We could debate for hours on transparency ... I tend to try the amps
Try them with basic ears-only controls. The results may surprise you.
We could debate for hours on transparency ... I tend to try the amps
That's a impressive and comprehensive list. Did you make that?We could debate for hours on transparency ... I tend to try the amps and I make my idea afterwards.
that being said, if you like numbers, take a look at this comparison:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZlTOYxmPs938gqHjtDABkWS-MApu7uJjzIGnJ2Elm6Y/edit#gid=0
I see no reason why "transparency" can't relate to sound equally well as to optics. Transparency is used with respect to communications.No. Absolutely incorrect. Transparent means you can see through it. Light. Not sound. Not electricity and certainly not audio equipment. The term is not remotely applicable to HiFi gear and never will be.
I see no reason why "transparency" can't relate to sound equally well as to optics.
If you don't take the full advantage of high switching frequencies (>1MHz), then using GaN FETS will give you no advantage besides a slight efficiency boost, due to lower Rds-on. It will not add more "details" or improve any audio parameter for a switching type of an amp... BTW, are those actually gold plated heat sinks??? I just hope you didn't use audiophool-grade contact cleaner instead if a thermal paste to attach those floating heat sinks...
It tells you specifically that what appears at the speaker terminals is pretty close to (or audibly exactly) identical (excluding gain) to what you shove up it's jacksie.
It is just one element of the description
The bandwidth or frequency response of a decent transistor is so good that more bandwidth is maybe just splitting hairs when it's used for audio. It's like OP amps with >MHz bandwidth being use for audio applications and the splitting hair differences when people OP amp roll.Is the capability of higher switching frequency another one of these urban myths? I mean does it actually lead to audible sonic differences?
Is the capability of higher switching frequency another one of these urban myths? I mean does it actually lead to audible sonic differences?
Transparency would communicate, to me, lack of audible distortion and no objectionable noise. Certainly nothing about features, build quality, price, color, physical dimensions, P/E ratio of its manufacturer's stock, factory location or any other extraneous stuff. In other words, a component that @amirm approves of from a measurement perspective.If I declare my amplifier "transparent", what does that tell you, specifically? Nothing about its power output into all loads, frequency response, distortion, crosstalk, features, build quality, price, warranty, fit, finish or features.
Now that we are on a transistor topic @restorer-john what makes those expensive big Sanken transistors and the like better for audio use? If the bandwidth is enough then what else is going on?Less dead time. The period where the device is neither fully off nor fully on. Leads to less device disipation and better waveform fidelity.
I'll take a faster device over a slower device in any application. After all, you can slow/bandwidth limit a fast device, but you can't speed up a slow one and retain linearity. (sure, you can help devices switch faster)
Now that we are on a transistor topic @restorer-john what makes those expensive big Sanken transistors and the like better for audio use? If the bandwidth is enough then what else is going on?
The Sanken 150C junction temp sounds pretty good. Could boil some water very effectively at that rate. I'm not up to speed on what junction temps are usually rated at but I do know that thermal runway generally commences at around 85C-105C from what I've read. Substituting transistors and selecting them is not something I've had to do because I provided warranty service and so was only permitted to use factory spec parts and order from the service manual or use service bulletins/MODs sheets.Sanken have the LAPTs, which are essentailly a multi/diffused emitter technology, which, if I recall correctly was first used by Fujitsu on their RET (ring emitter transistor) output devices around 1979. Very fast, very linear with very low beta droop at high currents and no real downsides.
View attachment 154462
The first Fujitsu RETs I remember turned up in the range topping Pioneer SA-9800 integrated.
Prior to that, the NEC T0-3 EBT (emitter ballast transistor)s had been incorporated into the Kenwood LO-7m power amplifiers:
View attachment 154464
C’mon guys…….Gold heatsinks………. Gold heatsinks for christ sake!, what more do you want?
Copper would be more preferable.