Audio GD XA150 Monoblocks

@frankg you there ?

Frank,
how did the gear turn out? I have on order the master 2-A and the he-1 pre. So excited but all I can do is read up on it while I wait...

Frank do it man. He1 + 2H combo is going to be amazing. Ya I'd pass on the vacuum too. Too much of a hassle. Also for something coming from china you want to minimize the chances of something going wrong so you never have to send it back, so stick to SS.
Maybe ill grab the XA150 in a couple years.

I asked for Kingwa's recommendation for a preamp to best match the 2-H's. I was leaning toward the Vacuum HE-1 but he recommended the solid state version. I didn't want to fool around with 10 tubes anyway. Apparently the power supply has been upgraded since this past June. Doesn't run as hot and a little quieter / clarity.

Awesome! That speaker sounds like its awesome. I think an all AGD system will be amazing, esp HE1. I feel he9 review is amazing preamp and he1 is likely better. Even the master 1 which is a step down from HE1 was in the same league as the far more costly CH precision.
Kingwa's R7HE Dac is really well regarded as being excellent so its worth considering. And also think about the AGD Di20HE digital interface that thing is amazing.

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/amplifier/audio-gd-he-1-stereo-preamplifier-review/https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/analog-reviews/amplifier-reviews/audio-gd-master-2h-mono-pow...

Hi Tobias. As I mentioned in an e-mail to you I'm just getting back into serious audio after a 10 year absence. Had to sell my Lamms during last recession. Was using a pair of custom Mono's by Alex Paychev (APL hifi) until I had a problem with one. Had a pair of Electrocompaniet laying around so started using them. A good step down from the Lamms so I haven't been listening much. 
You probably aren't familiar with my speakers or source. 
Speakers are Talon Firebirds with the Accuton diamond tweeter & ceramic mid. Focal woofer. Talon is now out of business.
APL NWO cd player. This is a hand built player using an esoteric case VRDS-Neo assembly. Everything else inside is APL including 20 AKM dac's per side and a tubed output. 1- ECC99 tube per side. Built in digital volume control.
When I get the 2H's I will first be running them direct from my cd/sacd player. Once I get a handle on that combo I'm thinking of trying the HE-1 preamp. After that I will be looking into DAC's or maybe the DAC first. Alex Peychev is a friend of mine and his newest DAC's look very good but at a higher cost than the Audio-GD.  
 

Frank amazing man! The extra posts is a brilliant idea. Which speakers, pre and dac?
You have a great reference point coming from the Lamm 1.2 Reference. What made you sell those?

ordered the 2H's yesterday. For $75.00 extra I ordered them with extra set of speaker binding posts so I can bi-wire. That will take some extra time as well as the 100 hour factory burn in. Probably 3-4 weeks before I have them in my system. I'm in southern Calif. 

Frank great choice. Please let us know when you get them.

I was about to pull the trigger on a pair of the master 2H's but the XA150 caught my eye. I e-mailed Audio-GD and asked them to describe the difference. He said the 2H is neutral while the XA150 is warm and smooth pure class A. That's all he said. In the HiFi- Adviser review of the 2H's I get the impression that they have a class A sound (which I like) and I think I will still buy the 2H's since I can't find any useful info on the XA150's.  

@noble100 Has anyone done actual comparisons between high end class A amps and the D sonics?
@cal3713  Yup and that is what 1 reviewer did with this class AB Master 2H amp. So far no one ha s reviewed the XA150 though. I bet it compares well to many top tier class A amps given the findings of the 2H amp.

Agreed that if you care about heat production and electrical consumption, then class a is not for you. That's going to knock a lot of very successful and high performing amps out of consideration though. 

In my mind these amps should really be compared to other performers within the high power, double down class a topology. I'm not saying class d isn't worth considering, just that it is very much an apples to oranges comparison.

According to their site, they consume 700 watts together. That's 350 each mono. My previous Lamm 1.2 Reference monos used 320 each and were rated at 110watts. 

His Master 2H looks really good. It has compared well with way more expensive soulution and CH precision amps in a review.

Hello soix,

      I have no association to D-Sonic, just a big fan that knows they deliver excellent hi-end performance at a bargain price in my system.  I suggest anyone thinking of buying an expensive hi-end amp or amps should try out a pair of the M3-600 or M3-1500, on a 30-day free trial,  before spending that much more money. 
     The 6 Moons review is a very accurate description of what to expect from them.  I feel very fortunate to have found such bargains.

Tim 

Does seem like a lot of earth-hating amp for the $ though relative to the likes of Pass, Clayton, Gryphon, Boulder, etc.  I hope he at least puts a low-bias switch on this monster. 

@noble100 — thanks a ton for reminding me of the D-Sonic amps.  They are now highly back on my radar. 

     They each consume 700 watts constantly when in operation, which is  a lot and this is mostly converted and wasted as excess heat.

How much heat do those pump out?  100W class A.

     I'd check out the 2020 M3-1500 version of these monos before spending more on those: https://6moons.com/audioreviews/dsonic/1.html

     All similar performance but about 1/4 the size, weight, electricity consumption, excess heat and retail price of those dinosaurs.

Tim