2. amps-preamps
  3. 124847-369

Can SMPS based preamps/amps sound organic ?

Lately I have been reading about some well known companies who make amps and preamps based on switch mode (digital) power supply. Nagra, David Berning, Linn, Crayon Audio comes to mind. I have heard a couple of their products but I always seem to hear some kind of switching noise which comes through as "digital" sounding. The organic quality is somewhat robbed and replaced with some hash. I wonder if there are any designs using SMPS that can actually sound natural and organic ?

To me it seems mostly a matter of convenience to use SMPS but I would love to discuss.
pani

Showing 1 response by coli

coli
291 posts
 
Of course. SMPS actually has a lot of advantage, SMPS is basically a power regenerator. Go listen to the JBL LSR305/8, it’s an all digital design. SMPS, class D, digital crossover, DSP. It’s the greatest bargain in audio right now. The 3 series 5x305+310s simply destroys $1000 to $10,000+ audiophile setups.

There are also bad SMPS designs too, eg: Benchmark.
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