[alxw0w]

Forgive me for living under a rock but what is a digital amplifier

Its a new Chord line of amps (amps that contain part of a dac) designed to drive loudspeakers.
Actually digital in name is a bit tricky because they are not switching like digital may suggest.
They are linear at the output stage.
It's concept that is currently used in chord dacs but "digital" amps will have significantly more power.
Look for Rob Watts posts on Dave/TT2/Watts up topic for more info.

 

[Reactcore]

Its a new Chord line of amps (amps that contain part of a dac) designed to drive loudspeakers.
Actually digital in name is a bit tricky because they are not switching like digital may suggest.
They are linear at the output stage.
It's concept that is currently used in chord dacs but "digital" amps will have significantly more power.
Look for Rob Watts posts on Dave/TT2/Watts up topic for more info.

I wonder what takes so much time.. cause its like replacing the final OP stage after the switching array used in a current DAC.. for a more powerful one.. or is the increased voltage on the end giving interfences with the digital section?

 

[bikutoru]

Patience patience patience, nothing is as simple or as fast as we'd like.

RW is still working on it: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/page-1130#post-16247515

As Rob mentioned in some other post(that I cannot find) that current digital amps(switching) are doing something that cancels lots of work done by his algorithm in Chord's dacs and m-scaler. I was alway too afraid to ask, but it is possible that lots of active speakers that use those digital amps internally are also doing the same harm to signal coming out of Chord's dacs.

It would be interesting to learn the conceptual workings of these new amp(s).

 

[alxw0w]

Rob mentioned somewhere that last prototypes had problems maintaining measured performance (dont remember what exactly) on higher output powers.
And he doesn't want to sacrifice the transparency in order to push these faster.

 

[Triode User]

I wonder what takes so much time.. cause its like replacing the final OP stage after the switching array used in a current DAC.. for a more powerful one.. or is the increased voltage on the end giving interfences with the digital section?

I think you might slightly underestimate the enormity of the problems which are required to be solved in order to implement the technology to a standard where Rob is happy with it. The development of these amps has already taken many years. John Franks said some time ago that this is a long term proposal and not to expect any imminent announcements.

Rob may comment and give hints from time to time but he is understandably shy of giving any impression of timescale because such things have a habit of biting one in the backside. It is clearly an exciting area of development but like any similar areas of endeavour I am sure that some weeks it is a case of two steps forward and three back.

We must also recognise that there are bound to be issues of commercial confidentiality which will explain why one should not expect a blow by blow commentary or account of how the project is progressing.

Having said all that Rob has said that he recently signed off one of his digital designs to start manufacture. Who knows what it is. Perhaps it is a digital amplifier or perhaps it isn’t. Rather like knowing the sex of the baby or not before it is born I prefer to get a nice surprise and I’m sure that Rob will make sure that whatever he has just signed off will both surprise and delight us.

 

[PANURUS]

Forgive me for living under a rock but what is a digital amplifier

I would be with dual input @ 768 kHz only coming from scaler or Dave.

 

[kelly200269]

The simple fact is, I enjoy listening to my HMS/TT2 more than I do listening to my Linn KDS/3.

Enough said…

 

[Orlok]

I honestly thought using batteries would get real old in a hurry. Thanks to @ra990 i found out about the Rav power battery sold on Amazon. It powers my M-Scaler for about 20 hours and I can use the on-off switch on the battery to shut the M-Scaler off and then turn it back on when I power up the battery. I live in an area with occasional power outages so it has other uses as you can see from the Amazon description should you follow the link. I purchased a second so all I need to do is just plug into the second one and put the first one on the charger. The sound improvement was well worth the very minor inconvenience.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085PYYX2B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Heres a picture shamelessly borrowed from Amazon:


Here’s a picture of my current set up and you can see the battery sitting on my sub next to the desk. It’s not small but blends right in.

I have two of these arriving tomorrow for the HMS and TT2. The HP-and-amp part is now pretty much set for me so my attention turns to optimizing the front end.

 

[Orlok]

I think you might slightly underestimate the enormity of the problems which are required to be solved in order to implement the technology to a standard where Rob is happy with it. The development of these amps has already taken many years. John Franks said some time ago that this is a long term proposal and not to expect any imminent announcements.

Rob may comment and give hints from time to time but he is understandably shy of giving any impression of timescale because such things have a habit of biting one in the backside. It is clearly an exciting area of development but like any similar areas of endeavour I am sure that some weeks it is a case of two steps forward and three back.

We must also recognise that there are bound to be issues of commercial confidentiality which will explain why one should not expect a blow by blow commentary or account of how the project is progressing.

Having said all that Rob has said that he recently signed off one of his digital designs to start manufacture. Who knows what it is. Perhaps it is a digital amplifier or perhaps it isn’t. Rather like knowing the sex of the baby or not before it is born I prefer to get a nice surprise and I’m sure that Rob will make sure that whatever he has just signed off will both surprise and delight us.

I'm certainly very interested in this digital amp to drive my S400, the SR1a through its interface box and even the 1266 TC although I'll probably be content to continue using the TToby for that. I'm sure the issue isn't raw power. It seems many are already producing digital amps with 2,000w+/ch in one-space rack mount chassis for sound reinforcement usage. It has to be the SQ matter that's taking long to resolve.

 

[alxw0w]

It seems many are already producing digital amps with 2,000w+/ch in one-space rack mount chassis for sound reinforcement usage. It has to be the SQ matter that's taking long to resolve.

As I said Robs amplifiers have nothing in common with widely available class D amplifiers.
It's completely different approach, they are like DAC with very powerful output stage.
Target is to have transparency that Dave/TT2 can provide with headphones but doing the same with speakers.

 

[Orlok]

As I said Robs amplifiers have nothing in common with widely available class D amplifiers.
It's completely different approach, they are like DAC with very powerful output stage.
Target is to have transparency that Dave/TT2 can provide with headphones but doing the same with speakers.

This is really good to know. It's very enticing and something I'm very much looking forward to, no matter how long it takes.

 

[alxw0w]

This is really good to know. It's very enticing and something I'm very much looking forward to, no matter how long it takes.

Oh yes I believe there are many folks waiting for these to come.
@Rob Watts you guys should really avoid using "digital" word in any naming or press materials of the new amplifiers. It will only bring a lot of misunderstandings.

 

[Gadget67]

I have two of these arriving tomorrow for the HMS and TT2. The HP-and-amp part is now pretty much set for me so my attention turns to optimizing the front end.

I think you’ll be pleased(hopefully). i Assume you bought the cable too, but here’s a link if you need it. Obviously curious to see how you react!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...sin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=headfi-20

 

[Orlok]

I think you’ll be pleased(hopefully). i Assume you bought the cable too, but here’s a link if you need it. Obviously curious to see how you react!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...sin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=headfi-20

Yes, the cables have been ordered as well. I'm sure the results will be good, if not mind-blowing. Haha. I would consider even a 1~2% improvement in smoothening out the highs while maintaining clarity and transparency a success.

 

[Reactcore]

If one forgets to put a quote.. it can't be added later..