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FatDoi
193
Mar 22, 2018
was considering with this amp but once factored in extra linear PSU, the cost will be similar to Audio-gd NFB-1AMP ... that's another class of amplification.
AmJosh
128
Mar 22, 2018
FatDoiWhy do you say different class? I am curious what is the basis?
FatDoi
193
Mar 22, 2018
AmJoshany power amplifier uses a few dollars power brick automatically goes into a sub class in my book.....
DontDooDad
94
Mar 22, 2018
FatDoi@AndrewMason had this to say: "In the right hands, SMPS can be much cleaner than toroid 60 Hz power. See Benchmark AHB2. I designed the SMPS in there, sitting less than an inch above the AAA amp. 132 dB SNR, and 380 Watts BTL into 8R. Oh, and the product only weighs 13 lbs. In my opinion there's too much unfounded affinity for toroid power in audio circles, probably because of early SMPS guys who didn't know what they were doing." (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-thx-aaa-789-linear-amplifier/talk/1981859)
AmJosh
128
Mar 23, 2018
DontDooDadI have not played with the effects of power supply on sound. That is a step too far out for me. The magni 3 I have also have external power supply, and it still sounds stunning. The Audio-gd NFB 11.27 that I have contains the proprietary supply. It is definitely leagues ahead of magni, but at a different price point too. Hence I am torn, between getting NFB 1 balanced or this one. Currently I have committed to this, but if I don't see any real reviews in few more days, I might pull out.
AmJoshPower supply doesn't affect sound, unless: a) there's something really noisy or unregulated about the power supply or the way it's connected, or b) the amplifier has terrible PSRR e.g. due to poor / no feedback In the 789: 1) power supply isn't overly noisy on its own, and keeping it remote from the audio circuitry prevents magnetic coupling which could otherwise be tough to deal with. 2) within the amp, the power supply output is connected and conditioned properly 3) AAA has wickedly high PSRR due to the feed-forward and feedback contributions
AmJosh
128
Mar 23, 2018
AndrewMasonThanks for the explanation @AndrewMason . I totally agree with effects of power supply. the high PSRR due to feed-forward and feedback is the main reason I am lured for this drop and of course the balanced output. I am looking for a nice balanced amp to power my Hifiman HE560. Technically this amp sounds brilliant. Just wanted to see hands on perceptions of some people, that's all!!
FatDoi@FatDoi not sure why the hate-on for power bricks. They're ubiquitous for many reasons. In 789 we allocated the cost budget to top-quality, top-performing components where it matters: in the linear amplifier and linear preamp sections. This equates to an exception listening experience. There's no-sense allocating more cost to a so-called "better power supply" (you like toroids?) when it would only drive up retail cost or force us to strip cost and performance from the audio chain. And when dealing with the insane performance levels of the 789, there are certainly fidelity advantages in keeping the power supply remote from the audio circuitry.
Victorysonics
2
Mar 24, 2018
AndrewMasonI'm sure why, because they think they know something audio engineers don`t. No one will ever distinguish switcher from linear PSU in blind testing but they just believe linear power supplies sounds better.
FatDoi
193
Mar 27, 2018
VictorysonicsI'm sure they're expert engineers, same as engine designers as well. Say to deliver 400bhp, you can design a 2liter 4cyl with a big twin scroll turbo, or a 3liter V6 twin small turbos, or a 6liter V8 NA etc etc... all can deliver the same power but in different ways. I just don't prefer a certain way doesn't mean i'm ignorant or wrong about it... for this brick issue, that is assuming , all the bricks will have the same circuit design, same ripple rejection, same Q factor , same voltage drop out...... and same materials , components , country of origin, etc...... and I don't know that's is the case as it's all paper talk at this stage and there's only one line describing one important factor of my concern: Power supply: 24 VDC inline brick, universal input 100–240 VAC
shimage
228
Mar 27, 2018
FatDoiYou're right, audio-gd is in another class. Their stuff measures so bad, it has trouble competing with $15 bus-powered usb dac/amps. But sure, let's complain about the SMPS instead.
AmJosh
128
Mar 29, 2018
shimageI am not sure, are you insulting audio-gd or THX guys? either way, I find your comment offending and completely out of place. If you have some knowledge / experience to share, please do so, or just be reader.
I own audio-gd NFB 11 its a fantastic product, but I wanted a better balanced amp, and hence my questions.
shimage
228
Mar 29, 2018
AmJoshNot sure why you're so easily offended or how to "just be reader," but since you can't be bothered to google, here are the measurements:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-audio-gd-nfb-27-38-dac-and-headphone-amplifier.2486/ http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/audio-gd-s19-technical-measurements.4305/
In addition to the actual measurements, former link also has references to unpublished measurements that agree with the above. It's also worth noting that Marv has been pretty clear about his hate for audio-gd in numerous posts all over SBAF, nominally due to terrible subjective impressions of both the S19 and NFB11.
FatDoi@FatDoi I stand by my comment that SMPS vs linear power supply doesn't necessarily change fidelity, especially when the engineer knows what he/she is doing AND is fortunate to have a technology with excellent PSRR.
AmJosh
128
Mar 30, 2018
shimageWow!! I did a lot of research on audio-gd, but this link was missed somehow!! Most reviews rave their products, so I am surprised. Also, I was not sure where your sarcasm was targeted towards :). Clearly Topping seems like much better dac / amp. Thanks for sharing the link. So are you in for AAA?
shimage
228
Mar 31, 2018
AmJoshThe audio science review, um, review is pretty new, but SBAF has been hating on audio-gd for awhile now. Still you're right that most reviews are fairly positive, which is why I do not trust subjective reviews at all, ever.
As for the AAA 789, I am in. It is everything I want from an amp, so it was hard to pass up.
AmJosh
128
Apr 2, 2018
shimageTrue. It’s very easy to get lost in vague terms, but hard numbers never lie. Also regarding audio-gd, I think their entry level models like NFB11 and R2R seem like good value, but in higher end stuff, starts smelling like snake oil. Do you have a suggestion for NFB 11 alternative?
shimage
228
Apr 2, 2018
AmJoshThe Fiio e10k measures better than the NFB-11, is likely the better buy, but probably still doesn't perform as well as you're looking for in that price bracket. If you have a clean transport (or are using a wyrd or something similar), then the Jot is probably fine. The amp stage is very good, but Schiit has some issues with noise in their dacs. Probably the noise is inaudible (<-100dBFS), but there are a fair number of <$100 bus-powered dacs that measure better than the built-in dac. The Topping DX7s has a very good dac. It's amp section is probably fine, but it uses the TPA6120a for output, which means output impedance is 10Ohms on the SE output, 20Ohms on the balanced. That should be fine for most headphones, but it will affect the sound on some. I'm sure there are others, but there aren't a lot of measurements to go by (eg, smsl m7 is probably fine, but no one's measured it yet).
projectssj
40
Dec 15, 2019
FatDoiEven further i question what type of power supply is used to test manufacturers products. Do most use lab power supplies? In which case i would think that would be better than the smps units provided.
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