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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I've got a Technics SU-R1000 which I think is pretty brilliant and is the first "digital" amp that I have really liked.  I also had its baby brother in to play with for a couple of weeks and thought that was excellent as well.  I had a NAD M33 for about three months and couldn't get rid of that fast enough.  

It's tough to compare the Technics to some of the others because of all the additional features that it brings to the table, so not really apples to apples.  There is a gentleman in the area who has the AGD monoblocks and I would love to spend a day with him comparing the Technics and the AGD.  I may see if my dealer is willing to loan me his AGDs for a long weekend as well.

I'd also be interested in comparing the Peachtree with the Technics G700M2 as they seem in the same price ballpark.  Sorry I can't offer more, I just have not heard any of these in the same room with the same equipment.  

It is the only Digital IA on the market, Class D is not Digital and neither is GaN. 🙄

I am comparing the Peachtree GAN400 with my CODA #16. In the past, have compared the CODA #8 with KRELL Duo 175XD and the Voyager 350 GAN in the same system at the same time. 

The PeachTree GAN400 is not too bad at all. I like the other amps more (except the Voyager 350 GAN) but not MUCH more. 

All 3 GAN amps I owned were better to my ears than the other Class D I owned from D-Sonic and NAD (Master series).

The modded GAN1 by Ric gave my CODA #16 a good run. The CODA #16 is more powerful, and my speakers could use that power, so the #16 was the winner.

Tonight, I am going to re-try the GAN400 in my larger Livingroom with my Yamaha NS5000. I will move the CODA #16 to the office with the LRS+. I have visitors coming for 4 weeks this weekend and it maybe safer to get the CODA out of the line of fire.

@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.