The March Audio guy emailed me and said his stereo version comes out in the end of August 2020.
I bought the Benchmark AHB2 last week and looking to buy a second AHB2 for mono block setup. I need a 3rd amp for my orphaned KEF LS50s and a Purifi amp is in the cards.
I want to wait and see what NAD has in the cards. The should soon release a simple Purifi amp. I am not interested in the Master Series M33. |
Things change and move forward. We are talking about Purifi amps here and not the Class D you have heard. I am sure you have not heard these amps because almost no one else has. Here is a quote from someone who has and has reviewed a lot of amps. https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1420-purifi-audios-pint-sized-powerhouses I began evaluating the Eigentakt when I used it in May to review the Magico A1 minimonitors ($7400/pair). Before hooking up the Eigentakt, I’d been using a pair of Constellation Audio Revelation Taurus monoblocks -- massive amps that cost $40,000/pair, are specified to each output up to 500W into 8 ohms or 1000W into 4 ohms, and sound outstanding. The Eigentakt clearly wouldn’t be able to match that kind of power, but the Magico A1s don’t need it -- and don’t want it, unless you want to blow them up.
I also swapped out the Nirvana S-L speaker cables I use with the Constellations for the Neutrik speakON cables supplied by Purifi. Feeding the Eigentakt were an EMM Labs DA2 Reference DAC and Pre preamplifier, both via Crystal Cable Standard Diamond Balanced interconnects. My music server was an Asus ZenBook UX303U laptop computer, connected to the DAC with an AmazonBasics USB link.
I found that the Eigentakt was not only powerful enough to drive the A1s -- it sounded as good as the Constellations. As I wrote in my review, “almost nothing about the A1s’ sound had changed -- the tonal balance was the same, the highs were just as extended and the midrange just as pure, voices were equally robust, bass just as extended, and the soundstaging and imaging were exactly as before.” What’s more, I also thought that if there were any differences in the sounds, they “were at best slight and, surprisingly, favored the Purifi.” I played “Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have -- But I Have It,” from Lana Del Rey’s Norman ***** Rockwell! (16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC, Interscope). As I also said in the review, “the subtle sounds of her lips moving as she sings softly into the microphone were more apparent through the Purifi.” Ever since the arrival of the Revelation Taurus monos, I’ve loved their combination of smoothness, detail, and effortlessness -- for the Eigentakt to turn in the same performance, at a fraction of the price, was incredible. I was impressed. Granted, if I’d needed more power than the Eigentakt could provide, the Constellations would have easily walked away with the prize -- but in this first test, and within the Eigentakt’s power limitations, its sound quality had proved extraordinary. |
The Purifi amps seem almost as good spec wise as the AHB2. However, based on Schneider’s description the Purifi seems to sound better than the AHB2 (which I will get).
When I heard Bruno et al say last year that their goal was to remove a zero from the price of an amp I made sure I kept my eye out for any amps with this Purifi module. I was disappointed that the only one I saw was the busy looking NAD. I heard a non-Purifi NAD amp last year that was simple, clean and sounding good for the price. I was hoping they would use the Purifi module in something like that instead of the jack of all trades version they put it in.
I would also be interested to see how Bruno’s new creation stacks up against the new-ish GAN amps. |
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Actually ricevs I do not only go by measurements. The AHB2 is something I owned before and know will sound good. The Purifi stuff is so new that I have no trust in it yet. I will wait and see what consensus is reached on what is considered good Purifi gear before I plunk money on it. The ASR site is helpful to learn about all the crappy Purifi builds that are out there at the moment. I am interested in a company out of Australia, who have a Purifi amp, called March Audio they maybe better than the pack.
Most of the people posting on the ASR link I shared recommended certain Purifi gear over the AHB2 based on better measurements (specifically watts) and better price of the Purifi. I am choosing the AHB2 today based on how it sounded to me when I owned it a few years ago. I posted the link because there are people like me comparing the Purifi amps with the Benchmark AHB2.
If Bruno were to sell his prototype Purifi amps I would be interested in those today but I will wait until version 2.0 before I look at other Purifi builds. In the specific case of Purifi, the ASR web site was very helpful in showing me why I am correct in this thinking (nothing to do with measurements).
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I think the AHB2 is an awesome amp, especially for the KEF LS50's (bedroom system). I owned it for a few years so I am confident in my assessment. It was awful on an Magico A3 though, that speaker was more demanding. I also do not think Beryllium drivers are what I would pair with the AHB2. @ricevs I believe mods can make a good piece sound incredible. Case in point is my Sony SCD-1 SACD player that was modified by $3K worth of mods 20 years ago by Vacuum State. I have recently put it back into my Bryston BHA-1 headphone system and it is phenomenal. Though the SCD-1 in stock form had "good bones" so that may have worked well with the mods.
http://www.vacuumstate.com/index.dna?rubrik=14&lang=2&a=/%2527%251C%25D8%253E%25D9H%2540&b=738000.5727941110
I have 2 amps to get soon. A Purifi amp would be a nice cost saving way to achieve this. Like I said in my Original Post,
A Benchmark AHB2 and one of these Purifi amps for me please.
I want to find a Purifi amp with "good bones". Then modding that would be interesting. Your counter arguments to the ASR Purfi build criticisms are understood. |
@ddafoe That c-298 is what I have been waiting for the second system. I wonder what the sonic sacrifices are in mono block form.
I also have a new AHB2 and love it. Your comparison with the PASS X250.8 seems like comparing 2 totally different sonic profiles.
I will be getting another AHB2 to run in mono. If you do not like yours and looking to sell hit me up with a PM. I am looking for the black version. |
