I bought the “1st generation” when it was sub $500 a while ago. I definitely noticed an improvement compared to just my x3300 powering the front stage. After about a year of use, 1 channel out of the 5 stopped working(orange light). Mind you, I wasn’t actively using that particular channel as I only used 3 for my LCR. Since I was within the warranty, they replaced it. I did have to wait a few months since they were out of stock.
To the people watching, do not let anybody tell you that class H is not A/B. It is hybrid in power draw only. This is 100% a class A/B amp that happens to be energy efficient. Think a PC power supply that can either be Bronze, Gold, or Platinum. A regular A/B amp is Bronze...this thing is Platinum! Very energy efficient and It never gets hot...EVER! This is hands down the best deal in home amps right now. Even with the price increase to $800.
If the amplifier switches between two different rail voltages, then its a class G amplifier. A class H amplifier has continuously variable rails which track the input signal.
Just got mine yesterday, hopefully get it hooked up today! I read on the website that it will run 200x3 if you only use It for your frontstage! I will be using it for now jut to run my LCR. May add rears later and use all channels. Hopefully it sounds amazing! I read reviews online and they were 99% great. I also read the Amazon reviews from customers and it was just as good.
@@joentell , got it hooked up last night. Here are my initial impressions. I noticed some better low end in lower to mid volume. I use it just for LCR at the moment. Sound seems to be a bit crisper also. When the volume goes up is where I saw a big difference. I'm running klipsch rp-280f with Rp504c. The room feels more pressurized and you can feel the couch shake while sitting on it! No subs, so it's all coming from the rp-280f 😁it does claim 200x3, so I should be getting that with only 3 channels hooked up. The only thing that seems weird is that all 5 lights stay on the front panel. It says amp 1 thru 5 on the front panel, 1 light per. So I thought only 3 lights should stay blue. I looked at all the pics online and saw that all 5 lights also were on with all pics. Do your lights stay on with less than 5 channels hooked up? Also it powers on smoothly with the trigger. I have to imagine it takes some load off my Denon avrx3500x not having to power anything. No hiss at all! So all in all, I think it does its job. Better low end at less volume, and really cranks when the volume goes up.
@@johnlegg6661 Wow! Sounds like you're having fun with your system and that's what it's all about. I've never tested to see if the lights correspond to signal to those channels.
@@joentell Joe, how much is it pulling out of the wall when you're running it at your regular listening levels? Could you check with a kill a watt meter?
Good review Joe. A little long, but good info. and the chance to talk too is valuable. OSD is a nice amp in this case for home theater. I have a 5.1, and 120 for the front, 75 center, 30 rear...1993 jvc. Got the Emotiva A2 2021 model, and im ready to upgrade the AVR NOW.
This was part of a live stream. Just tried something different this time. I think I need to record this and edit it after the fact to make it more concise.
Deciding between OSD and Outlaw and here's a simple fact that screams volumes! Warranty: OSD = 2 years PARTS. Outlaw = 5 years PARTS & LABOR. Yea... going with 7000x myself. Shame, I liked the idea of Class H but also realize it's a more complicated circuit as well which they don't even have confidence in apparently.
hey Joe, my pioneer sc-55 finally died again after free onkyo repair, I purchased an nr676 which just does not sonically fill the place of the pioneer at 140X9 .. what would bean close replacement ? tempted towards the emotiva 7ch. or the outlaw 700x.. really stuck.
Hi Joe, I'm interested in the OSD Nero XA5180. I try to use your code, but it wasn't accepted. Listening to your video on this OSD sounds great. I also have the Parasound a52+. I didn't hear any noise from the tweeter. someone said that it produces noise to put my ear on the tweeter. Long and behold there is some noise. Of course you have to put your ear right on the speakers tweeter to hear it. Of course I'm not happy now that I have been aware of the noise coming from the tweeter. Do you hear any noise from your tweeter playing the a52+?
Quality Class D amps like the NC250/400/500 won't have hiss. Cheap Class D that is built poorly will have hiss. For the JBL 305, they have a worse amp, the 306/308 have a better plate amp without hiss. Well documented online forums and stopped me from getting the 305.
@@joentell interesting. Well good thing I didn't get them for my desk, but they were too big anyways lol. I think I'm going to use the pair of JBL 530s I have laying around with my Alesis RA-100 until get a good Class D amp like the N250.
@@techhobbymk2305 No? Class H is an AB amp with a Multi-rail power supply. Class D is PWM based. Good Class D amps like the Hypex Ncore series and wiping the floor with most AB amps right now. The only AB amp I know of that beats it is the Benchmark AHB2 which sacrifices power for lower distortion, while the Ncore gives loads of power and slightly worse distortion, which is the true winner in my book.
@@joentell Hiss has nothing to do with the class of amplification - a class A/B, class D or any other class can be perfectly quiet if designed well, or be objectionably hissy if poorly designed.
The representative from their company, Simon Spears, said it's 135w x 5 @8ohms, 20hz-20khz, 0.1% THD, all channels driven. You can see it in the live chat replay.
Hey bro, how do you think this would pair up with my Pioneer SC LX904 running the Polk Signature Series? (2 s60's, 1 S35 Center, 2 S20's, 2HTS 12's and 4 S15's heights)
I'm not big on "synergy" when it comes to pairing. I know others are. It's more about whether you think this amount of power will suit your needs for volume. I know it's hard to convert watts to listening volume, but just know it gets loud enough in my 20x20ft dedicated theater. Hope that helps a bit.
@@joentell 5000x. Eh it’s ok. Only running two speakers now. Was powering 5 but I got my basx a3 last month. Finally took care of my turn up when dialogue and quickly turn down during boomy boom boom parts. Love my emotiva basx a5 and a3. The outlaw is a heavy bastard.
@@joentell The Outlaw 5000X is the same amp as this one, it's the same supplier. The OSD used to be $500, but once people found out they were the same, the company increased the price multiple times. It was up to $720 vs Outlaw 5000X $770. When OSD was asked why the price increase, they said because they could. I would still go with Outlaw at a $50 price difference. I went with a 7000X (made by ATI) and will get another. *EDIT* just saw it's up to $800 now. NO WAY I'd personally go with this over the 5000X when it's $30 more. But beyond that it's a good amp and Audioholics measured the 5000 years ago (didn't have ground on that model).
Follow up Edit: Ive only watched 2 movies and Channels 1 and 3 are out. On standby I see all yellow. On Power up I see 1 is 100% blank, 3 is yellow atop where the blue should be. Not even 6 months new. Wow.
Interesting. Which speakers? Maybe it depends on the impedance of your speakers. I know it's like that for headphones. I specifically looked out for it and put my ears right next to my speakers. Nothing.
Buys the Parasound Amp to silence the noise in comment sections rather than for the signal path .. lol =) ... I'll say it again.. " Audiophiles " are easily the more hypocritical and ironically noisy bunch of them all. =)
I bought the “1st generation” when it was sub $500 a while ago. I definitely noticed an improvement compared to just my x3300 powering the front stage. After about a year of use, 1 channel out of the 5 stopped working(orange light). Mind you, I wasn’t actively using that particular channel as I only used 3 for my LCR. Since I was within the warranty, they replaced it. I did have to wait a few months since they were out of stock.
To the people watching, do not let anybody tell you that class H is not A/B. It is hybrid in power draw only. This is 100% a class A/B amp that happens to be energy efficient. Think a PC power supply that can either be Bronze, Gold, or Platinum. A regular A/B amp is Bronze...this thing is Platinum! Very energy efficient and It never gets hot...EVER! This is hands down the best deal in home amps right now. Even with the price increase to $800.
If the amplifier switches between two different rail voltages, then its a class G amplifier. A class H amplifier has continuously variable rails which track the input signal.
It's a class H. Says it right on it
I have the 3-channel version of this, which has the same power source. Better price that the Emotiva BasX a3, and more power per channel!
From OSD just now on chat about the 3 and the 7ch...
"both should be coming in around the same time, end of March 2022"
Just got mine yesterday, hopefully get it hooked up today! I read on the website that it will run 200x3 if you only use It for your frontstage! I will be using it for now jut to run my LCR. May add rears later and use all channels. Hopefully it sounds amazing! I read reviews online and they were 99% great. I also read the Amazon reviews from customers and it was just as good.
Let me know
@@joentell , got it hooked up last night. Here are my initial impressions. I noticed some better low end in lower to mid volume. I use it just for LCR at the moment. Sound seems to be a bit crisper also. When the volume goes up is where I saw a big difference. I'm running klipsch rp-280f with Rp504c. The room feels more pressurized and you can feel the couch shake while sitting on it! No subs, so it's all coming from the rp-280f 😁it does claim 200x3, so I should be getting that with only 3 channels hooked up. The only thing that seems weird is that all 5 lights stay on the front panel. It says amp 1 thru 5 on the front panel, 1 light per. So I thought only 3 lights should stay blue. I looked at all the pics online and saw that all 5 lights also were on with all pics. Do your lights stay on with less than 5 channels hooked up? Also it powers on smoothly with the trigger. I have to imagine it takes some load off my Denon avrx3500x not having to power anything. No hiss at all! So all in all, I think it does its job. Better low end at less volume, and really cranks when the volume goes up.
@@johnlegg6661 Wow! Sounds like you're having fun with your system and that's what it's all about. I've never tested to see if the lights correspond to signal to those channels.
@@joentell , so I'm thinking all the lights stay on because all the amps still have to work to get to the 200x3 rating they give it.
@@joentell Joe, how much is it pulling out of the wall when you're running it at your regular listening levels? Could you check with a kill a watt meter?
Hell yeah I'm on my way to Brea! Just purchased o e. Thanks for your review!
Good review Joe. A little long, but good info. and the chance to talk too is valuable. OSD is a nice amp in this case for home theater. I have a 5.1, and 120 for the front, 75 center, 30 rear...1993 jvc. Got the Emotiva A2 2021 model, and im ready to upgrade the AVR NOW.
This was part of a live stream. Just tried something different this time. I think I need to record this and edit it after the fact to make it more concise.
Great review! any plans to review Class-D amp's ,Multi-Channel/Stereo Hypex NCore / Purifi Eigentakt amps (Buckeye/VTV/Apollon) ?
Good job on lowering price points for quality theater amps
Deciding between OSD and Outlaw and here's a simple fact that screams volumes! Warranty: OSD = 2 years PARTS. Outlaw = 5 years PARTS & LABOR. Yea... going with 7000x myself. Shame, I liked the idea of Class H but also realize it's a more complicated circuit as well which they don't even have confidence in apparently.
Here are the specs (RMS)
8 ohms
5ch Driven 120w
4ch Driven 160w
3ch Driven 200w
4 ohms
5ch Driven 180w
4ch Driven 220w
3ch Driven 260w
hey Joe, my pioneer sc-55 finally died again after free onkyo repair, I purchased an nr676 which just does not sonically fill the place of the pioneer at 140X9 .. what would bean close replacement ? tempted towards the emotiva 7ch. or the outlaw 700x.. really stuck.
Hi Joe, I'm interested in the OSD Nero XA5180. I try to use your code, but it wasn't accepted. Listening to your video on this OSD sounds great. I also have the Parasound a52+. I didn't hear any noise from the tweeter. someone said that it produces noise to put my ear on the tweeter. Long and behold there is some noise. Of course you have to put your ear right on the speakers tweeter to hear it. Of course I'm not happy now that I have been aware of the noise coming from the tweeter. Do you hear any noise from your tweeter playing the a52+?
Call OSD and mention me directly.
When do plan on going separates?
OSD 5 or 7 channel VS Tonewinner? Which would you choose?
Quality Class D amps like the NC250/400/500 won't have hiss. Cheap Class D that is built poorly will have hiss.
For the JBL 305, they have a worse amp, the 306/308 have a better plate amp without hiss. Well documented online forums and stopped me from getting the 305.
Interestingly enough, I misspoke. I reviewed the JBL 306P, not the 305. More hiss than I would want.
@@joentell interesting. Well good thing I didn't get them for my desk, but they were too big anyways lol. I think I'm going to use the pair of JBL 530s I have laying around with my Alesis RA-100 until get a good Class D amp like the N250.
Class H is a level above the Glass D.
@@techhobbymk2305 No? Class H is an AB amp with a Multi-rail power supply. Class D is PWM based. Good Class D amps like the Hypex Ncore series and wiping the floor with most AB amps right now. The only AB amp I know of that beats it is the Benchmark AHB2 which sacrifices power for lower distortion, while the Ncore gives loads of power and slightly worse distortion, which is the true winner in my book.
@@joentell Hiss has nothing to do with the class of amplification - a class A/B, class D or any other class can be perfectly quiet if designed well, or be objectionably hissy if poorly designed.
Appreciate your honesty here.
🙏
Looks like a good amp for the $. Have you seen the THD rating? I didn’t see it on their site.
The representative from their company, Simon Spears, said it's 135w x 5 @8ohms, 20hz-20khz, 0.1% THD, all channels driven. You can see it in the live chat replay.
Nice video. What connections do I need to hook this up to my denon?
A bunch of RCA's. I just got a bunch of these amzn.to/3JBPbyr (affiliate link)
Hey bro, how do you think this would pair up with my Pioneer SC LX904 running the Polk Signature Series? (2 s60's, 1 S35 Center, 2 S20's, 2HTS 12's and 4 S15's heights)
I'm not big on "synergy" when it comes to pairing. I know others are. It's more about whether you think this amount of power will suit your needs for volume. I know it's hard to convert watts to listening volume, but just know it gets loud enough in my 20x20ft dedicated theater. Hope that helps a bit.
@@joentell Ok thanks fam!
How did the test go with the Elac UB5s?
It has handled every speaker I've thrown at it. No problem.
Had same question. I own the unifi uf5 and need of an amp
no hiss! thats one of my pet peeves 🤣 no snakes on this train! 🚫🐍
I almost bought that amp but went with the outlaw instead had more watts.
Which Outlaw? You like it?
@@joentell 5000x.
Eh it’s ok. Only running two speakers now. Was powering 5 but I got my basx a3 last month.
Finally took care of my turn up when dialogue and quickly turn down during boomy boom boom parts. Love my emotiva basx a5 and a3.
The outlaw is a heavy bastard.
@@joentell The Outlaw 5000X is the same amp as this one, it's the same supplier. The OSD used to be $500, but once people found out they were the same, the company increased the price multiple times. It was up to $720 vs Outlaw 5000X $770. When OSD was asked why the price increase, they said because they could. I would still go with Outlaw at a $50 price difference. I went with a 7000X (made by ATI) and will get another.
*EDIT* just saw it's up to $800 now. NO WAY I'd personally go with this over the 5000X when it's $30 more. But beyond that it's a good amp and Audioholics measured the 5000 years ago (didn't have ground on that model).
@@andrewskaterrr I saw the difference in price. To be fair, I've seen price increases everywhere lately. I don't claim to know the reason.
@@joentell Ya it's prolly the C. I just looked at this amp like a month ago and it was $720.
Follow up Edit: Ive only watched 2 movies and Channels 1 and 3 are out. On standby I see all yellow. On Power up I see 1 is 100% blank, 3 is yellow atop where the blue should be. Not even 6 months new. Wow.
It's a shame we can't get these overseas would be a great option
sorry for the typo been
Joe looking like he has been getting swole with Gene💪💪
I wish... It would be cool if I could get ripped again, but a lot of work. It's either making $ or getting in great shape. Pick on or the other. 🤣
@@joentell Way too hard on yourself my brother. You have been putting in the work. Slow and steady wins the race.
@@keepingupwiththejones2933 but I haven't been putting in any work 🤣
It says 150 rms @ 8 ohms on the website. Which is it!?
I have this Amp and mine has a hiss but it isn't really loud enough to bother me.
Interesting. Which speakers? Maybe it depends on the impedance of your speakers. I know it's like that for headphones.
I specifically looked out for it and put my ears right next to my speakers. Nothing.
I hear (pun intended) that the hiss could be more audible if you have sensitive speakers (e.g. 92 dB+). I don’t know that for sure though.
Does osd have new speakers ?
They do. Some powered monitors, the AB5, and the passive versions, the MB5. I'm excited to test them both!
Joe ... I'll take 3 please =)
And here are the prices:
OSD Nero XA7180 $999
OSD Nero XA5180 $799
OSD Nero XA3180 $699
3 and 5 ch not out yet
Joe you look good...:-)
Thank you! It's the camera angle. :-)
Buys the Parasound Amp to silence the noise in comment sections rather than for the signal path .. lol =) ...
I'll say it again.. " Audiophiles " are easily the more hypocritical and ironically noisy bunch of them all. =)
And to silence my curiosity about what differences it might make.