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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@atmasphere Do you think you’ll offer optional upgrades to your Class D amps in the same way that you do for your OTLs? If not, I’d be curious to hear your reasons (e.g. you feel they are performing optimally regardless of cost).

@ricevs Thanks for providing context on your mods. I myself have performed a number of mods, mostly across tube-based equipment with great success. I’ve done similar things as you list - replacing caps or adding bypass caps, upgrading wiring and chassis connector parts / IECs. The reason I ask on the ease of the GaN modules over others was that I saw you mostly modded GaN amps and wondered if ease was a reason, but it seems you prefer to start with quality, and that makes sense. 

 

Actually, @atmasphere I was just reading the other A’Gon thread on your amps and came across a post on why certain upgrades aren’t made largely because they won’t be audible due to the high amount of feedback you run through the amps. If that’s the primary reason, no further need to elaborate, but if you do have suggestions on upgrades you do offer or consider offering, let us know.

@oceanandmountains  I have a Peachtree GaN1 driving Spendor S3/5R2 speakers in a small room (12'x15').  I love to listed to vocals at low volume - think Melody Gardot - at night with the lights low and a snifter of scotch.  Actually, to my surprise, the GaN1 with the Spendors is magic at low volumes.  Very precise, but the opposite of fatiguing.  In fact, they draw me into the music; attention is very pleasantly rewarded.  Best of luck.

How do these various GaN amplifiers perform at low volume (ideally, when paired with speakers known for low volume performance, e.g. horns, BBC monitors, etc).

I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't work just fine. For starters class D amps tend to be low noise. I run mine on speakers that are 98dB and they work fine at low levels.