Spent the weekend shooting out the Orchard Starks against a few amps. It’s an amazing little amp. FYI my room is completely treated and flat as I use it for mastering music and it needs to be. I currently use Sonics Allegra speakers that have a fully rebuilt external crossover consisting of about 9k in parts and direct wires to each driver. (Cardas rhodium posts, silver wire etc…) needless to say my room is accurate and these speakers are very revealing/neutral.
I’ve had plenty of class d amps in my space (nad c298, various wired4sound Monos, bel canto ref500m, Merrill Audio thors… a few more… and I never got along with them. I’d always go back to my Magnus Class A 340 amp or… there was always a grain or something that felt off in the sustain/decay that left the music feeling like a science experiment or something…
we shot the Orchards out against the Magnus 340 (which initially I liked more that a few Pass amps I was trying out) just sounded more linear and accurate in my space) and a first watt f2
The Starks are amazing little amps! Non of the grain or distracting artifacts were present in what I’ve experienced with other class d amps.
F2 sounded veiled and filtered compared to the Starks. These little guys really seemed like straight wire with gain. I was really impressed how the music presented so clearly, the reverb/space on orchestral music decay and air felt so open and endless… downside was the bass lacked a little impact compared to the Magnus 340. I’m hoping to demo the Ultra soon or just buy one… if you like an accurate sound these amps really out class any other class D I’ve heard.
Hoping the Ultra gives me that bass energy… if everything else is there along with the bass I imagine they are awesome.
I also heard the Starks on my friends Zu Def supremes and they really reveal the sound of those speakers… cool little amps!