Digital amp and Preamp

[TopRound‎]

Just a commentary..

I heard a very expensive digital amp and preamp, it was digital not class D, the amp and preamp were designed to work together via some type of single wire connection.

It sounded very good, nice tone big space and images, but after listening to several different tracks of different styles of music something I noticed was that everything sounded the same.
Different artists at different recording venues all started to come out sounding like it was part of the same recording.
My takeaway was that the digital processing was taking the signal and processing it in such a way that every signal that went thru that "filter" came out sounding very similar.
It wasn't bad sounding but after a while I started to get a little bored.

This is just something I noticed in this situation, perhaps a different system would sound different but in this case this was my takeaway.

It sort of started a way of thinking that kind of made me leery of DSP in speakers, does DSP do something similar to a signal that it affects it so much to alter it and re-imagine it in a different light than the original?

I don't have any answers, just more questions

[HAL]

TopRound,
Not all digital is created equal. 

I heard early Class D amps that were expensive and sounded very flat.  Have heard inexpensive DSP sound not so good. 

Modern offerings have come a long way and the new GaN technology Class D amps sound very good and follow what is in the recording. 

Modern DSP for speakers depends on who is doing the DSP.  Textbook DSP filters are not the best sounding styles and from my experience Linear Phase processing sucks for crossovers.  Modern DSP's use A/D's and D/A's with very good sounding filters and the filters for the crossovers use improved topologies that reduce filter distortion. 

I hope to take a system with these improvements to Lone Star Audio Fest in June 2023 to demo what is possible with new DSP Technolgy and GaN Class D amps.  Should be a fun show.

[TopRound‎]

This was a little different
you could pair a tube pre with a class d amp and get very good results.
This was a digital amp and digital preamp, I think the whole thing was in the digital domain, then used dacs to try and sort it out.
I'm not saying it sounded bad, but rather it left such a stamp on the music that it altered it
sort of like having every part of you meal deep fried, in the end they all taste alike

[GDHAL]

........ it altered it
sort of like having every part of you meal deep fried, in the end they all taste alike

 
This made me smile.   

You have a way with words at times, Mike.

[Response Audio]

Digital has come a long way. I remember some of the first to hit the market. Very expensive and only so-so sonically. The GaN stuff is amazing. I have some new modules coming in a couple weeks to start prototyping our new hybrid.
I do agree that Class D usually (to me anyway) can be a little stringent without tubes in there so where.

[rollo]

  Dryness and meatless would be my description of most class D. I prefer a hybrid design using a tubed input. At a minimum a tubed preamp with it
charles

[TopRound‎]

Some of the Gan Fet I have heard has been really nice, clean clear and colorful
Does anyone know of any Ganfet kits?
My son is in kit building phase right now

[HAL]

Orchard Audio has kit GaN Class D amps.  Leo is a good person to work with.

He is at the Florida Audio Expo this weekend.  Should be back next week after seeing his posts on FB.

[Barry (NJ)]

I'm wondering if the source recordings may have also had something to do with the homogeneity of the sound you were hearing from this system(?) Do you have any details on it? Any info on the tracks you were listening to?

[TopRound‎]

it was music on a hard drive, all sorts of music, different genres to show off the system
not jack johnson which has like 11 records and they all sound the same!

[orchardaudio]

Hal, thanks for the shout out.

I believe I am currently the only manufacture selling GaN modules and kits. Let me know if you have any questions.

Leo