Is the IRD MB-100 a "Gainclone'?

Red · « **on:** 14 Jan 2004, 05:47 am »

What are the practical differences between the various commercial and DIY op-amp (IC) hi-fi amplifiers? In other words, do a pair of MB-100's offer sonic qualities along the lines of a Shigaraki integrated? Or a Scott Nixon AmpKit? The MB-100's have gotten great reviews and appear to be very well made, they seem like a really great deal, and I'm leaning towards buying them, but do they convey the "magic" many audiophiles attribute to the smaller, low-power chip amps? Or am I just lost in high-end "La-La-Land?" Any guidance will be appreciated.

JohnR · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Jan 2004, 06:03 am »

GainClone is a philosophy that encompasses, amongst other things, a very short feedback path (ie the length of one resistor) and fairly small amounts of capacitance in the power supply (1000 uF). By those criteria, the MB-100 is not a GainClone.

DeanSheen · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Jan 2004, 03:14 pm »

Hehehe , Hi John.

The MB-100's sound fine. The best thing I have compared them to is an AKSA.

But if you can afford a gainclone by all means, proceed!

Curt · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Jan 2004, 07:22 pm »

The MB-100s were first and they are the real deal.

We did everything to make them sound great and and look great. According to the reviews and customer response I believe we reached our goal. We have sold over 1,000 MB-100s.

MB-100s are very hard to beat and they truly are a great bargain.

I don't like the National Semi (NS) ICs the other people started to use. I used them (NS) first in 1996, I had some of the first released parts, they sounded OK (not great but OK) and they had some other issues like very BAD clipping noise, a protection circuit designed into the IC that could not be bypassed. The TDAs we use IMO are superior sounding, have less problems, AND put out almost twice the amperes yeilding better bass.

Another point is you really need power, most audio guys with normal loudspeakers need at least 100W to really enjoy the music. You also need a heavy duty power supply to handle the <500Hz music and sound effortless, to be able to dump some amperes to control the drivers. The MB-100s have a 400W power supply which is overkill and sounds great.

BTW, MB-100s are in stock today at our Charlotte NC service center if you get the itch

wunderlast · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Jan 2004, 04:56 pm »

They are worthwhile.