What are the best GaN Amplifiers available today?

I tried the Peachtree GaN400 based on the glowing reviews and wasn’t at all impressed. It sounded like typical Class D sound—no balls in the lowest octaves, clear and articulate but also fatiguing. It was a surprisingly noisy amp as well.

A local audiophile friend of mine auditioned the Orchard Starkrimson and he wasn’t impressed with it either. He preferred his other amps which had retailed for similar prices. Similar to the Peachtree, the way he described its sound aligns with what I associate with typical Class D sound. In other words, no notable sonic advantages over a competent Class AB amp.

I’ve determined that the problem with forum anecdotes with regard to amps is that many are lacking a good point of reference. Someone will chime in saying that an amp like the Starkrimson powered their Magnepans or ESLs well, yet this person probably wouldn’t say that had they compared the amp to a big Krell on the same day. That or they will be comparing these amps to a mid-fi offering from a competitor.

Suffice to say I suspect GaN FETs with regard to amps are mostly another flash in the pan technology that hasn’t really moved the needle. There may be exceptions of course, but I am highly doubtful at present.

@mbmi

Firstly, I referred to GaN FETs as a flash-in-the-pan technology, not class D as a whole.

Secondly, I didn’t claim all GaN amps will necessarily perform poorly, merely that I have considerable doubt that any of them are really noteworthy.

Lastly, the primary reason class D has been gaining market share is that more manufacturers are adopting the technology as a way to save on both manufacturing and shipping costs. Unfortunately, many of them choose to not pass the savings onto the customers. That and class D on the whole has improved in sound quality over the past couple decades, and some do indeed approach the performance of decent AB amps. However, the majority are still rather sterile and lacking in dynamics. Thing is, many “hi-fi” manufacturers are merely in the game to maximize profits. If sacrificing 10–20% of performance vs an AB counterpart allows them to do that, you can be dam sure that’s what they’re going to do. They also know that the majority of people purchasing these amps don’t have a decades-long history of obsessive gear flipping. These are often people looking for a simple, lightweight and unobtrusive solution with impressive specs on paper, and have little reference by which to judge performance. That and auditory memory is generally unreliable. So unless the listener A/Bs their latest/greatest class D amp against their past class A-AB amps, it’s unlikely they’re going to notice the shortcomings, and just as likely their expectation bias will lead them to a skewed conclusion.