LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

Tweak1, as the internet's #1 supporter of Ric's work, why don't you send me your modded amps to measure? I have a couple Icepower 1200AS2 modules I can measure size by side as a reference. 

This looks familiar. This EVM has been available for 5 years now. Nothing new. Digikey used to sell these amp modules for $300 each.

Amps can measure great yet sound bad. But you know you have a winner when they measure great and sound great. No need to settle for an amp with a THD+N worse than -100dB to achieve good sound unless you’re paying under $1000. Not these days.

Who’s heard the Icepower 200AS1 modules? They’re based on the TI TPA3255 chips. I could bring a dual mono amp to market with them for $500. THD+N is 10dB better than these EVM boards in this amp. And they sound great as well. But they're newer technology than these GAN modules. So it's expected. 

Same chip but Icepower did a very good implementation of it. Probably the best available. 
 

https://icepower.dk/buy/as-series/200as1/

And I’ll do listening tests as well. I’m not Amir. I believe cables and connectors make a difference. I just don’t believe that degraded objective performance improves the fidelity. And without measuring, and having the stock amp side by side with the modded amp your ears can fool you.

The bigger question is do your mods degrade the objective performance? Have you measured to verify?

If anyone wants to verify Ric's mods to see if they improve performance, send them to me. I can measure up to 115 SINAD and 1200W. I'll video the whole process in 4K and post to YouTube to show everything is legit. 

The biggest problem is, even if you come up with some mods that result in a pleasant subjective experience, without the right tools for the job it's impossible to verify if you have an exact match channel to channel, or mod to mod. With high resolution audio gear even extra flux on one tiny component can add distortion. Just look at the difference 1 bad XLR solder job did on the amp Amir measured. The more mods to do, the higher the probability of inconsistencies. That's why a proper engineer verifies each and every job with the proper tools before going out the door. 

So Ric I have 1 question for you. Do you believe a stereophonic system should have perfectly matched channels?

I was referring to the shelves at my local grocery store. Not what's on the news. I took this picture today:

https://ibb.co/8r19zdT

Regardless I was just making a point  

So you're scared to do it? You can post the link to the video on your website to show everyone that not only do your mods sound great, your work has a great level of quality control and consistency. 

So I take that as a no. I’ll make a proposal for you that will result in exploding sales. Send me 3 samples of a product you modified and verified with your ears to be "golden samples". I’ll video record the process in 4K right from unboxing, to measuring without stopping the video. So you can see there’s no funny business going on. If all 3 products are perfectly matched channel to channel it will be incredible advertising for your service.

EPC:

https://epc-co.com/epc

Hired EAS to build them a demo board to show off their GaN devices. It was for sale for a few years at Digikey and other distributors around the world. Digikey discontinued it due to lack of sales (because of cost and no improvement in performance over several other cheap class D amps). Then EAS decided to rework the module for OEM sales. However since then companies like Icepower came up with better performing amp modules with integrated supplies for only $68 each including shipping worldwide in lots of 20. So I don’t expect much further interest.

"I have been doing this for over 40 years"

Biden’s been a politician for 50 years. And the shelves are bare at my local grocery store. 

Have you compared it to the $68 Icepower 200AS1 modules yet? 

I take it you’re 1 of the 22% (according to far left NBC) from the recent polls?

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

The truth has a funny way of stopping the BS. Now that we’re past nonoise’s political distraction, let’s continue with comparing the modules in this amp with competitors. Such as the $68 Icepower modules. I’m here to help this community with my ears and measurement gear.

Offering $1000’s in services for free that could validate your worth, only made you run with your tail between your legs Ric. So that’s about all I can offer to you.

Wow you won the Guinness World book of records ultimate deflection from reality reward. Congrats.  Might want to stop with the "they's" and take some responsibility on your own. And I hope your followers are impressed

Isn’t this an audio forum? Your propaganda might be cute if you weren’t taking money from some, and making false claims about others. Save the frog licking experience for elsewhere.

https://scrubsmag.com/licking-frogs-to-get-high/

Just careful with the tightness in the chest.  Nobody wants you to die. Just wake up. 

So I stated 2 absolute facts:

1: Biden’s been a politician for 50 years.

2: The shelves are bare at my local grocery store.

In which I proved with a photo

Tell me the misinformation that was spread that warrants this topic being escalated to inflamed levels?

Which is what you did after hearing my accurate assessments on Biden. Which has now been verified to be accurate.

So the only 2 appropriate actions now, are either to apologize, or explain why you shouldn’t. Step up to the plate.

Here's how I like to see amps measure:

Amir's never measured anything that good. 

So you can backup all of your claims of better performance you've been touting for 2 years. For all we know the channels could have a 10-20dB spread of THD+N between them. 

Has he tested any amp with -115 THD+N @ 100w output? After Amir repaired the amp it measured as good as the module manufacturer's claim. So not sure what more to expect. 

When a GaN based amp measures and sounds better than what I already have, maybe I'll take some interest. But when we get to the level of amplification I'm currently using, the amp is no longer the weak link in the chain. The speakers, crossover and room acoustics are 100x more important. The only real area for improvement over what I currently have for an amplifier is decreasing the size. And that will only happen with advancements in power supply technology. 

Well I think he only has 2 clients. So we can retain some faith in humanity. 

"Oh well, but since you are so intent on showing Ric as a hack"

That's not my intention at all. If what you claim about the amp is true it will only vindicate all the claims being made. 

I’m part of the 78% these days according to the far left NBC.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/direction_of_country-902.html

And they deleted my thread for talking about an Icepower module I don't even sell. I guess they're too cheap and Icepower doesn't advertise here. So it was a no go. 

I call BS on EAS tuning the board for worse measurements and better sound. All the EPC demo boards measure mediocre. EPC sells these parts based on the ability to build better preforming amps using them. But in the 6-7 years since they started working on these, conventional class D amp tech like the Purifi's surpassed them. If they could, this amp would measure much better. 
 

Back on the frog juice again Ric?

Don't forget to hold hands and sing kumbaya

So someone who actually understands amplifier technology, and has built amplifiers for 15 years is a threat to the community? I’ve built the best measuring and sounding amp in the world. But I don’t make amps for audiophiles. Only music lovers. So I have no skin in the game. This allows me to be honest. I don’t need to pretend that a $100 amp module is worthy of a $3000 amp. That makes me a threat.

Share something that measures better. And this is through an input stage that drives the amp to full output power with 4v input. Not with the input stage bypass cheater switch enabled like Benchmark has. 
 

Only subjective feedback so far

Well hard to share how something sounds over a forum. But for those intelligent enough to understand what's in the picture, it's as much proof you'll ever see on a forum. 

Best to keep it inside then. Makes for better discourse when nobody knows what they're talking about 

I suppose he's suggesting that if the information you share is factual, it's forum policy to keep your posting to a minimum. 

I make amps for active speakers. Only music lovers like them because they don’t carry the biases of separates/passive speakers do

I didn’t realize LSA made another amp with the TI TPA3255 chip just like Icepower uses in their 200AS1 and AS2 modules. 
 

It would be interesting to hear if they did a better job than Icepower with their implementation. Icepower’s 200AS2 stereo module can be had for $78. And is a turnkey amp. Built in supply and everything. 
 

https://icepower.dk/buy/as-series/200as2/

How’s this mudslinging? What did I say bad about anything other than Ric’s mods and behaviour? Obviously LSA agrees with me that the TI TPA3255 class D chip can make an amazing cost/performance amp. In fact after hearing the TI demo amp, I almost made a custom implementation myself. But then Icepower came out with their modules, which are flawlessly implemented, with top quality parts. And dirt chip. Around $43 I believe in quantities of 100 units. So obviously I decided it wasn’t worth the expense and headaches making my own version. 

Why would anyone make this accusation? Someone signs up just to make 1 post and we should believe this? Wow you audiophiles are delusional. Provide some evidence, share a video taken of you with The location. Then I’ll share a video of me. Then we can meet up in person. If you don’t show up you’re a fraud.

Nothing that anyone on here knows about

Yipeee you’re a hero,! Now what are you trying to convince me or anyone intelligent about again? 

Another way is to use the amps in active speakers so they’re not wasted by passing the signal though crappy passive crossover parts. 

Added noise and distortion hasn’t ever improved my subjective listening experience. That being said not all good measuring gear sounds good. I’ve heard many great measuring DAC’s and amps that sound like crap. But when your electronics are amazing both objectively and subjectively, you don’t get improved sound by adding noise, distortion and phase shifts before the drivers.

In a couple days I’ll show you guys what that pristine signal coming from my amplifier looks like after passing though a passive crossover.  

No it will just add a bunch of noise and distortion. And that’s even with top quality copper foil inductors, Mundorf silver/gold in oil caps, and Dueland resistors. I can just imagine what the cheap Bennic crossovers used in most high end commercial speakers (B&W, Revel, Vivid etc) would do to the signal. Especially if it’s 4th order. 

We need Ric to take things back on topic. 

Yes because the first 11 pages before I arrived were strictly on topic every post.