Based on
boomerbillone's comments on the Starke AD4.320 in this thread, and the very aggressive Black Friday pricing of $839, I bought the amplifier and it was delivered Wednesday. I let the Starke AD4.320's burn in for about 20 hours and spent a few hours tonight comparing it to the PS Audio M700's which are Class D monoblocks costing $3000 and a Stereophile A rated choice. The M700's are rated at 700 watts into 4 ohms vs the AD4.320's 430 watts bridged into 4 ohms. I listened on the Magnepan 3.7's and the amps were driven directly by a SMSL SU-9 DAC streaming over bluetooth and level matched to pink noise at 75 dB. I fried my Roon Core a couple of days ago and couldn't stream via USB. Bottom line is I really liked the AD4.320's. The have a very dynamic, rich sound while still being very detailed and quite a large and deep sound stage. Bass is tight and impactful without exaggeration. Midrange is warmer than the M700's which tend towards a little dryness. Highs are bright and detailed without any harshness. The AD4.320's struck me as bringing some of that subtle magic that a good set of tubes in my Freya Preamp can offer over its solid state modes. I usually found the AD4.320's to be more engaging and dynamic than the M700's. I generally have preferred the M700's to my Parasound A21 class AB amp with the Maggies except in the mid-range vocals and I think the Starkes bring some of that better midrange while having great bass and dynamics. For the Black Friday sale price of $839 I have no qualms about recommending the AD4.320's and to my ears they punch way above that price. Very fun to listen to. I would love to hear the opinion of some of the more experienced ears on here that have actually heard the amp rather than just get flamed by all the Class D haters.
High end Class D amps?
Just an observation and a question. Are there 'high end' Class D amps out there that are just as good as Class A, A/B amps? I realize that's a sensitive question to some and I mean no disrespect---but whenever I see others' hifi systems on social media, all of the amps are A or A/B. There's always Pass, McIntosh, Moon, Luxman, Accuphase, etc. Where are the Class Ds? For folks out there that want more power for less efficient speakers and can't afford the uber expensive Class As, A/Bs, what is there to choose from that's close to those brands? Thanks
Showing 2 responses by pinwa
The Starke AD4.320 isn't sold out, is it simply backordered until the end of December. https://shop.starkesound.com/products/starke-sound-ad4-amplifier Pricing is still $839 shipped. I hooked the AD4.320 up to my Moabs today and liked it better than the PS Audio S300s that are on that system. |