Class D Hi-Fi grade Audio Amplifiers

[anandshah]

I have a Peachtree Nova 125 incase someone needs, used for 2-3 years superb condition.

 

[raghupb]

Thanks @raghupb is decco line from peach tree?

Thanks @Weathered and @square_wave let me look at this .

Integrated Amplifiers

With cutting edge DACs, our integrated amps are designed for the way you listen today. Get the power you need with our award winning amps.

www.peachtreeaudio.com

decco125 SKY Integrated Amplifier | Peachtree Audio

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www.peachtreeaudio.com

DARKO raves about the Decco SKY

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Kumar442244]

Integrated Amplifiers

With cutting edge DACs, our integrated amps are designed for the way you listen today. Get the power you need with our award winning amps.

www.peachtreeaudio.com

decco125 SKY Integrated Amplifier | Peachtree Audio

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www.peachtreeaudio.com

DARKO raves about the Decco SKY

Cheers,
Raghu

Have been using Peachtree Decco 125 sky for over 2 months now.

This is a fantastic amp with enough grunt to drive most speakers.

Although the highs are little over-pronounced (this is as per my personal liking) with immaculate tonal balance at the mids and lows. I was previously using NAD before which was completely opposite which was overly pronounced at lows and quite decent at mids and highs. But this is not a fair comparison as well as there is a huge difference if the price point of each. On scale of satisafaction , I must say that its many folds above Nad 326 in terms of clarity and accuracy and am pretty much happy with it.

 

[raghupb]

There you go @argentum246
A local FM @Kumar442244 has the Decco 125 SKY and is happy with it.
Maybe you should hookup and give it a listen
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[argentum246]

Thanks Kumar and Raghu .. I too read rave reviews about peach tree on American sites and will sure give it a try.

 

[Kumar442244]

Thanks Kumar and Raghu .. I too read rave reviews about peach tree on American sites and will sure give it a try.

What speakers do you have?

 

[argentum246]

Jbl studio 530 And also jbl lsr305 powered one

I just checked on india amazon it is not available but is there for $850 at amazon.com

 

[Kumar442244]

I just checked on india amazon it is not available but is there for $850 at amazon.com

You can look at hifimart.com.
It's available at 100k price tag. See if u can use "mule service" to get it from US. Will save u a lot.

 

[sound1]

I build an amp using ClassDAudio kit from here: http://classdaudio.com/sds-250-power-amplifier-kit.html
Couldn't be happier.

 

[raghupb]

Have been using Peachtree Decco 125 sky for over 2 months now.

This is a fantastic amp with enough grunt to drive most speakers.

Although the highs are little over-pronounced (this is as per my personal liking) with immaculate tonal balance at the mids and lows. I was previously using NAD before which was completely opposite which was overly pronounced at lows and quite decent at mids and highs. But this is not a fair comparison as well as there is a huge difference if the price point of each. On scale of satisafaction , I must say that its many folds above Nad 326 in terms of clarity and accuracy and am pretty much happy with it.

@argentum246
FMs @MaSh and @Kumar442244 had dropped in for a bit to hear out my rig and a mix-n-match session.
Heard the Decco 125 SKY. It is a very capable amp. The LF control is very, very good.
Overall sound signature is between neutral and forward/bright.
It can be categorized as a pretty transparent amp; meaning it won't forgive bad content.

We paired it with:
Dali Zensor 3 - LFs and vocals were great, but HFs can fatigue on the ears in an extended session; guess it is Dali signature
KEF iQ5 (towers) - the sound was well rounded; bass was a bit less, but it is due to a smaller sized LF driver
KEF R300 - bass control was fantastic; overall sound was a bit forward but not in your face

The pairing with R300 was quite good. KEF R300 are not known to be warm speakers; they are not "bright" either.
At USD850, it does a lot of things right. It is tiny compared to full sized components and it doesn't even warm up.

If you are in the market for a well featured all-in-one IA, this should be on your audition list.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Kumar442244]

Can't agree more with @raghupb
Kef r300 was amazing. What a tonal control over all the frequencies. Truly worth investing. Yes, all my apprehension about class D amp was washed out today. A well built class d can easily take over SOME reputed class A.
It's was certainly a day well spent with @raghupb and @MaSh. you guys are truly amazing with stack of knowledge on hifi.
And yeah, thanks Raghu for being a wonderful host.

 

[argentum246]

Hey guys thanks for complete hands on /live report on this amp. I shall definitely consider this when going out to US. Wish I could also join ur jam session .. as I have not heard any other setup apart from mine so as to compare what stereo music is apart from denon DACs

 

[eastofthesun]

Hello fellow members!

Wanted to check if any folks out there are using new generation Class D stereo amps?
By new generation I am referring to amps built around Hi-Fi grade modules like Hypex Ncore, ICEPower etc.
Any information on such kind of Hi-Fi modules employed by commercial manufacturers would be much appreciated.

Also since Hypex, ICEPower, NewClassD among others are enthusiastic about selling discrete parts & kits to Do-It-Yourself enthusiasts who would like to build their own amps, if further light can be shed on availability of such kits in India, would be really helpful?

India is a hot & tropically moist country. Class D seems a blessing for us folks given the intrinsic efficient nature of Class D operation. Would moisture be a killjoy?
I am asking because Class D amps by their very nature have a compact form factor.

Last but the mist important of all - Do loudspeakers, and I mean commercially available ones, react differently to Class D amps?
Is there such a thing called as Class D-friendly speakers?
Are special speaker wires required (to filter out EMI radition)?

Thanks for taking time out in advance.

Hi , I use mola mola kaluga power amps which are N core based and they sound incredible. Have had them for over 2 yrs now. Have paired them with an MSB DAC which doubles up as a pre too.

Cheers Anand

 

[aarmath]

Hi , I use mola mola kaluga power amps which are N core based and they sound incredible. Have had them for over 2 yrs now. Have paired them with an MSB DAC which doubles up as a pre too.

Cheers Anand

Nice setup indeed mate! What speakers are you using?
When you say incredible, do the Kalugas have a unique sonic signature compared to normal class AB amps?
The reason I ask, is because I was having this interesting discussion with a friend who maintains that Class D amps are all about power BUT lack overall sonic substance. And this gentleman owned a Devialet Class D amp.

I guess the question to ask is how much of Class A sonic characteristics does a Class D amp reproduce?

 

[Kumar442244]

Nice setup indeed mate! What speakers are you using?
When you say incredible, do the Kalugas have a unique sonic signature compared to normal class AB amps?
The reason I ask, is because I was having this interesting discussion with a friend who maintains that Class D amps are all about power BUT lack overall sonic substance. And this gentleman owned a Devialet Class D amp.

I guess the question to ask is how much of Class A sonic characteristics does a Class D amp reproduce?

Interesting question. I had the same apprehension. A well built class D amp these days can easily match class A if not exceed them. Class d have come a long way.
But surprised that ur friend didn't look impressed from devialet.

 

[aarmath]

Interesting question. I had the same apprehension. A well built class D amp these days can easily match class A if not exceed them. Class d have come a long way.
But surprised that ur friend didn't look impressed from devialet.

In his words (& he listens to a lot of jazz) - "I checked them at an expo in Hamburg. They sounded good. Got one rightaway. Once it was installed at home, I could feel that something was amiss. The soundstage was, for the lack of a better word, underwhelming. So, the Devialet was promptly sold at a loss and back came my Krells from storage."

Now here's the thing - A well built Class D amp is quite an expensive affair, atleast from what I have seen so far. Also auditing in India is next to impossible.
What would your take be on more affordable solutions from Hypex, ICEPower and the same procured via DIY kits or purchase from a relatively inexpensive aggregator who sells pre-built amps like Ghent Audio?
The idea is to come to a general consenus on relatively mid HiFi Class D amps (power or integrated) that are sub USD $ 1000 and would clear a checklist of audio sonic expectations.

 

[tuff]

A lot depends on the preamp driving the power amp in my opinion. The Peachtree has a Class A preamp section. The power amp is Class D. So it might be the preamp that was not to his liking. Also all class D amplifiers will sound different paired with the right speakers, including one;s that use hypex, ICE or anything else.

 

[raghupb]

In his words (& he listens to a lot of jazz) - "I checked them at an expo in Hamburg. They sounded good. Got one rightaway. Once it was installed at home, I could feel that something was amiss. The soundstage was, for the lack of a better word, underwhelming. So, the Devialet was promptly sold at a loss and back came my Krells from storage."

Now here's the thing - A well built Class D amp is quite an expensive affair, atleast from what I have seen so far. Also auditing in India is next to impossible.
What would your take be on more affordable solutions from Hypex, ICEPower and the same procured via DIY kits or purchase from a relatively inexpensive aggregator who sells pre-built amps like Ghent Audio?
The idea is to come to a general consenus on relatively mid HiFi Class D amps (power or integrated) that are sub USD $ 1000 and would clear a checklist of audio sonic expectations.

There are too many adjectives here. Just keep an open mind and checkout ones in your budget.
You will find a product that will satisfy you.
Get the speakers right first; these should, actually must, satisfy your ears/room.
The electronics behind them will then fall in place after matching by way of auditions.

I stress again, Peachtree Decco 125SKY, for USD850, gets a lot of things right with the correct pair of speakers.
Parasound just released NC200INT, Pascal Audio based power amp section; sounds promising on paper.
Not in the sub $1000 range, but if you can audition the NAD Masters, you'll get an idea of well built class D amps.
Then you have the Lyngdorf, that takes system integration in a different curve; funky technology.

So don't worry about class A, A/B, D etc. Keep an open mind and audition a speaker-amp combo that sings to you.
At least 80% of the genres of music that you normally listen to should tick the boxes. The rest is left for your experimentation.

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[aarmath]

There are too many adjectives here. Just keep an open mind and checkout ones in your budget.
You will find a product that will satisfy you.
Get the speakers right first; these should, actually must, satisfy your ears/room.
The electronics behind them will then fall in place after matching by way of auditions.

I stress again, Peachtree Decco 125SKY, for USD850, gets a lot of things right with the correct pair of speakers.
Parasound just released NC200INT, Pascal Audio based power amp section; sounds promising on paper.
Not in the sub $1000 range, but if you can audition the NAD Masters, you'll get an idea of well built class D amps.
Then you have the Lyngdorf, that takes system integration in a different curve; funky technology.

So don't worry about class A, A/B, D etc. Keep an open mind and audition a speaker-amp combo that sings to you.
At least 80% of the genres of music that you normally listen to should tick the boxes. The rest is left for your experimentation.

Cheers,
Raghu

Thanks on the informative reply. Appreciate it mate.
My mind is definitely open, ergo, this discussion about Class D amps & the reason I started this thread was to discuss all things Class D.
You mentioned Pascal Audio, thats interesting indeed but yeah, way beyond my "experiment" budget for a mid Hi-Fi Class D amp.
I did check the Peachtree, but looking for a pure Class D amp. Having said that, I agree this could make for a decent - beginner's experience with Class D.
One brand that doesnt seem to get a mention is US-based Rogue Audio. Would love to hear any experiences from FMs with that one.

Again, my original post and subsequent ones is not to look at Class D from a classification optics alone BUT also look at what's available currently in the market from a cost to performance perspex as well (in theory for now, I admit).

On loudpeakers, for me it has worked the opposite. I selected my amp preference first and then looked at available speaker options. And that approach has worked for me quite well.
But different strokes for different folks. Theres more than one way to skin the cat I guess.

 

[keith_correa]

BUT also look at what's available currently in the market from a cost to performance perspex as well (in theory for now, I admit).

Please articulate your budget for cost.
Performance - what are your goals?

Theres more than one way to skin the cat I guess.

And too many cats to skin too.