Dartzeel mono blocks.

[Bonsai]

These are the measurements of a $144k per pair (so $72k per amplifier)
darTZeel NHB-458 monoblock amplifier | Stereophile.com

[AKSA]

Nice amp, though. People seem to rave about the sound......

AND, they will do 1000W into 2R, if the specs add up up.

[sq225917]

It's a $100k+ amp, even if it was total crap no one would say so. I've heard it a few times on the end of Magico's at trade shows and it has always gripped them sufficiently to make them sparkle- Magico's tend to sound rather flat when under driven IME.

[tinitus]

since this is not DIY, moved to General Interest


moderation

[Salas]

Looks like a full metal jacketed gamers tower PC though. Rather kitsch.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by sq225917

It's a $100k+ amp, even if it was total crap no one would say so.

With that amount of money, it is not difficult to make a good sounding amp nowadays. The important thing is marketing. And it is important for marketing purpose to "hand tune" the amp to get at least 5 zeros THD at full power level, even if it has nothing to do with good sound

[tvrgeek]

A good sounding amp is not easy to make at any price, but several folks, many contributors to these forums, can do very well for one tenth the price and for one hundredth the price, well enough that there is no speaker made that can take advantage of the difference. Well enough there is no source material that can take advantage of the difference. Just what we need, a $144K amp when the recording studio is using 49 cent op-amps.

[Jay]

Using the best batch of the best transistors do matters. For high end amps, no one can get away with only one pair. We need matched pairs. I don't believe a good amp can be made without voicing. So build 100 circuits (one employee can be assigned one circuit), listen (invite a group of audiophiles with golden ears :P) and choose the best one. Accurate measurement tools are expensive, even the technology is not advanced enough, there is room for designing own measurement tools (e.g. device that "measures" current instead of voltage). Etc etc.

[tvrgeek]

Jay,
I really hope you don't believe what you just wrote in #8. You were closer to being correct in #6 that it is all about marketing. Post #3 has much truth in it.

"voicing"? If in needs to be "voiced," then the quality control is so terrible they need to find a new manufacturer.

We have been able to measure current for several hundred years. Measurement to five zeros is no longer the domain of advanced standards labs. It has not been for 20 years or more. People who understand the measurements are still as rare as ever. People who believe a single value measurement has any relevance to sonic quality are still all too common. A published THD of .00005 is completely meaningless and even a Blameless can do it. As my speaker has a crossover in it, which includes a cap and a inductor; so it also tells me whoever published such a number knows nothing about music systems. Whoever buys based on such non-sense knows even less. "Hand tuning?" Yea, set the bias.

Don't get me wrong, these may be very nice amps. They could be quite costly to make. Big transformers, big heat sinks, lots of matched transistors. I am only attacking the esoteric high end hype you are repeating, not the product.

Yes, I have several not very cheap amps. Yes, I can here a difference, but best to worst is no where near as important as the difference between a $40 and $80 tweeter. (Those $4000 speakers you may have, probably have a $20 tweeter in them. Dirty little secret)

Of course any half-decent conventional amp needs matched pairs of outputs, and throughout the amp for that matter. No surprise there. Even my baby Rotels have two pairs of matched outputs and they represent just well done mid-fi.

[5th element]

The pricing is ridiculous, absurd even and represents nothing more then over priced audiophool bling.