What are the best GaN Amplifiers available today?


There have been a number of threads discussing the wonder of GaN and some of the individual amplifiers that have caught peoples attention, including those from AGD, Atma-Sphere, Peachtree, LSA, etc. Has anyone done a shootout against two or more GaN amps? If so, which did you prefer, and why? And on what speakers?

Also, of the one you preferred, do you prefer it over every other amplifier you’ve ever heard? If not, what non-GaN amp do you enjoy more?

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Showing 4 responses by j-wall

@blisshifi looks like T+A makes those class D M200 amps in monoblocks and they sell for $10k. I'm going for Atma-sphere's class D first, but these t+a have peaked my interest to compare them for sure. 

@blisshifi gotcha. Is the A Vs M just a monoblocks differential or is there any difference to build? I'd definitely be interested if you get to hear a pair. I've been curious about the Mola Mola class D, but $15k is a little too steep for me to experiment.

@yyzsantabarbara that's good to hear. I was hoping to avoid having the drop that much on a pair. I just saw TMR is now an authorized dealer and they're up for $15k of I remember correctly so figured they still were relevant and compete with the newer stuff. I have seen used pairs pop up for very fair pricing though. 

@blisshifi I saw your mention the Cambridge and have read a few accolades on them. I usually mischaracterize their equipment as budget and I should really give it a shot instead of poor blanket statements. The XA topology is interesting I'll have to check out the consumption figures. My biggest proponent of class D is the heat factor. I've been searching for an amp that cuts the heat, but still sounds good which is why I've landed on the Atma-sphere's. Lowest heat rating from a specification page that I've found and supporting a small USA company is a plus.