I just purchased a Wyred4Sound SX1000 and preamp - maybe have ten hours on them. They are much superior to my old Krell S300i with 300 hours on it.
The W4S do not sound materially different overall, but there is certainly much more detail, much more width, and much more depth.
There sound is more palpable and that makes it feel more live.
It will be interesting to hear the improvement after another 100 hours. |
Channel Islands Audio D 500 are a must hear if your considering class D (or anything else for that matter) |
Well..keep both. The W4S needs at least 300 hours of burn in, keep us posted. |
I'm the third owner of the amp and I'm pretty sure its burned in.
It reminds me of a Forte 4a amp I used to have, but it's better....It's a keeper. |
no one mentioned the amps from the Digital Amplifier Company. The Cherry Plus is the top one and is very good. |
I'm surprised the Digital Amplifier Company doesn't get more press. I saw their amps for sale some time ago here but haven't heard much from them since here. Their amps seem pretty solid. The Toroid Transformers they have in there are huge. Cherry Plus |
Isn't "Bang for the Buck" the entire point of Class D? For very little engineering outlay, one can sell a decent sounding, high powered, extremely energy efficient amplifier that costs far less (or should!) than any normal Class A or AB solid state or tube amp of similar output wattage and sonic purity. Weighs a lot less, too so shipping costs are less. |
"Bang for the Buck" is how I ultimately decided on the W4S.
Based on what I read, it seemed like a good choice, especially with the W4S preamp. I also liked the reduced weight.
I purchased the black and not the silver/grey. Seems to blend in pretty well with my other stuff and appears a lot more attractive to me than the silver/grey with the black corners. |
I'm sure the W4S sounds really good, especially for the money, but I just don't like the way they look. I know this hobby should be more about the sound, but I admit, I like gear to look good in my rack. |
Well, the black the lesser of two evils and will never be compared visually to a Mac, Krell, etc.! |
I'm one of those as well that has to have an amp or preamp look good in the rack as well. Of the Class D amps I've seen I like the look of the Red Dragon Audio M-500/M-1000s. The black versions of the W4S amps are a bit more pleasing to the eye.
If I had the funds I'd take an empty amp chassis/case of an amp that I like to look at and put in the Class D monoblocks in there. I think only other audiophiles who would listen to my system would know something wasn't right. |
For Class D, the silver face plate on the Cherry Plus amp from the Digital Amplifier company looks really good. |
I built a Hypex UCD400HG with HxR and with transformers (not SMPS), Neotech solid core wire, upgraded connectors, etc. Stunningly good. Replaced my Berning ZH270.
It took hundreds of hours to reach the peak that I am experiencing now, but I can't imagine it getting any better. |
I want a Wyred preamp but can't bring myself to shell out that kind of dough.....I'm really curious too.
This ST-250 is the most impressive amp I have ever had, the last time I was so impressed with sonics is when I went from NAD to Accuphase. The look of the amp is kind of neither here nor there for me personally. But, to each his own, my systems is now getting very good, to the point where this is close to where I want to end up. I'm changing out my speaker cable to some Virtue stuff so we shall see if that gives me anymore gains...
I'm really enjoying my system more than ever and I'm VERY happy I tried this Wyred amp. I also want to get a Eastern Electric minimax DAC to use instead of my Arcam CD192 player.
The Arcam is very good and has done well at stepping up to the Wyred amps sonic upgrade, but I think something like the Minimax would even make the sound better! |
I doubt that I will ever change out the W4S as it is at the top limit of my budget for an amp and preamp. The wife is somewhat understanding but I think that I have about run out of rope on that score. |
How does the Cary CAI-1 integrated or the CAP-1/CAA-1 pre/power digital amps compare to the PS Audio and W4S? They all seem similar. |
I put an inexpensive Emotiva power cord on the Wyred amp and was not expecting much, but thing did improve considerably. The sound became more open. A cheap gain.
|
I am a french audiophile,sorry for english mistakes..
I recently bought a SDS470 amp (supplied completed)from Classdaudio (590usd!...)
I have been totally surprised by the sound quality of this amp,which sound style is closer to tubed ones than to ss ones.
This amp is delivering 250w on 8ohm,500 on 4,and is deemed to deliver 1000w on 2ohm,according to the mfr.
Very pure and resolving sound,comparable to the best tube amps,plus no limits in dynamics,no distortion even on peak transients.
Exteme sensitivity to the other components of the system,necessity to work on cabless,interconnects,mains cable,mains filtering,position of plugs
etc to get the best,which can become at the highest level when
the system is optimized.
The interconnects and speaker cables must be chosen with low capacitance per meter,in order to favourize high frequencies(range 15 to 20khz),which is rather easy,then the resolution of details is at its best.
Two audiophile friends were so surprised when listening at home that they immediately purchased two amps.
The "big" amp mfrs,incl tubed ones,can be worried by the progress of such low cost solutions... sincerely mxt |
Thread update.
I use a few amps with a few different speakers.
Last year I bought a Crown XLS-1500 class D amp and it's wonderful. I like it better than the W4S , more extended and airy top end. These are around 300 dollars used. Cheers! |
