Gainclone vs Vintage

[JoeESP9]

Hey Mr Pig,
Do you want a truffle pie. I am in New York, but in the woods, so it won't be a NY pizza as you might know it.

If he visits put him to work. After all, in Europe pigs are used to sniff out truffles.

This is my chip amp; not my pic but I've got the same one at home. Not all chip amps are little t-amps running off a wall wart.

View attachment 802829

Is that a Class D Audio board?

 

[prighello]

Is that a Class D Audio board?

Yes, it's one of the Class D Audio amps. The SDS-470C; 300wpc @ 8ohms & 600wpc @ 4ohms. I got it for some Magnepan MMGs I had that were giving my A/B amps a hard time. The CDA amp barely even warmed up where as I could cook off the A/B amps. The MMGs are gone now so it drives a pair of Tektons that ironically could be driven by a flea watt

 

[cubdog]

I'm the first to admit, I do not have golden ears. But I can hear. I have some nice mid-fi gear, nice mid-fi speakers too. I often hesitate to speak my mind around here because it ruffles feathers and I hate to argue about audio components because it's a no win situation and often it can spoil my enjoyment of this hobby. So, all of that said, I believe a lot of people on AK imagine that their vintage receivers sound much better than they do in reality. That's not meant to be a criticism of vintage gear either because I like a lot of it, especially Sansui and Yamaha. However, I do not feel that vintage components are better than the vast majority of chip/class D amplification, just the opposite. Factor in the difference in price and the new stuff, value wise, wins hands down. There I said it. I feel so much better!

Feel free to put me on your ignore lists. I'm sure I'm on a few already.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I'm the first to admit, I do not have golden ears. But I can hear. I have some nice mid-fi gear, nice mid-fi speakers too. I often hesitate to speak my mind around here because it ruffles feathers and I hate to argue about audio components because it's a no win situation and often it can spoil my enjoyment of this hobby. So, all of that said, I believe a lot of people on AK imagine that their vintage receivers sound much better than they do in reality. That's not meant to be a criticism of vintage gear either because I like a lot of it, especially Sansui and Yamaha. However, I do not feel that vintage components are better than the vast majority of chip/class D amplification, just the opposite. Factor in the difference in price and the new stuff, value wise, wins hands down. There I said it. I feel so much better!

Feel free to put me on your ignore lists. I'm sure I'm on a few already.

 

[Mister Pig]

Hey Mr Pig,
Do you want a truffle pie. I am in New York, but in the woods, so it won't be a NY pizza as you might know it.

Wife spent part of her youth growing up in Watertown. I have made several trips up there, so am familiar with the authentic upstate NY.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[loopstick]

I have made several trips up there, so am familiar with the authentic upstate NY.

Is there an inauthentic upstate NY?
.

 

[Mister Pig]

Is there an inauthentic upstate NY?
.

Buffalo. Syracuse.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[Gungnir]

This is an old thread, but I ran across it and thought it was funny. I have heard and built most of the chip amps listed here and they are just...ok...most of the vintage stuff beats it easily IMO (especially Marantz 2230), but none of that (crap) comes close to beating my little DIY type 45 direct coupled single ended tube amp driven by a type 26 pre into 100db effecient speakers....not even close...and it puts out a huge 1.5w!

 

[Poultrygeist]

This is an old thread, but I ran across it and thought it was funny. I have heard and built most of the chip amps listed here and they are just...ok...most of the vintage stuff beats it easily IMO (especially Marantz 2230), but none of that (crap) comes close to beating my little DIY type 45 direct coupled single ended tube amp driven by a type 26 pre into 100db effecient speakers....not even close...and it puts out a huge 1.5w!

You haven't heard the Volt+D.

 

[DaveVoorhis]

This is an old thread, but I ran across it and thought it was funny. I have heard and built most of the chip amps listed here and they are just...ok...most of the vintage stuff beats it easily IMO (especially Marantz 2230), but none of that (crap) comes close to beating my little DIY type 45 direct coupled single ended tube amp driven by a type 26 pre into 100db effecient speakers....not even close...and it puts out a huge 1.5w!

It comes down to personal preference. Other folks really like the sound of chip amps and prefer them to vintage stuff. Horses for courses, different strokes, and all that.

 

[jdsalinger]

for the cost difference...a 45 SE SHOULD sound WAY better than a chip amp.

 

[inperson]

The facts of the matter are exactly as Rothwell states in the post above. The 47 Labs products are an absolute affront to High Fidelity and deserve no respect whatsoever. Some crazy Japanese guy puts 3rd grade science project components in a cheap box and charges stupid money for them. (have a look at the internals of their FM tuner for a laugh) There is a sucker born every minute and HiFi mags feed that crap to their followers and bingo! every guy with a soldering iron and a modicum of ability grabs yet another chip amp and puts it in a tin can and calls it 'revolutionary' or 'amazing'. It makes me laugh.

I was pulling apart car cassette stereo units in the 70s, gutting the audio amp stages (lots of TDA/UPc/ NS/PHILIPS chips) PCB and wiring it to my 12v CB radio supply and doing exactly the same thing. But I was about 8 years old, with my first soldering iron!

These monolithic ICs are just cheap, consumer electronic solutions chips. TVs, boomboxes, car audio, etc. They are nothing special. They do not push the boundaries of fidelity, performance or anything else, except cheapness. They are simply fun little distraction projects where you can get a whole lot of 'loud' in a small package. Cute, but don't kid yourself.

The PWM/PDM 'digital' amplifier chip based amps are so generally bad in terms of radiated HF hash, that most of my test gear (especially PC based) cannot be used in the same room. That aint High Fidelity. They are broadband AM transmitters- try using a tuner near one.

I have to admit I like the look of 47 Labs stuff. If I could get one of their amps used (cheap) I'd buy it. But even used they go for too much.