LSA Voyager GAN Amplifier

350 wpc not 300.  Again, I am just stunned at how good this amplifier actually is.  

Gremlins for me has been the class D amps I have listened to did not have the heart, soul, guts nor finesse of the best solid state class A or AB, hybrids or tube amps.  The Voyager has a beautiful midrange presence and bloom with rock solid low end and extended bur very clean highs.  Straight out of the box, the highs were hard, harsh and irritating yet I could sense this amplifier had promise. 

I have not listened to many of the top notch class D offerings available.  I had a pair of class D monoblocks built for me and they were just not my cup of tea.  Years ago, I had  class D amp from Underwood Wally that had an exceptionally smooth sound despite missing the midrange presence and bloom.

Grannyring, I will be very tempted to mod this amp trying to eek out a bit more performance.  That is just my audiophile sickness.  Always chasing better sound.  However, based on what I am now hearing, getting it modded won't be a high priority.

Curiousjim,  I ordered the Voyager from Underwood Wally.  LSA is his company so I suspect that he is the sole distributor for this amp. 

I was not put off by the restocking fee.  I really did not expect to like the Voyager amp but was intrigued by the gallium aspect of the amp.  I was prepared to send it back and pick up the Audio GD class A monoblocks.  That is, till I got about 24 hours on them.  No way I am sending them back.  However, modding this amp is a different story. . 

Tweak 1, your advice is on target.  I will continue the burn in to get to a couple of hundred hours before modding.  Much of my equipment across 4 two channel systems has been modded so I have no fear of entrusting a high caliber modder with improving my equipment.

Gman74, 24 hours is when the LSA Voyager really opened up and started sounded like an all star amp.  Hints of this before 24 hours.  I am sure though it's break in is not complete. 

I have about 45 hours on the LSA Voyager now.  As time passes it is developing more layering, spatiality and finesse.  Just beautiful sonics.  I am still in awe of what I am hearing out of this modest sized little box.

As I listen more it has become clear to me that the midrange is much more tubelike than solid state.  Great detail, air and presence factor with nicely defined but not edgy or harsh leading edges.  This is after about 70 hours on these LSA Voyagers.

The Voyager in my system has lost virtually all hardness on the top end,  except on the rare recording.  It is being driven by the Sachs tube preamp.  I concur that it does not have balls to the wall bass like some behemoth class A amps that I have.  Nevertheless, the bass is just fine and is impactful.  I am now close to 175 hours on the amp.  And I am not itching to get the Pass Labs X250.5 back in there.  The PassLabs is one fine amp - solid state done right.

Up until now, I did not care much for the sonic profile of class D.  I gave it a grudging try when talking with Walter Liederman and honestly thought that I would be returning the amplifier for some Audio GD monoblocks.  I have two high power PassLab amps, a pair of JC1 Parasound monoblocks, Ampzilla monoblocks and a Parasound A21+.  I know what excellent class A, AB, hybrid and tube amps sound like to my ears/brain.  All excellent amps in their own right.  I am just fine with the LSA Voyager in my reference system and don't really miss the big boy amps.  The GAN iteration of class D is not your father's class D.   I would listen and let your ears and brain be the judge.  I am a convert for damn sure.  An unlikely and skeptical one at that.  

Ricevs, what is your website address? 

Ara no apology needed.  I am not a class D fanboy, in fact I was just the opposite.  I just let my ears and brain tell me whether I like what I am hearing and what it sounds like.  

Avanti1960,  the Parasound A21+ is a very sold amp, however, it is not as crystalline clean/clear as the Voyager.  Probably a bit more grunt on the low end than the LSA Voyager.  The PassLabs X250.5 is also a better sounding amp than the A21+.  I do not listen to much rock.  But on what I do listen to, jazz, New Age, classical, and some R&B, I have not found anything that is irritating or unlistenable because of amp distortion.

Damn, what happened to just figuring out how something sounds, how does it sound relative to other kit, and what are the system synergies.  I mean, some of the tussles in this thread just blow my mind. 

All I can say is that my bias against class D amps has evaporated after listening to the L SA Voyager.  I have had some awesome Class A, class A/B and tube amps in my systems.  I know good to excellent sound and I hear it with the Voyager - it is excellent.  Is it the best amp in the world? I doubt it.  Nevertheless, the amp is a superb clean, crystalline, spacious amp with great tone colors.  It doesn't break your back to pick up and move around either. 

Maybe it has trouble driving difficult loads but it has zero difficulty blissfully driving my modded Revel F208s.   There are tradeoffs with virtuly any purchase of stereo equipment.  I love and have several behemoth Class A amps that I can herniated my back from lifting, the best being my PassLabs X250.5 that is being modded at present.  I am very happy with the Voyager and have no longing for my other amps.

I had no idea class D could sound like this and I am sure it can be made to sound better.  I am no golden ear but, IMO, I have fairly good ears.  The Class D gallium nitride amps seem to be the real deal.

The desire to mod excellent sounding equipment is eminently understandable.  Audiophiles are ALWAYS chasing better sound no matter how good it is.  So if iequipment sounds really good or better, the desire to mod it is understandable.  I have rarely modded bad sounding equipment, at least not recently.  I mod really good sounding stuff.  I doubt if I am alone in this position but I also know that I do not speak for all audiophiles.

@chorus, 24 hours the sound got interesting.  By 100 hours I saw noticeable improvement.  Early on, the highs on some songs were a bit etched and irritating.  150 to 200 hours the sound plateaus at a high level.  Any improvements beyond that time frame have not been noticeable to me.

My Voyager GAN begins its journey for mods later today via UPS.  Thanks  @yyzsantabarbara for the update on how your Modded amp sounds.  

I have not appreciated the grain in the sound of my Voyager amp before mods.  In fact, the amp, to my ears, has crystalline clarity.  So the grainy description is hard to wrap my head around.

Just got my modded Voyager back.  After a few hours of playing, it has clearly improved.  Is it a new amplifier? No.  It does though have more jump factor, presence, detail and clarity.  Very nice incremental improvement for sure.  

@kayakerf 
It is certainly not warmer with the mod.  It might be a touch less so but to my ears nothing substantive.

@yyzsantabarbara 
I think our ears are hearing similar things.  U did a very nice mod that upgraded the Voyager sonics but did not massively change its sonic signature.  Very well done....

The biggest sin, IMO, with the Voyager GAN amp is one of omission not commission.  It does not plumb the depths of the low frequencies with the grunt, heft and impact of your best Class A amps.  If you had a powered subwoofer of good quality that would probably be a band aid of good quality.

I had no clue when starting this thread that it would turn into an ongoing gallery of insults and ridicule.  This stuff really taints this beautiful hobby that we are passionate about.

@cindyment I have used to different speakers on the Voyager GAN amplifier.  InitialInitiaused heavily modded Revel F208s.  About a week ago, i hooked in Spatial Audio X5s - they now have about 125 hours on them.