It’s about time.
Class D Amplification Announcement
After 60 some odd years of disappointment, Class D has finally arrived. As per The Absolute Sound’s Jonathan Valin, the Borrenson-designed Aavik P-580 amp “is the first Class D amplifier I can recommend without the usual reservations. …the P-580 does not have the usual digital-like upper-mid/lower-treble glare or brick wall-like top-octave cut-off that Class D amps of the past have evinced.”
Past designers of Class D and audiophiles, rejoice; Michael Borrenson has finally realized the potential of Class D.
172 responses Add your response
@psag You have got to be kidding me. TAS reviews are a joke, mainly because they never put their balls on the line and bother to compare a review sample to anything else. I reviewed for years, and almost without fail when I thought I had a review product nailed down I’d be completely humbled when plugging in something for comparison. Do you know how easy it is to write a review when you don’t have to bother with the accountability of having to make comparisons? Worst of all, 90% of the time I read a TAS review, in the end I still have no idea how the product actually sounds. It’s tough to prove Valin wrong precisely because he (and the rest of the TAS writers) refuse to make comparisons that would provide accountability and a better reference for accuracy. But they’d rather just avoid that. What an Absolute Joke. |
and going on what you said there....and if a reviewer was to say anything negative about a piece of equipment they are reviewing, wouldnt that hurt the company that made it as well as the review company ?
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@psag You seem to have a belief that editors are the exemplars of truth and virtue who would never allow an untruth to sully their publication. Allow me to introduce you to Piers Morgan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piers_Morgan. |
Oh @psag My my my. |
I suspect some “unusual” reservations may crop up eventually. I learned valuable (and somewhat expensive) lessons about Class D and hype from the NC1200. People (me included) so want to believe in great sound from small, cool-running boxes that they don’t immediately notice the naked emperor. Class AB is just alright with me. |
I immediately assumed that this was dripping with irony, but as the thread has developed I see that I was wrong. Wow! |
@riley804 Having written professional reviews for 15 years or so, I was never instructed to not say anything negative about any review product. The fact is that the only pieces that make it to the level of warranting a review are pieces that have very good customer feedback or pedigree, so crap products that probably deserve negative comments just never make it to being reviewed. The way to read reviews is not to look for negative comments but to glean from the review where a product may fall short RELATIVELY to other gear. That is why product comparisons are so critical in a truly thorough, credible, and useful review and why TAS reviews are Absolute Crap. |
Soix: I completely agree. To be fair, Valin includes vague comparisons in his reviews from time to time, so he is not the worst offender in this regard. But his habit of generalizing and making sweeping judgements is probably the most irresponsible thing he does. I present the Borrenson amplifier assessment as an example among many. |
Sorry. I am not sure I get this “comparison” issue. Firstly, anyone listening to any piece of equipment is comparing what they are hearing to everything they have listened to previously. Experience counts. I would love to know what benefit is derived from any comparison if the equipment reviewed is accurately described by someone with enough knowledge and experience to know what they are hearing and can provide enough information so others can have a good idea of what that equipment offers sound-wise and whether or am I missing something here? |
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@johnlnyc You’re absolutely missing something here. |
Soix, my post was intended to be ironic. We are in agreement. johnlnyc, let’s just focus on this particular journal (TAS), this reviewer, and this class D amplifier. The reviewer has stated repeatedly over the years that he has no use for class D amplification. Recently, he has decided that class D has progressed to the point that it meets his minimum level of acceptability. Can we assume that he has listened critically and objectively to most of the recent implementations of class D? Since the answer is quite clearly “No”, does it not annoy you that he is able to claim the latest Borrenson amplifier to be a game changer? If your answer is ‘no’, then I think you are missing something. |
@russ69 What class D amp do you have? |
Yes, Class D has arrived. It took some fellows with radar experience to do it. You can buy the PuriFi modules for about $1000 (a pair, with a front end & connectors) that are used in NAD's well reviewed gear, LKV, and others. In their big amp, LKV adds their own front end and power supply and charges $10,000 for it. If you can DIY a suitable power supply (it needs three different voltages) you can have a PuriFi stereo amp for about $1200. I built two of them. If you don't want to build it yourself, Starke Sound offers a new version of their four channel amp, now called the Fiera4, for $1500. I have six of the earlier version in five different systemsand a marvelously tolerant wife. Starke designs their own power amp modules. Those are slightly smoother than the PuriFi in the upper treble region, to my ears anyway. I drive Maggie LRS, Linkwitz LX mini, LX 521, some slim Wharfdales, and several sets of DIY speakers with them and am very happy with the Starkes. If you don[t like the amp, you can return it. Starke is a commercial sound outfit and makes gear for sound reinforcement in halls and auditoriums. No chrome, no flashy looks. They didn't pay some designer to make it look like a geaming relic from Tut's tomb, I've praised this amp before on this site, but many people don't realize you don't have to spend a fortune to get great sound. It's not like the candy bar business where you sell hundreds of thousands of units. How many people really buy power amps? So the manufacturer's markups are considerable since a thousand units is a dream come true, and you have to have a building,insurance, a work crew and sales manager.. You can have excellent sound at a reasonable price, and you can save even more if you DIY. Happy Listening! |
iirc it was back in 2008 or 2009, someone talked me into getting a pair of the fairly recently (at the time) released pair of jeff rowland class d mono blocks... sure looked pretty with those 3/4 in thick milled faceplates ... but those amps were one of the most disappointing, grey and lifeless sounding pieces of gear i ever recall buying ... i punted on them in less than two weeks |
I heard the Aavik systems at the Long Beach audio show a couple months ago... It was fantastic, but the amp alone is $30k+, it better sound incredible ... A little too "clean" and sterile maybe, but very powerful, tight, clear... Was it the most amazing thing I've heard, no.. my CI audio class D amps sound awesome, are these 10X better, no way, not even close They made the speakers, cables, dac, streamer, preamp which were all super expensive and high end... It's amazing stuff with all kinds of crazy engineering, but not magical for the few tracks I heard
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The recent PNW Audiofest Show was lightly attended. I took advantage of the downtime and spoke with Michael Borresen at length. He was very proud of his new 200wpc class A amp. No Heat. $70k. When I asked how this could be he said it was all about the parts used and attention to detail in the build. He holds a patent on the only speaker using no iron. At $30k they don't come cheap. |
Good news about Class D as I no longer have to suffer through endless sessions thinking my Pass XA-25 sounds so good while getting hot and all Class A...I can just get rid of what I thought were beautiful tubes and amps (including guitar amps) and just relax into some D. I already have a Class D bass amp so I'm on my way! |
@urbie Aren't you forgetting that there are thousands on here dumb enough to pay up to $30,000 for a real piece of wire, namely a power cord when an upgraded stock item cannot cost more than $25. |
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Class D arrived a while ago and at lower cost. I have a pair of Jeff Rowland Model 125s, a pair of AGD Audion monoblocks and a new Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra. All of them sound great. No glare, with plenty of power and headroom. Other than one Class AB integrated I still own, I have sold my class AB solid state monoblocks. |
I have a couple of MBL monoblocks purchased used, model N15. They clearly sounded better than my ARC Ref 160Ms, even after tube rolling, vibration treatment and good power chords. It took some burn in time to get rid of the traces of class D sound signature but now they sound like a very good AB class amp. They are efficient, powerful and never get hot. Only adjust I had to make in my system was using good copper wire. |
Once again, if I understand Class 'D' you will be put at the table of the designer's likes and dislikes with nothing to say for yourself. In other words, they are the ones that choose what and where in the audio spectrum things will get the emphasis with little ability of the end user to override THEIR likes and dislikes. This is exactly why I prefer pre-Amps and Receivers that let you bypass any tone control circuitry if you so choose. I want to hear how a particular song was meant to would like by the engineers and producers rather than some third party that has their own agenda in mind. |
