Solid-State Power Amp Adventures

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by purr1n, Jan 24, 2017.

  1. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    took a look at various scribbles and tagged audiomart listings

    Plinius SA250 / Yamaha B-1 / accuphase / SAE A1001 / Musical Fidelity A1

    Sansui B-2301 / Mitsubishi DA-A10 / Krell KSA-50/100 / Classe / Aragon

    looked at sumo - sumo nine by Jim Bonjiorno ( Jason designed the ten)

    ..dB
     
  2. Forza AudioWorks

    Forza AudioWorks MOT: Forza AudioWorks

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    My buddy recently tested Accuphase P-4500 and said it's a different amp (focused on evenness and 'truth') than other machines by this manufacturer
     
  3. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    I weighed some options in terms of Class A power/sound, but on a limited budget. I'm powering Dyn F260s which are a 4 ohm load, but not one that will tax old school Class A amp designs. A good buddy of mine suggested I look around for a Bedini amp. I did some research and sure enough, while rare, they are consistently rated highly among solid state amps. Trouble is, service is a little hard to come by these days. Still, I found a very nice example of one of the bigger amps they ever released, the 200/200, freshly re-capped (including the "big" caps) and completely gone over.

    It's being delivered via freight in the coming weeks. Ultimately I'm looking for the dynamics and detail of the Aegir, with boldness and forgiveness along the lines of my Odyssey. And in the winter, it may double as a space heater, we'll see.

    I'll follow-up once I get it and put it through its paces.
     
  4. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Anyone heard the Emotiva XPA-1 Gen2? Apparently it has a class A / AB switch on the front, and will do up to 60w in class A...is that just marketing BS or what?
     
  5. trung225

    trung225 Facebook Friend

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    I haven't heard them, but 60W class A in a monoblock form with this kind of heat sink is pretty legit, so no marketing BS here. But class A is not always result in superb sound, so you need to try to hear them.
     
  6. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Yep that’s why I asked - no topology is a guarantee of great sound. I suspect the fact that it hasn’t been mentioned prominently is a sign...but still curious.
     
  7. dBel84

    dBel84 Friend

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    60 watt class A is a bit much for those heatsinks. But it is very possible that the 60W is quoted for 10% distortion which would allow for a decent 25W.
     
  8. Grifficus

    Grifficus New

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    I know there is a better place for this but I will be damned if I can find it. I was looking for pricing on amps and I noticed that a seller on amazon is selling the Vincent sp331 for $500. When I look elsewhere I am seeing $800 and up on the used market and $2400 new. Seemed like this might be a place where people might be interested and will kindly tell me where this should have went. :)
     
  9. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    This might work: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-deals-thread.87/
     
  10. Grifficus

    Grifficus New

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  11. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    I was gonna say, I took a look myself ready to buy at $500 but couldn't find anything under $2000.
     
  12. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    I have had a Yamaha A-S3000 since around when it came out. It is their top of the line 2 channel integrated amp.

    There are mixed reviews of it online. I have always loved it. I have owned many other amps over the years and have had ample opportunity to compare them to this amp. It’s a very good integrated. Balanced circuitry, MM and MC phono stages (both good), lots of inputs (balanced and SE). It looks gorgeous. Built like a tank inside and out.

    Sound wise I would say it really just gets out of the way. Delivers nice clean power and doesn’t add too much of its own impression. If you feed it a good source and hook up good speakers it will show what the rest of the gear can do. Kind of reminds me of Vidar a bit.
    The headphone out is not bad either. Definitely not as good as a dedicated head amp, but it’s not as bad some others I’ve heard. I think it has a dedicated head amp circuit of some sort.

    Weird personal use case. I have my pair of vintage, 2000 ohm Senn HD424 hooked up directly to the speaker taps. This sounds awesome. I built a little adapter and have also tried my 6XX and ZMF Auteurs hooked to the taps. Also sound awesome. So if anyone is looking for a huge, integrated head amp and wants to build an adapter to connect their headphones direct to the speaker taps, this is a great option. ::shrugs::

    The stinker is the price, list price is about $7k. BUT you’re a dummy if you pay full price. I got mine new for about 60% off and they can be had for under $3k used. At prices like that I think it is a screaming deal for a gorgeous, well-built and absolutely top notch integrated.

    [​IMG]

    Rando internet glamour shot. So. Gorgeous.
     
  13. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Wow that is an insane discount on a new product. I've really wanted to hear this thing, and I absolutely adore the aesthetics, especially silver like pictures. Have you had other amps previously?
     
  14. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    It was a nuts deal. That was actually why I bought, it had just come out, no reviews, I didn’t have a chance to listen either. I just saw the pictures and the price and went for it.

    I’ve had a bunch of different amps. Currently have a bunch. It’s not the best I’ve ever heard or owned. Although in 6-7 years I’ve never gotten rid of it. This Yammy, my devore speakers and my LCD2s are really the only pieces of gear that have lasted for even close to this long. Ironically I bought them all at the same time. That was my set up for a long time. Back in the good ole days when things were simple. Since then so much stuff has cycled in and out, but not those three pieces.

    Currently my primary 2 channel setup uses a McIntosh MC225/C29 as amp/pre-amp and I am really loving that.

    The Yamaha is still rocking in another room hooked up to a pair of Polk LsiM703s and that combo really sounds great. Just nice, clean, punchy, fun listening. In fact I have recommended this set up to several friends looking for a good, easy setup. Both the amp the speakers can be had for major discounts. Add a bluesound node and you’ve got a really jamming system, you can buy almost anywhere, super easy to setup and use that looks and sounds good for like $4k. I’m sure there are lots of better systems you could build for that money, but I really like this one.


    Anyway. I got a little off topic. Bottom line, great SS integrated if you get a good deal.
     
  15. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    @Partytime - how does it compare to your MC225 (or any other McIntosh if you have experience with others)?
     
  16. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    Hmmm. On the surface they’re pretty different, but they’re both pretty neutral sounding amps.

    Describing audio in detail is not my strong suit, so I’m going to use some commonly accepted buzzwords.

    MC225 - more open sounding, big sound stage, lots of detail, smooth mids and highs (in a good way imo), very dynamic - the word that pops in to my head is ease. This amp had a well deserved legendary rep. I think it is really magical. I like it more in the setup it’s currently in.

    A-S3000 - less open, decent sound stage but not as good 225, great bass control, big, powerful sound, good detail. The word that keeps popping into my head is authoritative.

    Other Mc stuff - I’ve heard a ton of mc stuff, demoed in my home at friends houses and in store. I’m a big fan boy, I think they make some really epic stuff. That said, a couple of years ago I tried all of the recent Mc integrateds with a thought to replace the Yamaha. None of them impressed me enough to replace the Yamaha, especially for the money. Not saying they aren’t impressive, they are, they are arguably better (marginally) than the Yamaha. But for my money, in my room, with my speakers, to my ears the difference was negligible. I also had my friend with me for most of the demos, he is also a big time hifi nerd with a mega system, he didn’t hear the improvement either.
     
  17. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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  18. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Last edited: Sep 24, 2019
  19. Partytime

    Partytime Facebook Friend

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    Ya, same here.

    Still looks great tho!

    And there are a few class D amps out there that sound good.
     
  20. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    The case of the amp probably are why it's so expensive & heavy. If they just used a cheap casing, it probably could have been sold at a more resonable
     

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