It's not so much SMD in itself being the major obstacle, though certainly more difficult to work with than through hole. The obstacle is a combination of SMD, multilayer, double sided boards, coupled with a lack of schematics/service documents.
What, no Threshold, Pass Labs, Rowland or Leviinson? The transformers alone should be worth some money, eh?
Actually, I think you’re probably being conservative. I recall the seller in my last amplifier purchase complaining about sticker shock. It was over $200, IIRC.
Those are all personal decisions which I can't take issue with. The hobby is about enjoying music - so whatever gets you there is what I'm for. I even embrace the guy with a Victrola suitcase record player who buys $30 records for it to rip up - if that's what they enjoy, more power to them.
If you seriously believe a device as this one can best a well designed Class AB power amplifier from the likes of Bryston or McIntosh then you owe it to yourself to prove that. I'm happy to define the guidelines for anyone that desires to do so and I'll even tell you how to build the switching unit that will allow you to do so blindly from the comfort of your listening position. It's really not all that hard and you'll learn a ton in the process. I guarantee it.
Bingo! That's exactly why I stopped selling whole speakers on line years ago. It used to cost $40/carton to ship something like a Large Advent ot JBL 4311 to the West Coast from Detroit. Now it's probably over $100/carton.
IMHO, I think one has to listen to these newer budget class D amps to understand the reason why many people are finding them to be a viable alternative to conventional/vintage gear. I bought my first ZA3 out of pure curiosity expecting to insert it into my 2.0 system for a day or two and then put my NAD Monitor Series receiver back into its rightful place. After initially listening to it, I was pretty shocked at how good it sounded to the point I questioned my own ears. It took me two weeks to come to grips with how good it sounds. The best way I can describe it is the ZA3 does its job transparently without adding any embellishments. The soundstage, separation, depth, clarity, dead silence, imaging, etc. are very good. I am not saying everyone will like these amps. Just that they are punching way above their weight class (no pun intended).
It is good to to reach your endgame. Most don't.
I recently paid $210 to ship my Parasound A21+ from ABQ to Denver for repair (the amp & boxes weighed in at 88 lbs).
But reaching the endgame also means the hunt is now over and there goes a lot of the fun. My little Fosi's scratch that itch as I can play the game of the great sounding mini rig that won't break the bank. That beats shelves full of heavyweight Mac gear (all of it needing something) that will break the bank and the spirit of the chase.
The vintage receivers and amps from the 70’s, that youse old heads fawn over incessantly, are by now all in need of extensive repairs to replace their electrolytic capacitors, that have exceeded their use-by dates by nearly 20 years. On the other hand, a quality new class d amp should not require similar capacitor replacements for at least 20 years. This is the crux of what is being discussed when we tout the reliability of class d, which incidentally, typically also run at lower temperatures and are therefore less affected by heat related stresses incurred by class a and class a/b gear.Once again I find myself wondering what is meant about newer gear having some advantage vis-a-vis repairs. Some sincere questions (which of course you don't have any obligation whatsoever to respond to)
Is your expectation that newer gear will not need repairs during your ownership? Or that it will be hassle-free to get it repaired? Or that it's disposable, and if it fails, you'll simply replace it?
I think that the Rowland model 10 is about 65 lbs shipping weight. I can’t imagine shipping a Rowland model 5. That beast weighs 120 lbs I believe.
Predictable component longevity is undoubtedly less of an issue for newer equipment. But unpredictable premature component failures (like capacitor plague), though typically rare, can be expected to still crop up occasionally. If that happens, will it be less of a hassle to get the newer equipment repaired? I very much doubt it.
Okay, one of my amps is rated at .005%THD from 100mW to beyond its 600WPC rated output both channels driven, S/N -124dBA, can drive loads below 2 Ohms, and is now 20 years old.
I recently picked up a pair of the Fosi V3 mono amps (each with their own brick PS), and I pretty much agree with your assessment. They replaced a set of ASL Wave 8 monos which aren’t bad in their own right. While I’m not as enamored with the Fosi amps as some, I have to say they’re superior to the Wave 8s, and they’re quite adequate to my application. As you say, they’re good enough. For many people, they’re probably all they’ll ever need.
