Ah yeah, updating their website they’re not that quick at... The first one was 40 watts I think, as it was their original monoblock amps in a single case with a preamp and extra inputs. The ‘Mark 2’ then came out a bit later, with increased output and the in built power supplies.
Having had triodes, tetrodes and pentodes in my life (still love tubes), and having hung on to a Tripath amp for much longer than we thought we would, we've decided to try this one-box solution for our current open-plan living space. Arrived yesterday. Champagne. Very good deal. Thinking of matching with some JBLs or ATCs at some point. Not decided which.
It does! Not rushed to do that just yet as we're having a new stand made for all our kit. New space, new things, selling off old things. You know how it goes.
Awesome. You're going to love it! I almost swung for the PM-10 too but $8000... I choose the PM-KI The PM-10 runs the same amps as the Ruby but 2 as mono-blocks for 200/400wpc and has separate PSU's per channel. Ken was one hell of a Audio Designer! Good Bless him. Enjoy!
The one thing that baffles me on those new integrated amps, how do you intend to have it service and fine tune it along the way if the newer model keeps on coming in (obsoleting the previous ones) for there are more nano components vs. the old school power or integrated amps? I know a lot of warranty service center that fixes new amps, but trust me they wont go to as far as fine tuning to original specs. Its just a thought and please explain.
Personally, I wasn't planning on fiddling with this much. It connects all our sources and allows quick access to great music. The output stage is bespoke in a way, with B2B low gain B2B Hypex modules suuplied without the input buffer - so Ken/Marantz/Yoshinobu Ogata had to design that in-house for this bridged amp arrangement. I guess there's a natural tuning possibility with the HDAM modules, here in their SA3 form. No doubt there will be further developments. That said, this is not an item I would seek to tune internally. It's more of a 'good enough' item around which to base a fit and forget system. It won't be the last amp I buy, I imagine. And we did not pay full retail, which was a bonus.
I'm actually in the verge of buying a solid state amp. There is one that I been in love since I was a child. But this is a possible complete overhaul and talking about it might be all the way up to a transformer replacement. Its a 50/50 obviously for I don't know what's the condition inside the amp. Im still thinking if I'm gonna pull the trigger.
Good luck. Befriend a good tech! For our part, Marantz is offering 3 years' cover with this line of equipment, as opposed to their usual 1. (Apologies for earlier typos. Typing on a smartphone is not my forté).
I got the amp bro. Its just a power amp which is the hardest one for me to find. Now I have to look for a pre-amp. I'm not sure if I wanna get tube preamp since of my setups are tubes. Any ideas?
I really enjoyed my time with a Charlize T-amplifier, and use a really cheap Lepai Class D amp for my garage stereo. I'm curious about the latest Hypex modules, given my current amp, a First Watt Aleph J clone, is pure class A. I call it the "McGriddle" since it does run very hot to generate a mighty 25Ws per channel.
That kinda too me back a bit for I picked up an onkyo integrated amp and its around that same respective wattage. I tried it at home and I felt that it was in a "good" category. Or I might have not really paid attention much to it. I ended up giving it to my brother in-law. One day I went to his house and he was playing it with a bose 201 speakers. I told myself OMG I am so blown away by that sound. I use to own a 100 wpc class 1 mosfet amp and it sounds like that on a small package. Every time I see my brother in law, the only think I could think of is putting both my hands around his neck.... That was a big blow on my end.
My latest video on the DIY HiFi Life Channel covers the VTV Purifi Amplifier. Stay tuned for my next video where I show how to upgrade this amp as well. Like and Subscribe is always appreciated.
I got hooked ont he reviews of the Crown XLS Core Series. I have three 2502's. I was using them in my current HT/Music space in my great room but pulled them out and went back to the built in Class G amps in my Arcam AVR 850. The XLS Cores are great but a bit too neutral sounding almost a bit steryl and have a bit of a noise floor hiss that is audible only if you put your ear to your speakers. For those who want very clean power, cool features, cool running temperarture, and light weight. These are a great option. In addition they are inexpensive and are built very well being they are intentenally designed for PA systems in a road case. I will be using them in a new HT build in my basement mostly for driving DIY Sub Woofer System.
Every type of amplifier has their range of cost, so yes if you look at the upper end of class D they are not cheap. The problem seems that the other types of amplifiers sound better at the mid range verses class D at the moment. Probably due to it being rather new tech for main amplification in 2 channel home systems. It’s been used in cars, home theater, professional PA systems and subwoofers. Now it’s being developed for high end home 2 channel systems. The more reasonably priced class D amps are just starting to crop up. It’s a good time to explore the format.
Since this thread started up I’ve invested in a Cyrus Stereo 200 class D power amp. Sounds great to me.
The differences you hear between most amplifiers is their distortion signature. Some class D amps have a distortion signature very similar to tube amps (although lower THD). So they can have excellent midrange. This is due to the fact that non-linearities in the encoding scheme and the use of dead time can result in lower ordered harmonic distortion- which is the primary distortion of tube amplifiers. But not all class D amps are the same- there is as much variance with them as there is with tube amplifiers or traditional solid state. So blanket statements don't seem to apply.
One I know of them is the AGD Audion. I think Bruno Putzey's modules do too, but since many of them are offered with questionable front ends and power supplies, you have to weed through them to see what works. One tip: if it has a switching power supply, unless that supply is custom made for audio, stay away. Many off the shelf SMPSs have current limiting stuff that can really affect the amp badly at higher power levels.
Not heard the AGD. Would like to. Hearing good things about them though. But certainly *am* enjoying Marantz's implementation of Bruno's Hypex modules in my PM-10. This, coming from Don Garber SET amps and classic Mullard 5-20s (Beam Echo - Gresham and Partridge iron).
The link below is a review of AGD Gran Vivace Monoblock amplifier. This unit is their top of the line and is very expensive. AGD Gran Vivace Monoblock Amplifier