[Freo-1]

The response from Peachtree stated that they are in the process of writing a response that will address many of the questions raised about switching frequency,  load variation,  etc.   The response from Peachtree indicates than Gan will continue to gain in prominence going forward.  Good enough for me.




Frankly,  I'm inclined to trust the Peachtree responses to the various questions raised.  They ARE the engineers,  after all.   If someone has not heard or measured the Gan400, they have no leg to stand on with regard to criticism. 


Just because one engineer one happens to support decided that a ton of feedback is the only engineering solution available for good sound and measurements with their chosen set of components does not means it's the only solution worthy of pursuit.  If that were true,  everyone would more or less implement the same solution.

[goryu]

The response from Peachtree stated that they are in the process of writing a response that will address many of the questions raised about switching frequency,  load variation,  etc.   The response from Peachtree indicates than Gan will continue to gain in prominence going forward.  Good enough for me.




Frankly,  I'm inclined to trust the Peachtree responses to the various questions raised.  They ARE the engineers,  after all.   If someone has not heard or measured the Gan400, they have no leg to stand on with regard to criticism. 


Just because one engineer one happens to support decided that a ton of feedback is the only engineering solution available for good sound and measurements with their chosen set of components does not means it's the only solution worthy of pursuit.  If that were true,  everyone would more or less implement the same solution.

Peachtree designed the amp module? That's not what I am hearing. It would indeed be nice to see them publish a complete suite of measurements like Hypex and Purifi. There product has been on the market a good while- one wonders what they are waiting for.

Only one engineer holds a patent of the scheme. Hard to copy something that is patent protected. There aren't many class d designers with Bruno's experience and knowledge. It's not a simple thing. I never said his solution is the only solution, it just happens to be the current state of the art with top of class published measurements of it's performance and a huge market acceptance. It has thus achieved both technical excellence and commercial success. There will undoubtedly be something more advanced in the future. That's how progress works.

[RonN5]

One would hope that every amp, GaN or not, Class A, AB or D, Solid State or Tube...was subjected to a listening test before final acceptance...and that amp, regardless of the internal devices, regardless of any measurements, is what that amp designer thinks does the best job of producing the sound that designer thinks is correct.

If this is in fact the case, if amps are really designed this way, then all we are talking about is preferences...because what Nelson Pass ultimately thinks sounds right is different from what John Curl thinks sounds right is different from what Steve Deckert thinks sounds right is different from what Frank Van Alstine thinks sounds right.  And the same hold true for us as consumers.

[goryu]

One would hope that every amp, GaN or not, Class A, AB or D, Solid State or Tube...was subjected to a listening test before final acceptance...and that amp, regardless of the internal devices, regardless of any measurements, is what that amp designer thinks does the best job of producing the sound that designer thinks is correct.

If this is in fact the case, if amps are really designed this way, then all we are talking about is preferences...because what Nelson Pass ultimately thinks sounds right is different from what John Curl thinks sounds right is different from what Steve Deckert thinks sounds right is different from what Frank Van Alstine thinks sounds right.  And the same hold true for us as consumers.

Most of the people you mention measure and attempt to produce an amp that does what an amp is suppose to do objectively. They listen too, as all amp designers do. They then do what they need to do to satisfy their target market.

[Freo-1]

I've been researching the sonics associated with the sonics of the Gan400.  Received the following post from an engineer at a major audio manufacturer as an answer to the question: "Why does the Gan400 sound as good as it does?" 


NOTE: He is referring to his company's class D amp, NOT the Gan400!

"Its the distortion signature.
Our class D amp has a distortion signature that is very much like a good tube amp although considerably lower distortion overall.  In a GaNFET amp, it appears that the deadtime generates distortion that tends to be lower ordered harmonics which are innocuous, other than adding a bit of 'body' to the sound. Between that and non-linearities in the encoding scheme, you wind up with a smooth presentation quite unlike class D amps of only a few years ago and easily on par or better than the best class A amplifiers (we've been making class A2 tube power amps for over 47 years).


This behavior does not show up with normal measurements posted as part of reviews.  This explains a lot about the sonics.

[dwmaggie]

Objective outlook: I have and use 3 class D amps.  My first a Digital Amplifier Co Megaschino 250+wpc, dead silent background.  Second amp is a Peachtree Amp500 250wpc, dead silent background.  Third is a Class D MiniGan 5 at 200wpc, dead silent background.

Subjective outlook: I would never go back to class AB amps, too big, too heavy, too power hungry.  All three class D's lack a grainy signature, otherwise...

I also have a large, heavy tube amp at 70wpc.  It sounds like a tube amp.