was considering with this amp but once factored in extra linear PSU, the cost will be similar to Audio-gd NFB-1AMP ... that's another class of amplification.
FatDoi@AndrewMason had this to say:
"In the right hands, SMPS can be much cleaner than toroid 60 Hz power.
See Benchmark AHB2. I designed the SMPS in there, sitting less than an inch above the AAA amp. 132 dB SNR, and 380 Watts BTL into 8R. Oh, and the product only weighs 13 lbs.
In my opinion there's too much unfounded affinity for toroid power in audio circles, probably because of early SMPS guys who didn't know what they were doing."
(https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-thx-aaa-789-linear-amplifier/talk/1981859)
DontDooDadI have not played with the effects of power supply on sound. That is a step too far out for me. The magni 3 I have also have external power supply, and it still sounds stunning. The Audio-gd NFB 11.27 that I have contains the proprietary supply. It is definitely leagues ahead of magni, but at a different price point too. Hence I am torn, between getting NFB 1 balanced or this one. Currently I have committed to this, but if I don't see any real reviews in few more days, I might pull out.
AmJoshPower supply doesn't affect sound, unless:
a) there's something really noisy or unregulated about the power supply or the way it's connected, or
b) the amplifier has terrible PSRR e.g. due to poor / no feedback
In the 789:
1) power supply isn't overly noisy on its own, and keeping it remote from the audio circuitry prevents magnetic coupling which could otherwise be tough to deal with.
2) within the amp, the power supply output is connected and conditioned properly
3) AAA has wickedly high PSRR due to the feed-forward and feedback contributions
AndrewMasonThanks for the explanation @AndrewMason . I totally agree with effects of power supply. the high PSRR due to feed-forward and feedback is the main reason I am lured for this drop and of course the balanced output. I am looking for a nice balanced amp to power my Hifiman HE560. Technically this amp sounds brilliant. Just wanted to see hands on perceptions of some people, that's all!!
FatDoi@FatDoi not sure why the hate-on for power bricks. They're ubiquitous for many reasons.
In 789 we allocated the cost budget to top-quality, top-performing components where it matters: in the linear amplifier and linear preamp sections. This equates to an exception listening experience.
There's no-sense allocating more cost to a so-called "better power supply" (you like toroids?) when it would only drive up retail cost or force us to strip cost and performance from the audio chain.
And when dealing with the insane performance levels of the 789, there are certainly fidelity advantages in keeping the power supply remote from the audio circuitry.
AndrewMasonI'm sure why, because they think they know something audio engineers don`t. No one will ever distinguish switcher from linear PSU in blind testing but they just believe linear power supplies sounds better.
VictorysonicsI'm sure they're expert engineers, same as engine designers as well. Say to deliver 400bhp, you can design a 2liter 4cyl with a big twin scroll turbo, or a 3liter V6 twin small turbos, or a 6liter V8 NA etc etc... all can deliver the same power but in different ways. I just don't prefer a certain way doesn't mean i'm ignorant or wrong about it... for this brick issue, that is assuming , all the bricks will have the same circuit design, same ripple rejection, same Q factor , same voltage drop out...... and same materials , components , country of origin, etc...... and I don't know that's is the case as it's all paper talk at this stage and there's only one line describing one important factor of my concern:
Power supply: 24 VDC inline brick, universal input 100–240 VAC
FatDoiYou're right, audio-gd is in another class. Their stuff measures so bad, it has trouble competing with $15 bus-powered usb dac/amps. But sure, let's complain about the SMPS instead.
shimageI am not sure, are you insulting audio-gd or THX guys? either way, I find your comment offending and completely out of place. If you have some knowledge / experience to share, please do so, or just be reader.
I own audio-gd NFB 11 its a fantastic product, but I wanted a better balanced amp, and hence my questions.
FatDoi@FatDoi I stand by my comment that SMPS vs linear power supply doesn't necessarily change fidelity, especially when the engineer knows what he/she is doing AND is fortunate to have a technology with excellent PSRR.
shimageWow!! I did a lot of research on audio-gd, but this link was missed somehow!! Most reviews rave their products, so I am surprised. Also, I was not sure where your sarcasm was targeted towards :). Clearly Topping seems like much better dac / amp. Thanks for sharing the link. So are you in for AAA?
AmJoshThe audio science review, um, review is pretty new, but SBAF has been hating on audio-gd for awhile now. Still you're right that most reviews are fairly positive, which is why I do not trust subjective reviews at all, ever.
As for the AAA 789, I am in. It is everything I want from an amp, so it was hard to pass up.
shimageTrue. It’s very easy to get lost in vague terms, but hard numbers never lie.
Also regarding audio-gd, I think their entry level models like NFB11 and R2R seem like good value, but in higher end stuff, starts smelling like snake oil.
Do you have a suggestion for NFB 11 alternative?
AmJoshThe Fiio e10k measures better than the NFB-11, is likely the better buy, but probably still doesn't perform as well as you're looking for in that price bracket. If you have a clean transport (or are using a wyrd or something similar), then the Jot is probably fine. The amp stage is very good, but Schiit has some issues with noise in their dacs. Probably the noise is inaudible (<-100dBFS), but there are a fair number of <$100 bus-powered dacs that measure better than the built-in dac. The Topping DX7s has a very good dac. It's amp section is probably fine, but it uses the TPA6120a for output, which means output impedance is 10Ohms on the SE output, 20Ohms on the balanced. That should be fine for most headphones, but it will affect the sound on some. I'm sure there are others, but there aren't a lot of measurements to go by (eg, smsl m7 is probably fine, but no one's measured it yet).
FatDoiEven further i question what type of power supply is used to test manufacturers products. Do most use lab power supplies? In which case i would think that would be better than the smps units provided.