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D'agostino amplifiers: where's the beef?

So I've owned two of the classic monster Krell amplifiers from the distant past, the KSA 50 and later the KSA 250.  Both great amplifiers in their time and both collectible for those interested in that kind of stuff.  I'm generally a fan of D'agostino as a consequence.

I'm currently shopping for a new solid state amplifier to pair with potentially new speakers (Wilson or YG or Von Schweikert or Magico or Joseph - long story for another day).

 So recently while auditioning at my local dealer the system was powered by the current D'agostino M400 mono amplifiers.  While the sound was good I couldn't help but notice how TINY the $65K amplifiers were sitting on stands near the speakers.  OK they had nice metal work and were shiny but I couldn't help wonder WHY are these things so expensive?!  Later at home photo's of the insides of these amps on Google led me to wonder even more!!  The power supplies and interior construction in these things are nothing like the monster supplies and parts in the classic Krell's

Plus while the Krell's were expensive in their day (with great sound) the current D'agostino's have absurd pricing, far exceeding inflation.  

Are people spending this kind of money for fancy heat sinks?  Really?

I'd rather have an old Krell and a new Porsche Boxster or C8 Corvette for the same money.

Any one else have similar impressions?
bobbydd

Showing 2 responses by mg012

mg012
7 posts
 
There are very good class D amps, but I don't think they will ever sound as natural as a class A amp.  Class A amps are obviously much less efficient.  

CD vs Vinyl is a good analogy to class D vs class A.  Viny offers continuous information, class A uses continuous full bias, but digital music is broken up into bits and class D has variable bias.  Both are solutions to reduce cost and increase efficiency and convenience.  
mg012
7 posts
 
When I was at Axpona 2018, Paragon Audio had Wilson XLF’s powered by D’Agostino M300’s.  That was (is) the most natural realistic dynamic sound I’ve ever heard.  Everything they played sounded like live music. It brought tears to my eyes because of the cost.  After that, I looked and looked and found a great pair of Wilson X1’s and life was grand.  I was powering them with old Pass Labs Aleph 2 mono blocks.  Just recently I ran across someone selling a pair of M300’s at a very good price and bought them to recreate those moments in Schaumburg.   The difference between the Aleph 2’s and the M300’s is very subtle, even on very high resolution Wilsons.   Is it worth the price difference?  No.  I do love them though.  
About Class D amps:   If anybody thinks they sound as good as a quality Class A amp, you will benefit from better speakers.  Specs can't measure how natural an amp sounds.  Class D put a "veil" over the music.  It’s almost exactly the same as comparing a well recorded vinyl record to its cd version (again, providing you have great equipment).   Digital can sound great. But analog will always sound more natural, real and dynamic.

Lastly, of course it boils down to whether you can afford the equipment in the first place.   Buy the best you can afford and enjoy it.  
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