Re-Lauch of the SAE Brand

[Botch]

 

[Zing]

^I'm pretty sure that's the price for the Dan D'Agostino Momentum amps.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Whoa.... Nice! Yeah I'm probably in the never-would-own-this-unless-I-sell-my-house crowd, but still, that's impressive - both power, and more so, the s/n rating.

Now that most amplifiers get very good specifications, two are still extremely hard to make exceptional; noise and distortion at high frequencies (20kHz region). Take a look at the full power distortion verses frequency plot of just about any good amplifier (when they even publish them), and you will see a dramatic increase in distortion in the 10kHz and above region due to the amplifier running out of loop feedback. The SAE's distortion is almost a flat line across the entire audio band, and is still below .01% at 20kHz at 800 watts. At 1kHz, it is something like .005% at 800 watts; something you would associate with a preamp, not a power amp. I'm pretty happy with that.

So, in what application would this be used, more beneficial, than...say an ATi 2 channel amp? Would the improvements be audible?

Cool design by the way.....though I'm not nuts about the faceplate. A plain SAE logo would have been cool....but I like plain.

It would be most beneficial with speakers which have very demanding impedance curves, and need lots of power. Would the improvements be audible? With speakers like this, undoubtedly yes since it's really an arc welder of an amplifier (notice all the output devices on the edges of the heatsinks). An amplifier with fewer output devices and a less capable power supply would fold under a demanding load such as this. Remember my advice on determining amplifier "stiffness" - that it should easily double its power at each halving of load impedance. This amp does that in spades. Few even high end amps pull that off these days.

Would I benefit from an amp like this with my super efficient horns? Of course not; I'm still best served by low powered tube amplification (single ended triode class A in the case of the tweeters).

I'm kind of with you on the faceplate, but this is intended to be a statement product, so an appropriate amount of bling was deemed necessary.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Unfortunately, if you have to ask how much it costs, you probably can't afford it...

I'd still like to know. And I can't find any information about even its MSRP anywhere.

I used to know but can't recall now. Its definitely in the "high end audiophile" segment though. Even with an employee discount, I'd still have to mortgage my house to have one. :laughing-rolling:

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Finally, a proper high powered amp.

Yeah, looking at the performance of even other amps in its price class, this thing kicks butt and takes names.

 

[Rope]

How much does it cost?

Rope

Maybe you can make a deal at Best Buy. bscene-birdiedoublered:

That's Best Try, not Best Buy.

Rope

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

How much does it cost?

Rope

Maybe you can make a deal at Best Buy. bscene-birdiedoublered:

That's Best Try, not Best Buy.

Rope

Ask for the pimple-faced teenaged salesman, I think his name is Steve.

 

[Barney]

Hey rammisframmis, are you still involved with Outlaw equipment ? I haven't paid much attention to them lately.

 

[Rope]

Maybe you can make a deal at Best Buy. bscene-birdiedoublered:

That's Best Try, not Best Buy.

Rope

Ask for the pimple-faced teenaged salesman, I think his name is Steve.

The one you ask where they keep SACD and he looks at you like you just kicked his dog?

Rope

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Hey rammisframmis, are you still involved with Outlaw equipment ? I haven't paid much attention to them lately.

Not so much anymore.

 

[Deacon]

It would be most beneficial with speakers which have very demanding impedance curves, and need lots of power. Would the improvements be audible? With speakers like this, undoubtedly yes since it's really an arc welder of an amplifier (notice all the output devices on the edges of the heatsinks). An amplifier with fewer output devices and a less capable power supply would fold under a demanding load such as this. Remember my advice on determining amplifier "stiffness" - that it should easily double its power at each halving of load impedance. This amp does that in spades. Few even high end amps pull that off these days.

Would I benefit from an amp like this with my super efficient horns? Of course not; I'm still best served by low powered tube amplification (single ended triode class A in the case of the tweeters).

I'm kind of with you on the faceplate, but this is intended to be a statement product, so an appropriate amount of bling was deemed necessary.

I've often wondered this but never asked...what is the inherent advantage of having a speaker with such low impedance? With the added burden of driving them why would you choose to make a speaker 2 or 4 ohm instead of the more common and easier managed 8 ohm?

 

[malsackj]

Deacon,

In the field with the Sound Systems PA we have 2 or 4 subs connected and see the 4 ohm or 2 ohm load. Along with the Damping factor this controls the speakers.

With the home theater most will not have 2 subs or 4 ohm load. So this amp would have a very tight and clean sub sound compared with the PA.