUD-xxx1-GS_Technical-Manual_Rev-200526.pdf Cheers George |
jjss49 Here’s something interesting, your MiniGaN 5 has the "EAS eGaNAMP2016 Gallium Nitride Class-D Amplifier Module" in it. https://ibb.co/2n5wTKK And now they’re bringing the newer "EAS eGaNAMP 2.1 Reference GaN modules" out https://ibb.co/P6WmMZS And there’s the original one I showed GaN by GaN with power-supply dac, pre etc etc. https://ibb.co/9gmXdcS Things are really heating up for a congested GaN amplifier choice, great thing is most are going to be well below $1k Cheers George |
I thought these eval boards were not optimized for audio? At least the first generation one. In any case, I doubt these boards possess the design magic and proprietary GaN's that AGD has. I consider the AGD amps the current standard for GaN amps. Until one can build a pair of amps for, say, $3K with the same performance as the AGD Audion, I see no reason to consider them. |
I thought these eval boards were not optimized for audio? At least the first generation one.@art_boston They are meant to be for audio, but also to allow a designer to evaluate the GaNFET capabilities. One of the ways they show that off is the board is supplied without heatsinks- it can run full power into 8 ohms without damage. This is also why the power supply that comes with that kit is current limited (so the amp is limited to 114 watts/channel into 4 ohms) so as to not overheat the output devices- which they would do if putting out 400 watts (the devices can handle that power if heatsinked). Overall the product ticks the boxes set out by GaN Systems but if you are looking for a high end audio class D amp you're better off looking elsewhere. Not that this board is bad by any means, just that other products not meant for evaluation are better for audio. |
@pinwa The LSA Voyager has no home trial period and comes with a hefty restocking fee. The electronics inside the Voyager and the Peachtree are identical; only things different are the cases, the wire, and the connectors. My guess is that the Voyager/Peachtree would slot in between the Class D Audio and the AGD, but closer to the Class D GaN 5. Orchard has an interesting stereo unit coming but it isn't out yet. |
The AGD amps are already into a second generation, at the same pricing I believe. I'm on the sideline as to jumping in to GaN amps. If I do it would be for an AGD, as I simply put more value into this manufacturer's resume. The proof is already in the pudding: the AGD offerings are first class. Of course, if Atma-Sphere, and others, do the same and properly design their product, then I'm open to consider them. Again, though, Alberto sure knows best with this new technology. I know I don't want to invest in a guy who just slaps in eval boards in a case and calls it a day. |
I find this thread fascinating. I am a big fan of class A amps. Especially paired with tube preamps. These new generation of amps appear to be opening new doors. I would love to do a direct comparison against my First Watt amps. Any insight to how the GaN amps in similar price range would stack up to a FW J2 or F5? This,at least for now is just hypothetical. |
