Only $11k per channel

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If you guys could have any sets of amps for free or if you were a billionaire, what would you get?

Simaudio
McIntosh
Krell
Mark Levinson
Pass Labs
Bryston
Classe
Emotiva

 

[slipperybidness]

If you guys could have any sets of amps for free or if you were a billionaire, what would you get?

Simaudio
McIntosh
Krell
Mark Levinson
Pass Labs
Bryston
Classe
Emotiva

I would probly start with the Mc. Just b/c I like those Volt-meters and for the name-brand.

As far as build quality, the Krell and Classe looks to be about the top of the food chain.

 

[its phillip]

If you guys could have any sets of amps for free or if you were a billionaire, what would you get?

Simaudio
McIntosh
Krell
Mark Levinson
Pass Labs
Bryston
Classe
Emotiva

Goldmund Telos 5000+

 

[3db]

One of each..Bryston, Classe, and SimAudio because they are all Canadian.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

One of each..Bryston, Classe, and SimAudio because they are all Canadian.

Greedy bastard.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

If you guys could have any sets of amps for free or if you were a billionaire, what would you get?

Simaudio
McIntosh
Krell
Mark Levinson
Pass Labs
Bryston
Classe
Emotiva

I would get the whole band over place and play unplugged

 

[Irvrobinson]

I'm not suggesting building an exact clone of the 870A.

I'm suggesting building DIY that could match it in PERFORMANCE. I'm not worried about aesthetics, so any $ that would go to that can go out the window. Also, when you go the DIY route, you often re-purpose parts from old electronics and old projects, so that saves $ too (granted, I did say "cost no object" in my first post).

There are many amplifier schematics/plans available, so take that $ out of the equation too.

What I'm saying is that $22K is silly-expensive. I bet a DIY could achieve "as good" performance for 10-20% of the cost of this Moon.

Edit:
On a side note, looking at the Moon site, I see a few interesting items:
*This is a "no overall feedback" topology
*I'm curious as to why they used BJTs on the outputs instead of MOSFETs?
*Output impedance <0.01ohm wowza!
*S/N is "only" 106dB???
*Teflon-insulated wiring--NICE! What a luxury.

Just a couple of responses... sorry that I misunderstood you on DIY. I just naturally assumed you meant a *comparable* amp, meaning something as powerful that was pretty. You know, like what a lot of DIY speaker guys do. BTW, achieving 300/600wpc performance is not all that easy DIY without some serious pcb work. You need quite a few parts in the power supply and the output stage, and you could use point-to-point wiring everywhere, but then you're likely to find your SNR isn't very impressive.

I haven't read their material (too hard on my phone), but I suspect the "no feedback" stuff means no global feedback, which is common in high-end amps. Given that low output impedance I'm guessing the output stage uses a healthy amount of local feedback.

I suspect more audiophile nonsense on bipolar transistors... you know, "MOSFET mist". For high power devices bipolars are cheaper.

Looking at that photo I suspect the input stages are discrete (rather than ICs), so I'm not surprised at the -106db below full power SNR. I suspect this is why AVRs sometimes have better SNRs than high-end amps.

I assume you're joking about the Teflon insulation...

 

[Irvrobinson]

Goldmund Telos 5000+

Pass Labs. Nelson actually puts some innovation in his designs, and you've got to love the build quality. Gene measured a really clean 1W FFT too.

I can't forgive Krell for firing Dan D.

 

[slipperybidness]

BTW, achieving 300/600wpc performance is not all that easy DIY without some serious pcb work.

I suspect more audiophile nonsense on bipolar transistors... you know, "MOSFET mist". For high power devices bipolars are cheaper.

I assume you're joking about the Teflon insulation...

Agreed, doubling-down on the power is not trivial by any means! That will most likely be difficult to a DIY-er.

Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I don't mind an industrial-looking amp at all! How about something on par with the moon, but with this aesthetic?
http://www.thoeress.com/en/845-mono-amplifier/

I didn't realize BJTs are cheaper devices. It's just that the crowd that I've been asking have pretty much unanimously declared that MOSFETS are superior devices. Granted that not all of these people I have been asking are deep into the audio hobby. I just made an "A" in my Solid State class, by the way.

I wasn't joking about Teflon. I say it is a luxury, not necessary at all. Is there a problem with using Teflon insulation? Or are you just chalking it up to audiophoolery? It's just that my experiences with the Teflon material (PFA, PTFE, etc) have been that it is one of the greatest materials ever invented for many applications.

 

[Pyrrho]

If you guys could have any sets of amps for free or if you were a billionaire, what would you get?

Simaudio
McIntosh
Krell
Mark Levinson
Pass Labs
Bryston
Classe
Emotiva

The difference between getting them free and being a billionaire would determine my choice. For free, I would take whichever one I figured would have the highest resale value, and sell it. If I were a billionaire, I would probably go with the Emotiva, if I needed that kind of power. But with my current speakers in my home theater, I would continue to use the amplification in my receiver, as it is capable of driving my speakers to levels I find painful with crystal clarity. Being rich would not make me flush money down the toilet for nothing. I would not be buying exotic cables, either.

Now, if I were a billionaire, this is how I would spend some of it:

I would get the whole band over place and play unplugged

No matter how good your system is, it isn't as good as the real thing. But, a good system would still be needed for those occasions when one wishes to hear something on short notice, and the band does not have time to come over and play. And, of course, when one wishes to hear something that one cannot hear live (e.g., Louis Armstrong and other dead people).


But to go back closer to the topic of this thread, if I were going to keep the gear, I would rather have a pair of Emotiva XPR-1 amps (a pair is necessary for stereo) than one of the Moon Evolution 870A amplifiers. Compare the specifications for yourself:

http://www.simaudio.com/moon870A.htm

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpr1

$3398 wisely spent buys you more than what $22,000 buys you foolishly spent.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

And, of course, when one wishes to hear something that one cannot hear live (e.g., Louis Armstrong and other dead people).

Well in this case, and I assume that time machine is still not fully functional, I'd just call Danley labs and give them an open check

 

[Pyrrho]

The Moon Evolution 870A, which measures 18.75”W x 7.5”H x 17.5”D and weighs about 90 pounds, is Simaudio’s largest, most powerful, most expensive stereo amplifier. The 870A delivers its claimed power output with 16 proprietary, ideally matched Moon bipolar output transistors per channel, and has 300,000µF of power-supply capacitance. Since the 870A is dual-mono, its power supply includes two 1.3kVA transformers.

For people who really want to spend some money, you can spend $21K per channel with their high-powered mono amps:

MOON Evolution Series 880M Power Amplifier

http://www.stereophile.com/content/simaudio-moon-evolution-880m-monoblock-power-amplifier-specifications

Unfortunately, it does not actually deliver its rated power into 4 ohms:

Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M monoblock power amplifier Measurements | Stereophile.com

It misses it by 550 watts.

 

[3db]

For people who really want to spend some money, you can spend $21K per channel with their high-powered mono amps:

MOON Evolution Series 880M Power Amplifier

Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M monoblock power amplifier Specifications | Stereophile.com

Unfortunately, it does not actually deliver its rated power into 4 ohms:

Simaudio Moon Evolution 880M monoblock power amplifier Measurements | Stereophile.com

It misses it by 550 watts.

That's one of the cleanest square waves coming out of an amp I've ever seen and shows the quality behind the amp. Most amp I've seen won't play this clean. I still don't think its work 22K.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

If I were a billionaire, I would probably go with the Emotiva.

Geez, okay fine, what if you were a QUADRILLIONAIRE?

 

[Pyrrho]

Geez, okay fine, what if you were a QUADRILLIONAIRE?

Still the Emotiva. (Again, assuming that I needed a separate amplifier at all; with my current speakers in my home theater, I would not bother with a separate amplifier no matter how much money I had.) I see no reason to spend money for nothing, no matter how rich I am. If it got me something useful, then being very wealthy would mean that I would be willing to pay a lot for a small improvement. But if there is no discernible improvement, I will save the money for something else. There is always something that one can spend money on, and so I would rather have it for that something else, whatever it may be, than for a device which gives me no improvement. If others like having something shiny or with flashing lights or whatever, that is their choice, not mine. I want my audio gear for its audio, not for something else, with the exception being things that cannot be hidden without degrading fidelity (like speakers). With speakers, I would pay more for a decent finish, though even there, my tastes are not exotic. I like walnut very much, and do not require a rare and exotic wood.