Digital input amp

Not these designs.  They take a bitstream , do DSP, do the digital conversion to PWM and feed the output. So the actual integrator and filter is the output.  There is no DAC on their input. 

This technology HAS NO DAC. Please go look at the products. Look at the Peachtree GAN1 as well as the Sabaj.   I think NAD has one with built in streamer. 

PCM in. Convert to PWM. Switch outputs.  Integrate.   NO DAC. 

I don;t know what other companies are advertising. The copy writers may not have a clue either. 

Maybe you should look at the block diagram of these products.  They take digital in. Process within a DCP chip which produces the PWM signal to feed the output.  

Jeff, get off your high horse and READ about how the product works.   

There is no INPUT DAC. 

Jeff, I was talking about the Gan1 amplifier technology. Not the Bluesound node. I think the streamer has a PCM out so you can bypass the internal DAC.  The reason to use it as a front is to move the volume control to it, get a remote, and a sub out.  I don't give a rat's patutti about Airplay or other low resolution pay as you go garbage and the last thing I would ever have in my house is Alexa. 

The Sabaj has some of these functions built in. It has a larger DSP section than the Peachtree and includes a traditional DAC for sub output. 

FYI, I have designed and built SS, tube and amplifiers. I have a degree in electronics. 

Of course the OUTPUT stage is an integrator. I said so from the beginning.  Gad how some here want to be so superior.  The entire point is this is a new technology worth watching as it changes the entire string. The Peachtree Gan1 does not have a traditional front end DAC.

I also got some comments from the local dealer who has heard this unit and they suggest it is not quite ready for prime tike. 

Very interested in the mods. I visited a showroom ( dealer for both Peachtree and Bluesound) and their conclusion was neither were quite high end yet and are not carrying those specific products.  They did suggest some of the esoteric amps using the GaNFets were very good. But for mainstream non-exoteric those of us who have to spend real money, the better of the A/B are still winners.  They suggested there are much better streamers than the Blue Node.  That leaves me with a lot to research.  Bits may be bits, but what you do with them matters.  Things seem to move fast though.   I'll look up the D-H stuff. 

This technology makes sense to me from the engineering side. Probably really bad for DAC and preamp makers. If the market is there, we need someone to do an ASIC for the entire front end and then high end will be affordable to the masses.  Low volume, I guess FPLAs.  Hear that, Masimo?  You have the wherewithal to pull it off!  The smartest engineering  Mom and Pops are not going to get the volume needed even if they come up with the breakthrough ideas. Even Bruno has not got there yet. 

From the PA-10 WEB, I could not tell what technology they were using. Some sort of hybrid maybe.  

 I see one here just can't stop insulting people. Sigh.  Nobody can learn anything that way. 

Sad Gold Note only gave marketing BS as a description.  I would love to see an IEEE or AES paper on whatever they are doing to see if it really is innovative. The  bummer is it is within my price, but only direct sales and no audition/return policy I could find. Their published specs are not defined so even though they are not impressive, not knowing the parameters makes them meaningless.  At what power/frequency is .01% distortion?  Is it .0001% half a Watt lower?   Could be a great amp, could be not so.  Totally useless specs. 

"Well executed" does seem to be the issue. I guess my best bet is a Buckeye/Purify based amp. Either that or go the safe rout with a Schiit Vidar.  I have recently heard a Hypex based amp and it is far better than the older ICE amps or the new CH-FI $80 wonders, but not there yet. 

The mentioned Peachtree "digital input amplifier " I started the thread on, maybe some clarification.  Their point is they did not have a DAC on the front end.   Their block diagram, not mine. 

If the specific implementation of using a triangle and an analog signal to generate the PWM control only being class D, then that implementation needs a DAC somewhere along the line before the conversion.  Two DACs if you count the output filter.  That is not what they were saying as they  do the entire processing from PCM to the PWM control in the digital domain.  I would still call it a class D, just a different way to get there. That is what their literature says. 

Yes, listening is the only way. That is about the only thing we agree on. 

Specs give you a starting point when you can't go to a local store and get at least a quick audition.  But when you ask a company about their product and they respond with BS, that does not give me a warm and fuzzy.  Customer support is something some of these companies need to understand. Heck, even IBM is nice to you before you signed a contract. 

To inform you Jeffery O'l boy with your snarky attitude, The above mentioned dealers do not have audition return policies. I don't live in Ca, Fl or Tn.  Now,  what part of me suggesting it could be great or poor as the specs ( rather poor) are useless did you not understand?

I am not on ASR as I DARED to suggest I could hear the difference between my DACs. That was too much for Amair.  As I understand the specs and how they were measured, I know when they are actually a hint or not. 

PS: I know a little more about Google than you think.  The guy who wrote Acumulo, the Java version of Big Table/H Base, used to work for me.   Just a hint. 

Actually, as the Data Systems Architect, Program Manager, and Acquisition Manager, yes I was an expert in extreme scale databases when I retired. Six years later, I am probably an antique. That technology moves faster than SMSL can introduce DACs. 

If you think Gold Note answered your question, you have zero understanding about how an amplifier works no matter how many times you insult me. I do hope they are nice amplifiers, but I will never know. 

"Doubles the power when reducing impedance"   So what. Any good amp can. 

"Switching, but not class D".  OK,  they did not say what it is though.  

"Exactly like class A"   Nope.  Not at all.

"More efficient" Yea, so is class A/B, G, H and D. 

Again, I hope they are very nice. I hope they have some innovation to add, but their marketing BS you quoted does not give any hint and their published specs would not make it on the shelf at Best Buy with the boom-boxes. 

I  just ordered a Schiit Vidar. They have excellent customer service and their web site plainly explains the audition return policy. Their specifications include the test parameters.  For half the price. 

I intentionally live in the boondocks, if you call 1.2 million people in the area the boondocks.  Lots of wildlife in the woods behind me. My camera has snapped coyote, fox, bear, deer, possum, racoon, otter, skunk, owl, hawks, herons, and way too many copperheads. No obnoxious street lights, no kids drag racing up the street at night.  Spread out enough I can crank up my subs without bothering anyone. But only half an hour away from world class medical and a Super Walmart.  I vacationed to DC/Va/Pa recently and hit a few remaining high end stores up there. Kind of like Home Depot, they all have the same generic stuff.  I'll stay down in the Piedmont, thank you. Amazon makes it to my door in a day. 

Passed on the DC show due to COVID. Maybe next year. 

Again, I hope it sounds great, but I'll never know.  I put zero faith in reviews as if they are not glowing, the reviewer never gets anything to review.   More BS. You have no problem suggesting units I have or have heard are junk, but most of them have outstanding reviews.   I have heard a lot of stupid ego priced equipment I would not trade my dirt cheap JDS for. Glowing reviews or not. 

Actually we have health conditions that put us at high risk.  It is called being smart. 

And yes, I am right now enjoying my JDS while waiting for the FEDX delivery.