anyone upgraded to one of those Class D ICEpower amplifier?

[Plugers]

I know and I did not get the time to state that. All commercial amplifiers are controlled by marketing. If engineers controlled the business, it will be a different story. Energy Star compliant devices during 2000 and now still have a problem. A few months ago the Energy Star compliances have gotten more strict. Before the strict policies, manufactures can lie about the improvements they have made to their devices in order to be in compliance. My AV receiver should have at least a 780 VA transformer. I guess they qualify for Energy Star compliance by using a 440 VA transformer and thinking that it is OK to over power the transformer by 1.5 times.

I do not like buying used electronics because you do not know the history. Actually you buy it as is, so it could have some problems that the seller will not tell you. My AV receiver is used and it has a problem. Pass 11 o'clock of the volume it does not amplify until about 2 o'clock it continues to amplify. This AV receiver was sold at below half the price. I do not listen at high volumes, so it works just fine. My AV receiver uses a class-H amplifier, so it could have an efficiency of about 85%.

I did get lucky with mine, sounds like you could possibly clean the potentiometer to cure your dead spot? or maybe the shaft was tweaked and the wiper is not touching? Realistically speaking though, most listening is probably done < 1watt when not watching a movie or "jamin out".

 

[BarkingGhostar]

So, the world of amplifiers (for audio) has been a long one with mainstream multichannel offerings commonly starting at $2K and audiophile going for well above that figure. Yet, for the common run of the mill amplification its been a hard road and even the used market difficult to afford--its like buying a second car.

While I have no direct experience to report, I did just buy a pair of Emotiva XPA-5 multichannel amplifiers for $719 (each/delivered). I haven't tested them yet, but I will this weekend, or shortly thereafter (waiting on new pseudo-processor). Finally the non-audiophile that needs more appropriate amplification for the speakers he may own can be had for well under $2K.

Now add to this that any sound can be altered based on material, transport (material to processor), processing, amplification, reproduction (speaker) and your lame arse excuse for hearing (your cruddy ears), the whole notion of spending large sums of money while ignoring what I just mentioned seems to illustrate exactly what audiophile product manufacturers are looking for in a customer.

How many of you had your hearing checked in the past 24-months?

 

[sdifox]

So, the world of amplifiers (for audio) has been a long one with mainstream multichannel offerings commonly starting at $2K and audiophile going for well above that figure. Yet, for the common run of the mill amplification its been a hard road and even the used market difficult to afford--its like buying a second car.

While I have no direct experience to report, I did just buy a pair of Emotiva XPA-5 multichannel amplifiers for $719 (each/delivered). I haven't tested them yet, but I will this weekend, or shortly thereafter (waiting on new pseudo-processor). Finally the non-audiophile that needs more appropriate amplification for the speakers he may own can be had for well under $2K.

Now add to this that any sound can be altered based on material, transport (material to processor), processing, amplification, reproduction (speaker) and your lame arse excuse for hearing (your cruddy ears), the whole notion of spending large sums of money while ignoring what I just mentioned seems to illustrate exactly what audiophile product manufacturers are looking for in a customer.

How many of you had your hearing checked in the past 24-months?

Err, why do you need 2 5 channel 1000W amp?

 

[Howard]

Tripath would be the equivalent of an SS mimicking tube sound, no? As I understand it the output filter adds even order harmonic distortion to add a sense of warmth.

Do you have any proof of this?

 

[ericlp]

Do you have any proof of this?

So when some in the audio community claimed that a solid-state class-D amp concocted by a Silicon Valley company called Tripath Technology delivered sound as warm and vibrant as tube amps, it was a big deal. Tripath’s trick was to use a 50-megahertz sampling system to drive the amplifier.

About the only info I know to attribute to tube like quality.

 

[evident]

I have a class D amp in my car - an alpine PDX4.150. it sounds pretty good , but as someone said above, car environments are much different than at home.

 

[alcoholbob]

Do you have any proof of this?

Just a few comments I've found from DIYers: "Could whatever distortion induced be the 'even-order harmonic distortion' which are so pleasing to our ears? Yes, you got me correctly, I am inferring that my T-amp with full discrete components is sounding pretty close to a valve (tube) amplifier not only in its smoothness, warmth and micro dynamics but also with its timing gotten right, lots of rhythmic bounce and sufficient bass and bass weight we could possibly seek from an amplifier."

"I guess the reason I prefer the JVC-Tripath-Thermionic sonic is because of the coloration, IMD, even order harmonics and all."

THD graph I found for the tripath online, no idea how to read it though:

http://tiny.cc/ifkyq

 

[electroju]

So, the world of amplifiers (for audio) has been a long one with mainstream multichannel offerings commonly starting at $2K and audiophile going for well above that figure. Yet, for the common run of the mill amplification its been a hard road and even the used market difficult to afford--its like buying a second car.

While I have no direct experience to report, I did just buy a pair of Emotiva XPA-5 multichannel amplifiers for $719 (each/delivered). I haven't tested them yet, but I will this weekend, or shortly thereafter (waiting on new pseudo-processor). Finally the non-audiophile that needs more appropriate amplification for the speakers he may own can be had for well under $2K.

Now add to this that any sound can be altered based on material, transport (material to processor), processing, amplification, reproduction (speaker) and your lame arse excuse for hearing (your cruddy ears), the whole notion of spending large sums of money while ignoring what I just mentioned seems to illustrate exactly what audiophile product manufacturers are looking for in a customer.

How many of you had your hearing checked in the past 24-months?

It seems you are the deaf one. If you calculate the loudness of your setup using 85 dB at 1 watt RMS, you will get 116 dB total. That is very, very loud. I do not need to get my hearing checked because I can easily hear all the sounds at low listen levels.

The Emotiva XPA-5 uses darlington transistors for the output stage which will make the amplifier have worst performance compared to other amplifiers. All you paid for is the bells and whistles, but nothing of its performance. The following DIY class-AB amplifier module can beat the performance of the amplifier you bought and it does not need bells and whistles to advertise.

http://www.aussieamplifiers.com/nxv200.htm

It is not all about the amplifier. It is the speaker that matters. If you have desire SPL you want to achieve, it is best to choose based on sensitivity of the speakers. The same goes for subwoofers. Decware (decware.com) has good information about sensitivity that it matters the most if you need the output.

I did get lucky with mine, sounds like you could possibly clean the potentiometer to cure your dead spot? or maybe the shaft was tweaked and the wiper is not touching? Realistically speaking though, most listening is probably done < 1watt when not watching a movie or "jamin out".

I doubt it will be that easy because it does not sound scratchy when the volume is adjusted. Also it happens to all channels. I think it has a cold solder joint or a defective transistor at the rails for sensing the input since it is a class-H. I am thinking of upgrading to a better AV receiver with the fewest features to save money. I am thinking of Marantz SR5004. It has plenty of reserve wattage to handle 90 watts to five channels, so that is all I need. To support audio codecs for future movies, I may add a surround sound processor. Though I do not listen to music, but I need to upgrade my setup because speakers are deteriorating.

 

[Plugers]

http://www.aussieamplifiers.com/nxv200.htm

It is not all about the amplifier. It is the speaker that matters. If you have desire SPL you want to achieve, it is best to choose based on sensitivity of the speakers. The same goes for subwoofers. Decware (decware.com) has good information about sensitivity that it matters the most if you need the output.

My buddy bought the older 1000watt board from aussie amps, not sure of his progress on it though.

He has built the ESP project 101 amp, a pair of boards(high power version). His power supply is so big he would blow the circuit breaker 1/2 the time he powered it up, from charging the tank caps. He finally installed a PLC that pre-charged the caps for a minute or so thought a resistor before fully powering up the amp.

That chassis has to weigh 75+lbs. it's a beast.