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Inexpensive amp testing on Planars

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One thing which keeps folks from buying Maggies is the concern about the cost of electronics to drive them. I am lucky that I have great amps including Emotiva and vintage McIntosh for mine.
I recently built a pair of subs for my HT system and was shopping around for amps to drive them. I found some 1 kw class D mono blocks on AliExpress. They are ~$450 a pair delivered.
After I par boil them for a few days (break them in), as an experiment, I'm going to test them on 3 pair of demanding speakers I currently have in my 2 channel room;
Carver ALS Platinum
ET LFT 8b
Magnepan .7
I will A/B/C them against McIntosh 2105 and NAD 2200 PE which are both IMO, overachieving 100 WPC stereo amps. I will provide my thoughts, but I am not an audiophile & I certainly don't have the flowery phrases like "notes of chocolate" in my audio lexicon.
Anyone in the S Florida area who wishes to help in this endeavor is welcome.

Edits: 10/23/24

Follow Ups:

RE: Inexpensive amp testing on Planars - aceinc 04:46:18 11/05/24 (0)
Well, I got them in. Two comments about the packaging;

1) They are wrapped very tightly in plastic. This makes opening them difficult and I scratched the top of one.
2) They did not come with power cords. But they are standard NEMA 5-15P to C13 power cords.

Once I got beyond that, the fit & finish were good. Absolutely no manual or lettering on the amp other than serial number sticker and 115V sticker. But wat do you need? It's a mono block a power switch on the front an RCA and XLR for input and binding posts on the back. The only thing that could use a label is the switch between balanced & unbalanced.

Hooked them up between my WIIM Pro and Magnepan .7s and let them run for about an hour in another room, while I ate dinner and watched the doom & gloom news.

When I went to listen, I DB matched a pair of Magnepan 1.7is I just repaired which are hooked up to a NAD 2200 PE stereo amp.

It may be me and new toy bias, but the noname amps seemed to have better control of the bass and didn't seem as stressed at volume. The original purpose of these amps is to drive 18" Ultimax subs, so I decided to crank a few songs on my Maggies. I played some ZZ Top, Dire Straits, Cream and a few other classic rock tunes at 96 DB peaks with no strain or bass bloom.

So after my 1st hour & a half listening I am quite impressed.
RE: Inexpensive amp testing on Planars - goryu 09:50:53 10/25/24 (1)
Are you going to level match and do the listening unsighted?
- RE: Inexpensive amp testing on Planars - aceinc 14:03:56 10/25/24 (0)
  Certainly level match. I typically do this playing pink noise to a specific DB level around 75 DB.
  
  When doing this by yourself blind testing is a bit of a challenge.
Good is always good - E-Stat 13:35:05 10/24/24 (2)
I will A/B/C them against McIntosh 2105 and NAD 2200 PE which are both IMO, overachieving 100 WPC stereo amps.
but real improvements in audible quality with SS amps have occurred since 1967 and 1985, respectively. The cost of really good is amazingly low today.
No "flowery phrases" required. Better amps provide improved transparency revealing musical detail you've never heard in familiar content, larger apparent stage width along with wider dynamics (especially at the PPP end of the scale) in my experience. Just tell us about any changes you hear listening to your favorite music.
Good luck on your comparisons!

Edits: 10/24/24
- RE: Good is always good - farfetched 06:41:29 11/01/24 (1)
  "The cost of really good is amazingly low today."
  Since my "real" power amp is acting up I'm listening to a damn Fosi V3 using my BAT preamp.
  30 years ago I didn't even look at things under $1000 because why spend and gamble on a so-called hidden gem?
  Yeehaw!
  / optimally proportioned triangles are our friends
  
  Edits: 11/01/24
  - Great example - E-Stat 09:14:40 11/03/24 (0)
    I enjoy a lesser Fosi integrated/DAC in the garage system.

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