Purifi Class D

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Glad to hear you found a use for your CD Player..

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9 hours ago, Mike48 said:

I've been listening to a pair of Apollon monoblocks made with the 1ET400A modules for a month now. To my ears, they are the most transparent and neutral amps I've heard, with the smoothest and flattest treble. Their output is load invariant, which works exceptionally well driving my electrostatic speakers. Oh, and the bass is remarkably strong and detailed, also.

 

I can see that those who have been listening to something less neutral might miss the colorations. It's the same way that one can get accustomed to the sweetening of MQA, the crosstalk in LPs, or the rising high treble of some MC cartridges. Pleasant distortions are easy to get used to and hard to leave behind.

 

And other amps may have other styles of sound that also are excellent but are different.

 

In my opinion, the PuriFi amp module is a noteworthy achievement and can be used to make an amp with outstanding sound.

What do they sound like with your turntable? 

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3 hours ago, John Hughes said:

So, I thought I'd chime in to this discussion.  Been in the audiophile industry in the digital realm.  Been a stone cold analog fanatic. Lived with at least 6 different digital or SMPS amp designs as well as many of the classic Solid State including Levinson, Spectral, First Watt (J2 being my last amp).  Several of the most extreme tube systems including Audio Note, and for a period of fortunate time an entire analog Shindo tube setup including turntable. Have 'showed' with many other amp designs at RMAF, CES etc.   I've been out of audio for a while, but have been getting re-acquainted with it.  After a lot of research I got the VTV Purifi amp with the Sparkos input buffer. I'm running a Holo May Dac into it and I have a pair of speakers of my own design: 15" open baffle, single driver speakers with a Raven super-tweeter (100db efficient).  

 

I will say upfront that a system is a sum total of all its components, and put a component into it that is not sympatico won't work.  If you have worked hard to get the best tube sound and you plunk a digital amp into the mix, you are probably not going to be wowed.  For me, I am supremely happy with the VTV, with Sparkos.  But it was actually my discussions with VTV that prompted him push for the design of the tube input buffer, though I haven't tried it myself yet.  

 

You might think that using a 400 watt amp with 100db efficient speakers is a mistake, but that amp has to control a 15" open air driver.  And at least for me, the match has been exquisite.  The noise level with Purifi is vanishing low on this highly efficient system, I don't think a tube amp could match it!  The VTV punches way above its price level with the right care and attention.

 

I get more spine tingling realism, more subtlety, realistic dynamics, clear and smooth treble, bass in the upper 20's, transparency and lack of coloration.  The best system by far, I've assembled. Overall better than tubes, easily better than A/B solid state.

 

I just wanted to counter the experience that Gutb has posted here, as some others have done.  I do have the benefit of almost 30 years experience designing and installing systems. And I have an army of ancillary products, cables, tweaks and voodoo to get what I want out of a system :)  But a good digital amp today (I wouldn't have said this 10 year ago) IMHO is as good as other amplification in the context of intelligent system design.  

 

All that said, I will say that I am super interested in the Orchard Audio GaN amps!  And I'll love the hear the Mola Mola products too sometime. 

I haven't had the chance to test a class D amp with a high-end all analog front end (source and source material). Have you done this, any conclusions? Thanks! 

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A less than glowing review of the NAD implementation:

http://www.10audio.com/nad_c298.htm

 

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2 hours ago, mocenigo said:

 

From a guy that believes in audiophile fuses. That review has absolutely zero credibility.

Have you tried an audiophile fuse? I haven't but always stay open minded. 

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http://www.10audio.com/evs-vtv.htm

 

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7 hours ago, Revelation said:

"The bass is rich and full and powerful. The bass also presents a very dynamic picture of the performance, with good leading-edge definition. The bass character is more of the “rolling thunder” presentation rather than tight and "fast", often reducing the sense that individual bass strings are vibrating. The upper bass-lower midrange is excellent, gaining some definition and providing a solid foundation to midrange voices. The bass definition increases at higher power levels. On the Yello LP Stella, the bass on “Oh Yeah” is deep and powerful and quite impressive. Oh yeah!

 

The midrange offers very good clarity and understandable vocals. This could be the result of a slight dryness or leanness in the midrange. Just a little higher in frequency, the upper midrange-lower treble region is clear and open. Along with the upper bass, the upper midrange-lower treble are the strengths of the C298 amplifier."

 

All this was very good in the review. An amp of this price ($2,000) is not going to compete with amps that are double more more the price. How many amps at this price range have excellent low level detail. For the price its probably one of the best amps.

If you haven't heard it you can't say its probably one of the best amps for the price. 

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9 minutes ago, Kal Rubinson said:

Yup but those of us who have can say it. 🙂

Ya and even then I ignore anyone who hasn't got an analogue source. 

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5 hours ago, Kal Rubinson said:

Well, I have some but I have not heard them in a long time.  No need.

More reason to ignore your opinion. 

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13 minutes ago, Revelation said:

Well that's not a nice thing to say. 🤣

I wish he was right and there was no need to use an analogue source but unfortunately there are thousands of recordings that sound dramatically better via an analogue source. 

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11 hours ago, barrows said:

I would propose, that most folks who prefer vinyl playback, tend to do so because of, rather than in spite of vinyl's rather significant shortcomings/artifacts.  Whereas digital artifacts, even at magnitudes of lower levels, are often quite objectionable.  I have a witnessed a couple of times, dedicated vinyl listeners, unable to distinguish between the digital playback of a needle drop (using a moderately priced ADC, like an Apogee element) and the vinyl record playing on the same system.

And, these days, we have affordable digital systems which are entirely listenable, true to timbre, highly detailed, and without objectionable artifacts (I am not suggesting that all current digital systems are this way though, just that one need not spend 5 figures for an excellent DAC).

 

 

Nope, folks who have both a turntable and a digital player will prefer the vinyl version over the digital version when it sounds better. Good recordings sound similar played either way. By not having an analogue source you are missing out big time, particulary if you like older analogue recordings from the likes of John Coltrane etc. 

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11 hours ago, PYP said:

Well, so far I have avoided bloodletting, but the rest applies.  I think your statement was true five years ago or so, but I disagree in the here and now.   Bruno is one of the designers who has changed the digital landscape and not just in amplifiers (his Tambaqui DAC is truly great).  The basic Purifi "engine" is extremely low noise/distortion at a great price.   I assume that the various Purifi iterations sound different because of different input sections used and one needs to find one that suites your setup and tastes.   

 

One well-respected reviewer mentioned that he listens to vinyl and digital for different experiences and that makes sense to me.  The "what's best" approach to audio is silly unless it is "what's best to my ears and mood."  

 

I was never a collector of fine vinyl, so there was no reason to keep my turntable after digital became the dominant recording medium.  But I can understand the equation is different for collectors, especially the folks who have long enjoyed their classical collection.  Or folks for whom digital, even what others think of as great digital, does not agree with their ears.  

Which well respected reviewer are you referring to? 

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6 hours ago, PYP said:

Steve Guttenberg:  

 

Recently Steve seems to be 'coming out' as a more pro analogue guy, saying that analogue sounds more realistic than digital, so his rave digital reviews need to be judged accordingly. 

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1 hour ago, fas42 said:

Speaking of that specific Belafonte LP, I had an interesting session at the Sydney audio club meeting many, many years ago. A supposedly pretty decent vinyl rig was set up, and played the copy that someone had ... God, it was awful!! The vinyl tracking distortion was atrocious - for me, it was, unlistenable ... yet other members around me were listening with a rapt expression on their faces ...

 

And every now and again someone claims I'm against audiophiles - oh dear, 😆.

You're wired different...