Classdaudio vs Channel Islands amps


I was wondering if anyone has heard any models from both Classdaudio and Channel Island amps. I searched the threads, but I couldn't find a comparison. I want to know how the two brands compare in terms of sound, durability, and build quality. I know that Classdaudio builds their own circuit board while Channel Islands use Hypex. I would appreciate any information.
izora
I have Abletec modules right now.... but when I'm done, my finished amp will be made in Missouri.... Yes, I purchased the modules from Europe, but I folded, drilled my case, added jacks, connectors and boards, wired and hopefully this weekend will have a finished amp made in Missouri.
I won't say that overall, I'll call it a DIY Abletec amp, but its all how you look at it. All assembly other than the amp modules were most likely done in Texas. I'm sure that is where Dennis is coming from.
All, a sourcing clarification is in order... I just spoke to Dennis at D-Sonic:

* D-Sonic power amplifiers are manufactured/assembled near Houston (TX), USA.

* Some of the power conversion modules (or amplification modules) employed in D-Sonic amps may be physically manufactured in China.

As such, any information implying that D-Sonic purchases fully assembled amplifiers from China is incorrect. Only some component parts may originate in China.

G.
Guido..my first conversation with Dennis last winter basically was the same information he told Izora that his amplifier's are made in Texas, which is completely false, strongly implying they are his own designs. It wasn't until several months later I saw his amps with the tops off and discovered they were Abletec's and Pascal's. I called him and mentioned they are not D-Sonic amps and when I brought up the subject of Abletec and Pascal, he stated, " I will not comment on the Class D amps in my models". He did admit a month later that the M2 1500M amp he purchases is completely built by Pascal, an X-PRO model, and he adds an additional small red circuit board at the input stage, and mentioned his other amps with lower power output have no additions, just wiring, and connectors added. I have called and spoken to other companies making class D amps such as Clear Audio, Channel Islands, Arion, Bel Canto, Nuforce, DAC, and others, and all these companies were right up front about the brands of amps they use or they are in house designs. Reports I've read on D-Sonic during the past eight months have repeatedly mentioned that his manufacturing is done in China. If Dennis wasn't so Cloak and Dagger and Mission Impossible stealth by not revealing and answering very simple questions that customers have the right to know, then I wouldn't be so darn skeptical about where he's coming from. By the way Gudio, are you brain dead? You state that "some of the power conversion modules or amplification modules employed in D-Sonics amps "may" be physically manufactured in China" is absurd. The Pascal and Abletec amps have no separate power modules. The power conversion/power supply and the switching amp in both Abletec and Pascal amps are all integrated on one main board and not on separate boards as the Ncore NC1200/SMPS1200. The bottom line is that the Pascal X-PRO and the Abletec ALC 1000 amps are fully assembled complete amps that Dennis uses and they are absolutely not manufactured in Texas.
Audiozen, please consider watching your language... Whether or not my cerebrum -- or anyone else's cerebrum -- is operational or not, is a matter not material to the topic of this thread.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming... The problem is a confusion of terms caused mostly by the suppliers of class D power amplification modules... While strictly speaking, Pascal/AbleTec/Hypex may be correct in calling their products "amplifiers", without further qualifiers, the usage causes occasional misconceptions an unnecessary panic by audiophilic consumers.

For our purposes, It may be best to refer as "amplifier" the end product complete with the pretty metal box that you Audiozen purchase from our beloved designers/integrators, while the class D engine inside the box is best referred to as the ""amplification module", or the "power conversion module". The terms are largely interchangeable. Some power conversion modules may also include an integrated SMPS, others have an off-board SMPS which may or may not always be utilized by the OEM designer/manufacturer/integrator. in many entry level products, the power conversion module may be the only active components, in progressively more sophisticated implementations, the module is just one active component of a potentially complex circuitry.

D-Sonics is a designer/integrator who manufactures near Houston (TX) end-user entry-level power amplifiers which are based on Class-D power amplification/conversion modules and other component parts sourced from a potentially multi-national/global supply chain.

While Dennis has this far declined to discuss at any length the origin/brand/model of the modules, there exists some empirical evidence that D-Sonic may be using Pascal modules as engines in some of its power amplifiers, and Abletec modules in other ones.

G.