Thank you Amir and thank you to the whole ASR community for engaging in such extensive and rigorous testing of our amp. We are so happy to read your discussions and hope we can use all of this to work on even better hardware in the future.
Thanks for making hifi easily available in Europe! Please don't raise the prices haha, was already saving up ;) Hopefully you also release the lower powered specs one when it is released. (+ their new promised psu if it ever comes)
Hi, I ordered the 3ch amp HPA-T400ET. My girlfriend and I found it rather harsh and fatiguing when connected to my Focal Electra 926s speakers. I asked Audiophonics why it sounded harsh but got no answer and I was just asked to send it back. I sent it back and got my money back but I would have like to know why it didn't work for me. It was the 3channel model HPA-T400ET; without bus pumping compensation; is this the reason? I'd like to know so I can decide if I should order the stereo version or not. Thank you.
@@WimHulpia First Focal are very bright speakers, and second, in this class of Focal the crossover is making of the cheapest material possible. Maybe it’s why. I only see these too parametre
Excellent video, and what a relief to see these units perform so well. I've been eyeballing the 3-channel version for a while... don't think I can resist much longer. :)
This review arrived the same day as my new audiophonics LPA-S400ET. The LPA is the narrower version and Fits perfectly in an IKEA Kallax shelf unit, the build quality seems to be fantastic and the price is fair. Having teamed up the amp with some Revel M106 speakers, I'm a happy camper. My previous amp was a Rega Brio and the difference in clarity, separation and detail was surprising. I guess it could all just be placebo but I'd struggle to blind test.
Any drawbacks in the smaller case size? I live in a hot environment and wonder if the airy and spacious bigger box (with PS aided by the heatsink) would help in any way or is just a matter of esthetics.
Again, i am not even interested in this particular product, but i get captivated all the way through ( and ends up being a top notch product for once! awesome! ) Your tubes Amir are more informative than purely informative videos. The way you detail, and link the info to the reviewed product performance and analysis is almost flawless. For beginners like meself, this stuff is incredibly helpful to begin to understand what we are even looking for in products/perfromance. Also helps tremendously in understanding how and why the measurements . Another superb tube! Merci !!
@@AudioScienceReview could the Topping L30 II be a good preamp to pair with this Class D amplifier? Or you'd recommend something else? Thank you for your time. :)
I appreciate your power vs distortion 45Khz bandwidth test, it will be more useful I think in the future to see designer refinements in these class D amps. Thanks Amir!
Hello Amir, I just wanted to give you props for your excellent reviews. I love the fact that you have not only the equipment but the engineering knowledge to properly test and give a valid appraisal of the gear you test! So many reviewers out there, and I won't mention any names but are simply in my opinion giving reviews for their own advancement in the field of audio without any recorded data of any kind, simply their opinion... To me, pretty much meaningless with no measurements of any kind. Keep up the good work please !!
nice to see you test a unit from my favourite shop here in europe. the shop is very clear about some units and really say, its not for this or that. time ago i was very happy they listed Loxjie A30 you tested also very good, so for me its one of the shops i always look at first if they list new models. if not, maybe not worth looking anywhere else, because of reasons. ;-)
Nice amplifier, thanks for the review. Look forward to your review of the Starkrimson Stereo Ultra, has Capacitor upgrade and Dual Hypex power supply options as well.
Fantastic review and video as always. This morning I just bought the smaller case version that is just the same, only slightly cheaper. With 1370€ you get the best of the best as attested by scientific proofing, all the rest is mythology (or less power :-). Well done Audiophonics, this is progress
Outstanding job, and notion that class D evolution went this great. So, what streamer, DAC, and a preamp would work best with this amp, and which speakers, exactly? Where can I find this information relatively quickly?
Audiophonics is the best I bought 2 monoblocks of their Hypex Nc400, very nice built and sounds amazing. Dont know tho how much the difference of this and my Hypex, but theyre probablu great both of them! Great review as always Amir!
Did I just see the Second Best Amp in the World From France? GO TEAM FRENCHY! About darn time we all got some SUPER good News! And this is a House Brand too? Now this amp looks clean inside. And to top it off? Easy to repair if something goes wrong from what I see. It just looks so well thought out. No Filler no fuss. $1700 is not something to sneeze at. But being dang near close to the Mclaren F1 of Audio? There is no longer an Excuse for world class Hifi that every man can afford if he works for it. This will go with my Modified Maggie's nicely! And a BIG thanks to Amir for doing the testing and making it easy to understand for the rest of us!
Calm down. It is just Purifi modules with Hypex SMPS and a transparent buffer board. There's nothing French about this amp, expect for its assembly... PS: Best SINAD 1Khz/5W/4Ω ≠ best amp. Far from it.
If this guy didn't do a a positive review about a product I'm not buying it.... Yeah, I feel you add THAT much value to audio products Amir ! Let those engineers think twice about 'informing' specs to their customers. I don't care what people say. This is how it should be for all products, not just audio electronics.
@@AudioScienceReview I just makes me realize even more how tiresome cheap marketing tricks are. Intentional bias is just wrong.Because I am a person who loves to tinker around, I can relate. People just hear about stuff and assume it for truth. I can tell right away if a person is just bs-ing to sound interesting, or educated. Also lots of fun to confront them with that simple queston. 'Did you even try it yourself?' That's a 99% -> no
Hi Amir! Love the objective reviews. I was wondering if you could give some advice? Ive been looking around for a new Amp in my simple Stereo system with little luck so far. Id love something sleek and thought I found it in something like the Rega IO or the Argon SA1 but saw your reviews. This HPA S400ET seems spectacular but is out of my price range. Is there a minimalist Amp around the 500€ range, with a remote and smaller sized footprint that you would recommend? Or would something like the Argon SA1 despite some poor measurements still suffice for an audio enthusiast who wants to hear quality audio through some tower speakers?
Great Stuff ! Now I just need to build the room that goes around it, and the house to protect it all. Otherwise I’ll keep my Focal entry-level Choruses, because I like them.
You could always try out a cheaper offering from topping or smsl. If you want to try out some class d . Those amps are really compact too you could mount them out of sight really easily if you wanted to :)
Hi Amir and thanks again for a very educative test and video. I have a question; in general classD amps do not subjectively play as loud as class AB amps with the same watt output. And besides the fact that classAB have a different slope upwards, and not so steep as classD, (but with encreased disturtion of course), is it possible that their linear power suppy with much larger capasitors, make them able to play dynamic "bursts" more effortless? You mention this in your review. And therby deliver short bursts better? AND is it possible, that changing the relative small power capacitors in a switc-mode power supply with larger valued capacitors will give classD amps better dynamic performence? Or just some more identical capacitors, like 8X 5000uF in sted of only two? Thanks, HelgeH
Thank you very much for this information. I just moved to France from the U.S., and I want to get some French audio equipment. I did not know about Audio phonics before, but will look at their products now. (If you could inform me of any other less well-known French gems of this price range or lower....) 🙂
Thanks for another enlightening video. You mention in your test of the dynamic power of the amplifier is not much higher than the linear one, and justify it by the fact that there are no large capasitors in SMP powersupplies. My question then is, why isn't there a big 'power bank' as you see with linear power supplies on Class A & AB Aplifiers? Is it a price point, or can't class D amplifier take advantage of the power of the big Capacitors?
Hi Amir thanks for such great video. I would like to ask about your RMS Level measurement. Why you always use a 5 watts output signal when measuring amplifiers? It is related to any standards, or it's just level which you choose to keep one measurement procedure for all amplifiers?
Thanks for the review Amir. Looking for an AMP to hook up with my Marantz Cinema 40 to power the mains. Does it make sense SINAD wise, it the Marantz limit S/N to 93db for pre-amp out, or should I look elsewhere and get a more fitting (cheaper) power amp? Any thouzght on this would be much appreciated 🙂
Hey, Amir, you should do one on the Crown XLS. Thanks for the info on this. I use a pair of Nord NC500 mkii monoblocks with my Maggies and love them (Hypex). Always cool to know other similar style amps out there!
He already did some crown amps. Google it and type asr and they will come up. From what I remember they did pretty good but at quite the level of hypex and purifi
Fantastic amp, was curious about their offerings, thank you for reviewing this Audiophonics amp! Now wondering about their cheaper 125 x 2 hypex options.
Хороший цыфровой усилитель мощности! Сделан из датских модулей Purifi 1ET400A (4.775 Dänische Kronen = 641,89 Euro) и блока питания HYPEX SMPS1200A400 (182,50 €). Ещё провода за 125 Dänische Kronen = 16,80 Euro и корпус с гнездом питания и кнопкой запуска( 100€)! Итого: 641,89+16,80+182,50+100= 941,19 Euro = 1.050,79 $ это цена всего железа! Французская там только наценка в 500$! ))) А если серьёзно, то это чуть ли не лучший усилок в своём классе. Кстати, эти же модули стоят в NAD M33 и многих других за совершенно большие деньги. Здесь мне корпус не понравился. Я бы убрал эту жудкую, светящуюся кнопку и разместил бы лучше большие аналоговые VU- метры! Спасибо за интересный обзор!
I just looked up this amplifier and Holy Smokes!!! VU meters! If this amplifier matches purifi performance, it WILL be my end game! Eagerly awaiting this along with the higher power topping amplifier this year...
@@young_padawan it’s rumored to be in the class of the AHB2, so 113dB SINAD vs the 104ish of Purifi stuff. I’d buy 2 if the Soncoz delivers, was also waiting for John and Toppings version but they’ve been radio silent…
1) Could you tell me, if it is normal to have a little blop sound when turning the amp off? Furthermore, when turning this amp on, the speakers move a bit forward like to pre-tension the speakers. 2) You tested the normal edition. Did you have a chance to have a look (or ear) on the Sparkos Edition?
I won't read the comments until after watching the video. I have the exact same model at home. It does everything I could expect it to do minus the base authority that for example a Hegel H95 (!) had.
Funnily enough that amp actually rolls off very slightly in the deep bass. I'd love to know what counts as bass authority though. Maybe the opposite is actually what it is, with some noise/distortion or looser control? I listened to an amp that had very low sinad, and it did sound somewhat different. I could see (hear) why people would like it
@@RennieAsh sometimes an impedance mismatch can boost the low end. I had an emotiva flex amp that sounded warmer than all my other amps. In room measurements showed +2db in the low end
Great review on z great French amplifier built with z Purifi modules from z great class D designer Bruno Putzeys! Geez, have you stolen Popeye's spinach Amir; you have so much energy lately. So many reviews in a handful of days... I can't keep up.
Hi. Nice to see all your work done for this review. Could you pls add some measurements of IMD 60/7k and 10k/11k (or something) to your further reviews, Sir?
It is a bit tricky to do that because amplifiers vary so much based on output power. So a normalized test of that is hard to do although I have done it a couple of times.
AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC Hypex Ncore 2 x 250W 4 ohm would be an excellent amp for you to review for us next. Good price to performance ratio for many $450 USD
Thanks, Amir, for a great review. What an amplifier! I've never had any personal experience of class D designs. I live in New Zealand and wonder if there is an Audiophonics agent here. I do have a couple of questions. I run Acoustat SPECTRA 6600 electrostatics and their impedance drops to below 2 ohms at 20kHz. I assume there would be enough peak current to drive such a load to reasonable levels and being essentially a capacitive load, I assume there would not be any stability issues? My current lowish power (55W) class-A amps (home built) drive them without difficulty but I sometimes wished I had more power available.
@@AudioScienceReview Thanks for your reply, Amir. I did a Google search for information about a New Zealand agency but there was no positive response so I have to assume there isn't one. Sadly, the freight cost to send an amplifier half way around the world would probably make purchasing from France prohibitive.
Hello, Thanks for such test results. From my point of view, damping factor measurment is missing. Testing on a pur resistor is not enough. A speaker is much more complexe to drive. So providing the damping factor may help to have an idea of the amplifier capability to drive speakers. Thanks you Jean
For anybody curious... The company claims an extremely high damping ratio (at least 10,000 for a resistive load). For that reason, measuring the exact DF value would not have any practical meaning.
the only time I tested a class D amplifier, a Bel Canto costing nearly 3’000 CHF for each monoblocs I gave it back while the sound was excellent after listening for 2 hours or so I go intense fatigue (while the sound itself was non fatiguing) so ended buying second hands Bryston monoblocs instead and I am most happy with them. It is just me or just Bel Canto ? or have some other people experienced that with class D amps ?
I don't know what Bel Canto uses for class D. If it is sensitive to speaker load, it can change the frequency response of your speaker and indeed be responsible for listener fatigue. The Audiophonics doesn't have that problem as I explained in the video.
I'd love to see measurements of the smsl ao200 amp. That sounds great to me, though some day I may consider a Purifi amp just for never having to worry about power. 50W is enough in 95% of listening for me
Can you comment on the less well measured devices and the claim that by design they have a signature sound (aka distortion) and cost much more than this unit.
Unless we are dealing with a tube amp with high impedance, I have yet to see any amp have sound signature. What they do however have extra noise and distortion. The latter can sound bright or muddy. But yes, you can buy a ton of amps which produce far less transparency than this unit yet cost a lot more.
The best preamp I have tested is the Topping Pre90. Please see: www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-pre90-review-preamplifier.18283/
That is different Opamps buffer board used. Pricer ones, exactly. These cannot improve anything whatever on objective or subjective performance (in fact, it measures worse, actually).
Here's an idea: maybe you could come up with a certification like THX or UL for all your testing.... so companies would send you their products for an evaluation.... I know that in the supplements industry there's independent laboratories to test supplements..... like creatine for example you get the 'creapure' logo to attest that the product meets some criterias..... talk about a way of turning a hobby into a lucrative business.... at your own pace of course.... 🙋😇
There is merit in your suggestion. I had thought about it a while back and probably something i need to do to make sure the review results are correctly used in their marketing material. Money is not a goal though. :)
@@AudioScienceReview if there's no royalty to pay companies would be more than happy to pay a one time fee.... they tend to be frisky about royalties.... but if it's a small amount I don't see why not! My friend ( who watch your videos) and I had that idea..... if you become the defacto truth teller you've got yourself a gold mine and you would clean up for good the audio industry. .... you seems to have good relationships with some manufacturers maybe ask them how they would feel about that? A kind of Better business bureau for audio with a sticker underneath and an online Registry.... Seriously you're on to something.... 🙋
It measures well, but how does it actually sounds like? I had many class D amps in my rack, but all of them were so thin in the mids that they were unenjoyable.
There is always an awkward question behind the brackets for class "D" amplifiers. What will be the schedules for the real load, there is a reasonable suspicion that the carriage will turn into a pumpkin.
No, this "awkward question" applies to amplifiers running in B class (at high power levels). People have been conditioned to a certain sound. I can think of countless examples of people preferring lower quality sound.
Amir, why not do a tee shirt . I want one, what you going to put on it ?. “BS Audio” for me, or “ But how does it sound” could be another. We can wear them at audio shows. It will scare the shit out of them.
Those are great ideas!!! Can't do the BS Audio stuff but the other is worth consideration! I do have some T-shirts by the way: www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/asr-merchandise-to-order.20549/
I took a high quality Valve amp to an electronics engineer because it did not perform as I would have liked it. He put it through all the measurements and we were both astounded by how well it did. He had a good 40 years experince and said he's only seen a few that measures so well. Still sounded like shit but at least I could sell it on knowing there was nothing wrong with it. What is the point of the measurements if it sounds terrible?
I dont know much about electronics but when I see the guts of a class D home amplifier compaired to any class D car amplifier, the home class D just looks like the cheapest build there is. Only a few small capacitors in that empty shell. What in that box adds up to 800 bucks? Half retail. Heck what adds up to 400 bucks in parts in that box? Seems like home audio is severely overpriced then just gets insanely overpriced the more "boutique" it gets. Id love to see a comparison.
They are pre-built modules so cost money. The situation is also different in that input is high voltage so current is far lower than in a car amplifier. So the need for capacitor reservoir is far less.
@@AudioScienceReview Thanks for the info, much appreiated! Id still like to see testing between something like the ZAPCO AP 400.2 2ohm stable amplifier for 1700 dollars vs somthing like this amp you tested. Love the science! thanks again!
Audiphonics with Purifi 1ET400a class-d amps will maybe sound ok if you play newer music, however it sounds terrible if you play classical music. Piano is really bad, sounds like ringing bells and breaking glass. I do not recommend Audiophonics Purifi amplifiers, I am very disappointed.
Class D, absolutely not no thank you, especially when you listen to a well designed and serious sound quality of a natural sounding quality class A / AB amplication. The same with all the new cheap or expensive fangled crappy multiple times upsampling dac's etc, which is all absolute bull crap. Good measurements, including upsampling dac crappy rubbish, does not mean or guarantee that its a good natural sounding amplifier or dac, full stop.
Actually when the measurements show full transparency is achieved according to psychoacoustics, then you absolutely can bank on them. What you talk about is all folklore. Class does not matter. Performance does. And measurements tell you that.
@@AudioScienceReview no it does not always guarantee that they will sound excellent, or natural or real sounding. Technically excellent measurements does not guarantee its sound quality full stop. There many products that technically measure excellent with dire sound quality. Plus to my ears I haven't heard any class D amp sound excellent at all, and no way near the sound quality say for example of a pair of active crossover two or three way pair of ATC SCM ASL studio monitors for example. Class D even sounds crap even in a supposed high quality, high price pair of active crossover studio monitor loudspeakers, and worse sound for D class amplifiers and passive loudspeakers. Your so called excellent measurement cheap Chinese dacs, also sound cheap and crappy too. The measurements means absolutely zilch, zero about quality sound. Plus don't even get me started on psyco acoustics bull crap.
@@vintageflanker7096 all audio sounds completely different to each other, and either sounds good or sounds bad. A lot of it is crap, so don't talk bull crap to me about not been able to tell the sound quality differences about audio products, because that it utter bull crap.
![แฟนแนวใด๋ - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4_XVMuhhbsU/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you Amir and thank you to the whole ASR community for engaging in such extensive and rigorous testing of our amp.
We are so happy to read your discussions and hope we can use all of this to work on even better hardware in the future.
@Douglas Blake we do not add anything to the base module as far as filtering is concerned.
Thanks for making hifi easily available in Europe! Please don't raise the prices haha, was already saving up ;) Hopefully you also release the lower powered specs one when it is released. (+ their new promised psu if it ever comes)
Keep up the good work!
Hi, I ordered the 3ch amp HPA-T400ET. My girlfriend and I found it rather harsh and fatiguing when connected to my Focal Electra 926s speakers.
I asked Audiophonics why it sounded harsh but got no answer and I was just asked to send it back. I sent it back and got my money back but I would have like to know why it didn't work for me.
It was the 3channel model HPA-T400ET; without bus pumping compensation; is this the reason?
I'd like to know so I can decide if I should order the stereo version or not. Thank you.
@@WimHulpia First Focal are very bright speakers, and second, in this class of Focal the crossover is making of the cheapest material possible. Maybe it’s why. I only see these too parametre
Excellent video, and what a relief to see these units perform so well. I've been eyeballing the 3-channel version for a while... don't think I can resist much longer. :)
Always learning from you.
[been into audio for 50+ years]
Thanks.
This review arrived the same day as my new audiophonics LPA-S400ET. The LPA is the narrower version and Fits perfectly in an IKEA Kallax shelf unit, the build quality seems to be fantastic and the price is fair. Having teamed up the amp with some Revel M106 speakers, I'm a happy camper. My previous amp was a Rega Brio and the difference in clarity, separation and detail was surprising. I guess it could all just be placebo but I'd struggle to blind test.
Supposedly that rega has some... interesting measurements. That could be discernable
Any drawbacks in the smaller case size? I live in a hot environment and wonder if the airy and spacious bigger box (with PS aided by the heatsink) would help in any way or is just a matter of esthetics.
Good to see a well made and electrically safe product.
Again, i am not even interested in this particular product, but i get captivated all the way through ( and ends up being a top notch product for once! awesome! ) Your tubes Amir are more informative than purely informative videos. The way you detail, and link the info to the reviewed product performance and analysis is almost flawless. For beginners like meself, this stuff is incredibly helpful to begin to understand what we are even looking for in products/perfromance. Also helps tremendously in understanding how and why the measurements . Another superb tube! Merci !!
Oh, thank you so much for the kind feedback.
@@AudioScienceReview could the Topping L30 II be a good preamp to pair with this Class D amplifier? Or you'd recommend something else?
Thank you for your time. :)
I always love an Amir review!
Glad to see you back at it!
Good to be back.
I’ve been buying stuff form them for a few years and always to my satisfaction.
Sounds like a great amp great review keep up the good work mate
Great review and incredible product!
Even though I’m old, I have a longing for everything in my life to be efficient. As such, this is exactly what I’m looking for. Thanks!!
Sir pls keep
doing what you are doing, you are my hero.
I appreciate your power vs distortion 45Khz bandwidth test, it will be more useful I think in the future to see designer refinements in these class D amps. Thanks Amir!
Hello Amir, I just wanted to give you props for your excellent reviews. I love the fact that you have not only the equipment but the engineering knowledge to properly test and give a valid appraisal of the gear you test! So many reviewers out there, and I won't mention any names but are simply in my opinion giving reviews for their own advancement in the field of audio without any recorded data of any kind, simply their opinion... To me, pretty much meaningless with no measurements of any kind. Keep up the good work please !!
nice to see you test a unit from my favourite shop here in europe. the shop is very clear about some units and really say, its not for this or that. time ago i was very happy they listed Loxjie A30 you tested also very good, so for me its one of the shops i always look at first if they list new models. if not, maybe not worth looking anywhere else, because of reasons. ;-)
Nice amplifier, thanks for the review.
Look forward to your review of the Starkrimson Stereo Ultra, has Capacitor upgrade and Dual Hypex power supply options as well.
I was interested in siblings of this amplifier and the company. Great review Amir, «merci beaucoup».
Audiophonics guys are great indeed. Very helpful and responsive.
Their customer support is really stellar, both in English and French :)
Fantastic review and video as always. This morning I just bought the smaller case version that is just the same, only slightly cheaper. With 1370€ you get the best of the best as attested by scientific proofing, all the rest is mythology (or less power :-). Well done Audiophonics, this is progress
Please report about sound quality .... enjoy
@@BARTSKI75 the sound quality of it is 100 percent. Its fully transparent
Yep
Wow
@@BARTSKI75 Audiosciencereview don't care much about sound quality. It's all about meauserments
Thanks again, Amir!
Please consider reviewing amps that don't tradit. measure well (tube, 1970s and pre-70s tube or SS, some Nelson Pass, etc).
I have a tube amp coming up.
That's a superb review..
Thank you Amir for your hardwork
My pleasure. You are very kind.
Outstanding job, and notion that class D evolution went this great. So, what streamer, DAC, and a preamp would work best with this amp, and which speakers, exactly? Where can I find this information relatively quickly?
Audiophonics is the best
I bought 2 monoblocks of their Hypex Nc400, very nice built and sounds amazing.
Dont know tho how much the difference of this and my Hypex, but theyre probablu great both of them!
Great review as always Amir!
Did you get them in USA ?
@@TexasCorgiGun no, but Audiophonics deliver to America by ups.
Did I just see the Second Best Amp in the World From France? GO TEAM FRENCHY!
About darn time we all got some SUPER good News! And this is a House Brand too?
Now this amp looks clean inside. And to top it off? Easy to repair if something goes wrong from what I see.
It just looks so well thought out. No Filler no fuss. $1700 is not something to sneeze at. But being dang near close to the Mclaren F1 of Audio? There is no longer an Excuse for world class Hifi that every man can afford if he works for it.
This will go with my Modified Maggie's nicely! And a BIG thanks to Amir for doing the testing and making it easy to understand for the rest of us!
Calm down. It is just Purifi modules with Hypex SMPS and a transparent buffer board. There's nothing French about this amp, expect for its assembly...
PS: Best SINAD 1Khz/5W/4Ω ≠ best amp. Far from it.
@@vintageflanker7096 Well I'm American, But I'm built with foreign parts too! 🙂
@@MickeyMishra Well I'm french and I can recognise French engineering when I see it.😉😉
@@vintageflanker7096 what qualifies the best amp then ?
If this guy didn't do a a positive review about a product I'm not buying it....
Yeah, I feel you add THAT much value to audio products Amir !
Let those engineers think twice about 'informing' specs to their customers.
I don't care what people say. This is how it should be for all products, not just audio electronics.
Thank you so much. Even I don't buy anything unless I measure it and performs well! :)
@@AudioScienceReview I just makes me realize even more how tiresome cheap marketing tricks are. Intentional bias is just wrong.Because I am a person who loves to tinker around, I can relate. People just hear about stuff and assume it for truth. I can tell right away if a person is just bs-ing to sound interesting, or educated. Also lots of fun to confront them with that simple queston. 'Did you even try it yourself?'
That's a 99% -> no
Hi Amir! Love the objective reviews. I was wondering if you could give some advice?
Ive been looking around for a new Amp in my simple Stereo system with little luck so far. Id love something sleek and thought I found it in something like the Rega IO or the Argon SA1 but saw your reviews. This HPA S400ET seems spectacular but is out of my price range. Is there a minimalist Amp around the 500€ range, with a remote and smaller sized footprint that you would recommend? Or would something like the Argon SA1 despite some poor measurements still suffice for an audio enthusiast who wants to hear quality audio through some tower speakers?
Great Stuff ! Now I just need to build the room that goes around it, and the house to protect it all. Otherwise I’ll keep my Focal entry-level Choruses, because I like them.
You could always try out a cheaper offering from topping or smsl. If you want to try out some class d . Those amps are really compact too you could mount them out of sight really easily if you wanted to :)
Nice as always. Thanks.
Very useful, for buying candidates 👍
Thanks for the review! Did I hear that there could be headroom deficiencies with the switching power supply?
Very nice! On a second note, I think I have a shirt that is identical to Amir's. Small world. :)
the definitive amp :)
Hi Amir and thanks again for a very educative test and video. I have a question; in general classD amps do not subjectively play as loud as class AB amps with the same watt output. And besides the fact that classAB have a different slope upwards, and not so steep as classD, (but with encreased disturtion of course), is it possible that their linear power suppy with much larger capasitors, make them able to play dynamic "bursts" more effortless? You mention this in your review. And therby deliver short bursts better?
AND is it possible, that changing the relative small power capacitors in a switc-mode power supply with larger valued capacitors will give classD amps better dynamic performence? Or just some more identical capacitors, like 8X 5000uF in sted of only two?
Thanks, HelgeH
Thank you very much for this information. I just moved to France from the U.S., and I want to get some French audio equipment. I did not know about Audio phonics before, but will look at their products now. (If you could inform me of any other less well-known French gems of this price range or lower....) 🙂
Thanks for another enlightening video.
You mention in your test of the dynamic power of the amplifier is not much higher than the linear one, and justify it by the fact that there are no large capasitors in SMP powersupplies.
My question then is, why isn't there a big 'power bank' as you see with linear power supplies on Class A & AB Aplifiers? Is it a price point, or can't class D amplifier take advantage of the power of the big Capacitors?
Hi Amir thanks for such great video. I would like to ask about your RMS Level measurement. Why you always use a 5 watts output signal when measuring amplifiers? It is related to any standards, or it's just level which you choose to keep one measurement procedure for all amplifiers?
Excellent review as always! What is your opinion on Icepower ASX?
They are also good but a clear step below Hypex/Purifi amplifiers.
nice amplifier ! thanks !
Hope your review doesn't drive their prices up. Was already saving for this one haha
HE LIKES IT! HEY, MIKEY! HE LIKES IT!!!
Thanks for the review Amir. Looking for an AMP to hook up with my Marantz Cinema 40 to power the mains. Does it make sense SINAD wise, it the Marantz limit S/N to 93db for pre-amp out, or should I look elsewhere and get a more fitting (cheaper) power amp? Any thouzght on this would be much appreciated 🙂
Hey, Amir, you should do one on the Crown XLS. Thanks for the info on this. I use a pair of Nord NC500 mkii monoblocks with my Maggies and love them (Hypex). Always cool to know other similar style amps out there!
He already did some crown amps. Google it and type asr and they will come up. From what I remember they did pretty good but at quite the level of hypex and purifi
@@sergeysmelnik Great! Thanks!!
Fantastic amp, was curious about their offerings, thank you for reviewing this Audiophonics amp! Now wondering about their cheaper 125 x 2 hypex options.
Cant go wrong with hypex. They're probably the second best after putifi. You won't hear a difference. I got an nc502mp. No issues
@@sergeysmelnik Adjustable gain might be a very useful feature that the Purifi has but the Hypex doesn't appear to?
Хороший цыфровой усилитель мощности! Сделан из датских модулей Purifi 1ET400A (4.775 Dänische Kronen = 641,89 Euro) и блока питания HYPEX SMPS1200A400 (182,50 €). Ещё провода за 125 Dänische Kronen = 16,80 Euro и корпус с гнездом питания и кнопкой запуска( 100€)! Итого: 641,89+16,80+182,50+100= 941,19 Euro = 1.050,79 $ это цена всего железа! Французская там только наценка в 500$! )))
А если серьёзно, то это чуть ли не лучший усилок в своём классе. Кстати, эти же модули стоят в NAD M33 и многих других за совершенно большие деньги.
Здесь мне корпус не понравился. Я бы убрал эту жудкую, светящуюся кнопку и разместил бы лучше большие аналоговые VU- метры!
Спасибо за интересный обзор!
Large VU meters is my one wish as well. I am happy to pay extra for it!
A case kit for purifi modules is in the 250-350euro range
Amir, do you think this would be a good match for the KEF LS50 Meta?
Great review Amir, want to see you get your hands on the Soncoz SGP-1 AB amplifier, apparently it will dethrone the Benchmark
It is a good looking amp so if it performs, it will be a killer. They are usually good in sending me samples so I will get to test it when ready.
Yeah apparently. 🤔
@@johnyang799 you still working on it? Haven’t heard much from you about it
I just looked up this amplifier and Holy Smokes!!! VU meters! If this amplifier matches purifi performance, it WILL be my end game! Eagerly awaiting this along with the higher power topping amplifier this year...
@@young_padawan it’s rumored to be in the class of the AHB2, so 113dB SINAD vs the 104ish of Purifi stuff. I’d buy 2 if the Soncoz delivers, was also waiting for John and Toppings version but they’ve been radio silent…
1)
Could you tell me, if it is normal to have a little blop sound when turning the amp off?
Furthermore, when turning this amp on, the speakers move a bit forward like to pre-tension the speakers.
2)
You tested the normal edition. Did you have a chance to have a look (or ear) on the Sparkos Edition?
I won't read the comments until after watching the video. I have the exact same model at home. It does everything I could expect it to do minus the base authority that for example a Hegel H95 (!) had.
The #1 benefit of class D is its bass authority. Due to its efficiency, it is able to suck a lot more power out of your AC outlet to reproduce music.
Funnily enough that amp actually rolls off very slightly in the deep bass. I'd love to know what counts as bass authority though. Maybe the opposite is actually what it is, with some noise/distortion or looser control?
I listened to an amp that had very low sinad, and it did sound somewhat different. I could see (hear) why people would like it
@@RennieAsh sometimes an impedance mismatch can boost the low end. I had an emotiva flex amp that sounded warmer than all my other amps. In room measurements showed +2db in the low end
I'd love to hear this amp against my NAD 208 power amp. Roughly the same power output.
Great review on z great French amplifier built with z Purifi modules from z great class D designer Bruno Putzeys! Geez, have you stolen Popeye's spinach Amir; you have so much energy lately. So many reviews in a handful of days... I can't keep up.
Would be nice if you can test the Keces amplifier.
Do me a favor and ask them to send me one for testing. That is how I got the Audiophonics to test. They value potential customers more than me asking.
Hello,
Do you have the measurement when you use RCA inputs ?
When you have an AVR, you are often stuck with RCA's
Hi. Nice to see all your work done for this review. Could you pls add some measurements of IMD 60/7k and 10k/11k (or something) to your further reviews, Sir?
It is a bit tricky to do that because amplifiers vary so much based on output power. So a normalized test of that is hard to do although I have done it a couple of times.
Is this amp better then a Cyrus 8a amp with a PSR ? Or a top model from NAIM ?
AUDIOPHONICS MPA-S250NC Hypex Ncore 2 x 250W 4 ohm would be an excellent amp for you to review for us next. Good price to performance ratio for many $450 USD
Thanks, Amir, for a great review. What an amplifier! I've never had any personal experience of class D designs. I live in New Zealand and wonder if there is an Audiophonics agent here. I do have a couple of questions. I run Acoustat SPECTRA 6600 electrostatics and their impedance drops to below 2 ohms at 20kHz. I assume there would be enough peak current to drive such a load to reasonable levels and being essentially a capacitive load, I assume there would not be any stability issues? My current lowish power (55W) class-A amps (home built) drive them without difficulty but I sometimes wished I had more power available.
Thanks for the kind words. Alas, I don't test at 2 ohm so can't say for sure. But I would guess that it would do fine.
@@AudioScienceReview Thanks for your reply, Amir. I did a Google search for information about a New Zealand agency but there was no positive response so I have to assume there isn't one. Sadly, the freight cost to send an amplifier half way around the world would probably make purchasing from France prohibitive.
@@johnmarchington3146 This could be a business opportunity for you - get them in in bulk and sell for a reasonable margin/provide support?
@@eubikedude Not at my time of life, thank you very much.
@@johnmarchington3146 Shipping is 86 Euro for a total price of 1 210,87 € roughly 2000 NZD, plus 15% import tax?
Hello,
Thanks for such test results.
From my point of view, damping factor measurment is missing.
Testing on a pur resistor is not enough. A speaker is much more complexe to drive.
So providing the damping factor may help to have an idea of the amplifier capability to drive speakers.
Thanks you
Jean
For anybody curious... The company claims an extremely high damping ratio (at least 10,000 for a resistive load). For that reason, measuring the exact DF value would not have any practical meaning.
Great review shame no listening tests to compare with his reference or others
This is an extremely transparent amplifier. It has no "sound" to characterize with listening.
I wonder what the standby phantom draw is. Anyone have a _Kill A Watt_ and one of these?
ETA: superb review as always.
Just measured it: 16.7 watts.
@@AudioScienceReview Thanks Amir!
Does anyone know how this amp compares to the similar VTV purifi line of amplifiers?
Damn I would love to see an XTZ EDGE A2-400 review. Too bad it's European so chances are low. :(
the only time I tested a class D amplifier, a Bel Canto costing nearly 3’000 CHF for each monoblocs I gave it back while the sound was excellent after listening for 2 hours or so I go intense fatigue (while the sound itself was non fatiguing) so ended buying second hands Bryston monoblocs instead and I am most happy with them. It is just me or just Bel Canto ? or have some other people experienced that with class D amps ?
I don't know what Bel Canto uses for class D. If it is sensitive to speaker load, it can change the frequency response of your speaker and indeed be responsible for listener fatigue. The Audiophonics doesn't have that problem as I explained in the video.
Hey Amir! Wich amps do you recommend with the best "price/SINAD" ratio?
I have not done that math but likely PA5 wins that if its power level is good enough for you.
I'd love to see measurements of the smsl ao200 amp. That sounds great to me, though some day I may consider a Purifi amp just for never having to worry about power. 50W is enough in 95% of listening for me
I would like to know how the
AUDIOPHONICS HPA-S250NC 2 channel amp performs.
If its close to this one at half price it would be great.
I've got that amp and I love it.
Can you comment on the less well measured devices and the claim that by design they have a signature sound (aka distortion) and cost much more than this unit.
Unless we are dealing with a tube amp with high impedance, I have yet to see any amp have sound signature. What they do however have extra noise and distortion. The latter can sound bright or muddy. But yes, you can buy a ton of amps which produce far less transparency than this unit yet cost a lot more.
those binding post connectors looks alike like PS Audio Amps
on the page it looked like 490e was so excited to buy it :D until real price hit me, well my Yamaha is here to stay....
Yeh, it is easy to miss the 1 and space after it. :) Cost is the only issue with these high performance class D amps.
Can please recommend a best for money preamp for this. I want to keep the performance intact. Mang thanks
The best preamp I have tested is the Topping Pre90. Please see: www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-pre90-review-preamplifier.18283/
Looking up this Amp there is a "Sparkos Edition". Any can explain to me what that refers to?
That is different Opamps buffer board used. Pricer ones, exactly. These cannot improve anything whatever on objective or subjective performance (in fact, it measures worse, actually).
@@vintageflanker7096 Exactly.
Is there a difference between this Audiophonics Amp and the Audiophonics LPA-S400ET? Looks like it has the same internals but a different case
I think it is just a more compact version.
The LPA-S400ET also doesn't have a 12v trigger.
Here's an idea: maybe you could come up with a certification like THX or UL for all your testing.... so companies would send you their products for an evaluation.... I know that in the supplements industry there's independent laboratories to test supplements..... like creatine for example you get the 'creapure' logo to attest that the product meets some criterias..... talk about a way of turning a hobby into a lucrative business.... at your own pace of course.... 🙋😇
There is merit in your suggestion. I had thought about it a while back and probably something i need to do to make sure the review results are correctly used in their marketing material. Money is not a goal though. :)
@@AudioScienceReview if there's no royalty to pay companies would be more than happy to pay a one time fee.... they tend to be frisky about royalties.... but if it's a small amount I don't see why not! My friend ( who watch your videos) and I had that idea..... if you become the defacto truth teller you've got yourself a gold mine and you would clean up for good the audio industry. .... you seems to have good relationships with some manufacturers maybe ask them how they would feel about that? A kind of Better business bureau for audio with a sticker underneath and an online
Registry.... Seriously you're on to something.... 🙋
@@AudioScienceReview do it for the integrity of the hobby then... while having fun in the process 🥳😇
Great measurements... but what does it sound like?
It will sound transparent .
Is there a 120volt version for US?
Yes, that is what I tested. It uses a switching power supply so internally it doesn't care but they will send you the proper AC cable to go with it.
Does anyone know if this amplifier has standby / auto on?
It measures well, but how does it actually sounds like? I had many class D amps in my rack, but all of them were so thin in the mids that they were unenjoyable.
It sounds fantastic. Just put aside your preconceptions about class D and you will be all set for a long time.
There is always an awkward question behind the brackets for class "D" amplifiers. What will be the schedules for the real load, there is a reasonable suspicion that the carriage will turn into a pumpkin.
No, this "awkward question" applies to amplifiers running in B class (at high power levels). People have been conditioned to a certain sound. I can think of countless examples of people preferring lower quality sound.
Thx. 🇨🇵 ❤️ 🇺🇦
Hypex or Ice amps??? I can make up my mind
Hypex amps perform better but will cost more.
Not that it matter but usually you do a quick subjective review just to confirm your finding.... 🤔
This would probably be ideal. But I imagine it would be more time consuming than the main objective.
Amir, why not do a tee shirt . I want one, what you going to put on it ?. “BS Audio” for me, or “ But how does it sound” could be another. We can wear them at audio shows. It will scare the shit out of them.
Those are great ideas!!! Can't do the BS Audio stuff but the other is worth consideration!
I do have some T-shirts by the way: www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/asr-merchandise-to-order.20549/
If it helps you continue with the great work you are doing, I will buy one.
I took a high quality Valve amp to an electronics engineer because it did not perform as I would have liked it. He put it through all the measurements and we were both astounded by how well it did. He had a good 40 years experince and said he's only seen a few that measures so well. Still sounded like shit but at least I could sell it on knowing there was nothing wrong with it. What is the point of the measurements if it sounds terrible?
I dont know much about electronics but when I see the guts of a class D home amplifier compaired to any class D car amplifier, the home class D just looks like the cheapest build there is. Only a few small capacitors in that empty shell. What in that box adds up to 800 bucks? Half retail. Heck what adds up to 400 bucks in parts in that box? Seems like home audio is severely overpriced then just gets insanely overpriced the more "boutique" it gets. Id love to see a comparison.
They are pre-built modules so cost money. The situation is also different in that input is high voltage so current is far lower than in a car amplifier. So the need for capacitor reservoir is far less.
@@AudioScienceReview Thanks for the info, much appreiated! Id still like to see testing between something like the ZAPCO AP 400.2 2ohm stable amplifier for 1700 dollars vs somthing like this amp you tested. Love the science! thanks again!
what about the sound !?!
What speakers would go with this unit? Thinking about Dali?
Any speaker. It all depends on how loud you want to play.
@@AudioScienceReview Thank you!
How does it sound?
Transparent!.
@@r423sdex noice
2nd
more people are poor so smaller can be sold to the masses
Audiphonics with Purifi 1ET400a class-d amps will maybe sound ok if you play newer music, however it sounds terrible if you play classical music. Piano is really bad, sounds like ringing bells and breaking glass. I do not recommend Audiophonics Purifi amplifiers, I am very disappointed.
1500 for class D peace of junk? Must be kidding
Class D, absolutely not no thank you, especially when you listen to a well designed and serious sound quality of a natural sounding quality class A / AB amplication. The same with all the new cheap or expensive fangled crappy multiple times upsampling dac's etc, which is all absolute bull crap. Good measurements, including upsampling dac crappy rubbish, does not mean or guarantee that its a good natural sounding amplifier or dac, full stop.
Actually when the measurements show full transparency is achieved according to psychoacoustics, then you absolutely can bank on them. What you talk about is all folklore. Class does not matter. Performance does. And measurements tell you that.
Yeah, full stop. Your comment is full of nonesense BS.
You won't be able to identify this amp as "Class D" in any proper controlled listening.
@@AudioScienceReview no it does not always guarantee that they will sound excellent, or natural or real sounding. Technically excellent measurements does not guarantee its sound quality full stop. There many products that technically measure excellent with dire sound quality. Plus to my ears I haven't heard any class D amp sound excellent at all, and no way near the sound quality say for example of a pair of active crossover two or three way pair of ATC SCM ASL studio monitors for example. Class D even sounds crap even in a supposed high quality, high price pair of active crossover studio monitor loudspeakers, and worse sound for D class amplifiers and passive loudspeakers. Your so called excellent measurement cheap Chinese dacs, also sound cheap and crappy too. The measurements means absolutely zilch, zero about quality sound. Plus don't even get me started on psyco acoustics bull crap.
@@ianjohnhorwood2605 🤦
@@vintageflanker7096 all audio sounds completely different to each other, and either sounds good or sounds bad. A lot of it is crap, so don't talk bull crap to me about not been able to tell the sound quality differences about audio products, because that it utter bull crap.