You made want to stop reading here, if you're wanting a full detailed review. I condensed an email from my best friend about his experience is this past weekend. I trust his very experience ears, along with the other audiophiles who were there. Here is what he said, "The bottom line is, I sold the amp to someone who wanted to hear for themselves what it sounded like.
I took the amplifier to a meeting with four or five audio gear nuts. We were able to listen on very revealing reference speakers in a really nice treated room. We had been listening to a $2,000 Class A B amplifier in a system, and had been listening for over an hour to the wonderful sound. When the mini gan 5 was put into the system, people started losing interest. The amplifier was bright compared to the class A B amplifiers. It also created listener fatigue. The same exact songs we had been listening to were now irritating. I could go on forever about the highs mids and lows soundstage excetera, but what I just wrote above is all I needed to hear to sell the amplifier within 3 hours. Class D is still light-years away from class AB in sound quality to our ears. The differences were noticed within 10 seconds by everyone. When you take the magic away, the human brain notices quickly.
I took the amplifier to a meeting with four or five audio gear nuts. We were able to listen on very revealing reference speakers in a really nice treated room. We had been listening to a $2,000 Class A B amplifier in a system, and had been listening for over an hour to the wonderful sound. When the mini gan 5 was put into the system, people started losing interest. The amplifier was bright compared to the class A B amplifiers. It also created listener fatigue. The same exact songs we had been listening to were now irritating. I could go on forever about the highs mids and lows soundstage excetera, but what I just wrote above is all I needed to hear to sell the amplifier within 3 hours. Class D is still light-years away from class AB in sound quality to our ears. The differences were noticed within 10 seconds by everyone. When you take the magic away, the human brain notices quickly.
I cant believe that, my experience is the oppposite,
can you send more Details
We have using Class D with Double feedback and easy kick out Class AB also Tubes amps
I dont know commercial Mini GaN 5, never test, maybe circuit design is poor
can you send more Details
We have using Class D with Double feedback and easy kick out Class AB also Tubes amps
I dont know commercial Mini GaN 5, never test, maybe circuit design is poor
Ok. He said a Kinki Studio EX-M1 intergrated amplifier didn't just compete, but simply ruined the GaN amp.
But so did a Marantz PM-8006.
The GaN was his amplifier. So he went in expecting it to compete evenly. Placebo effect was not in effect here LOL
But so did a Marantz PM-8006.
The GaN was his amplifier. So he went in expecting it to compete evenly. Placebo effect was not in effect here LOL
What gave you the idea that the Mini GaN 5 was representing the best Class-D has to offer?
Amir tested it over at ASR, and judging by the results, it's a dud:
Premium Audio Mini GaN 5 Review (Stereo Amplifier) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
If you want SOTA Class-D, you should try the Purifi evaluation kit instead:
Review and Measurements of Purifi 1ET400A Amplifier | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
GaN transistors might have lots of potential, but without proper implementation it means diddly-squat.
Hi
tastes and colors cannot be discussed, the class D vs class AB debate is an old story.... I have a bunch of amps including some class AB, I finally find that the class D has evolved well and in the right direction)
I can give you lots of positive feedback on the MiniGan, but it's still feelings .... I quote :
"I bought the Mini GaN 5 Balanced Power Amplifier to replace a pair of big-name 330 watt per channel monoblocks that I was using to biwire my Martin Logan electrostatic speakers. Martin Logans are notorious for being power hungry, but the Mini drives them effortlessly. Compared to the monoblocks, the music has more crispness, clarity and depth, and at concert-level volume there is not a bit of distortion. I don’t think you could find an amp that is nearly this good for twice the price."
Review by Tom
Posted on 9/28/21
"Small Footprint and Enjoyable Sound w/ latest and greatest electrical efficiency
It's a very nice modern small and powerful Gallium nitride class D amplifier that has no problem driving my tiny Tang Band W4 1879 4" speakers like well made musical instruments. The speakers enclosures are IWISTAO HIFI 4 Inches Full Range Speaker Empty Labyrinth Birch cabinets.
The sound reproduction that my ears experience are precise 3 dimensional harmonically clear frequencies that are juicy and soft with no sting. Very easy to listen to my ears. Immersive and enjoyable.
I tried out my 100W Klipsch RP-250F speakers and they can drive them no problem and sound great as well. Good Experience here!"
Review by Z3n3rOm3r
Posted on 9/18/21
"So now I have had this little baby for a month, each day I have run it in with music to test how the amplifier behaves with burnin,
no flat earth here. As I have been listening I observed several attributes, one of which was that these babies showed how excellent they are with the best recordings, so I have purchased at least 20 more albums to critique them and enjoy them.
Treble. Sweet, extended, fast, as the amplifier has matured all these characteristics have improved, just with better separation, extension and placement in space. Class D can sound thin and gritty, none of that here, even poor recorded records remain listenable.
Midrange. Male and female voices are a true strength, even friends say the vocalists are in my room, nothing can be better than that. What is also stunnig is the tone, tonal neutrality and space. The space around instruments and people has probably been the biggest change as the amplifier is used. More width, more depth, the speakers are really transparent now, everything comes in space 10ft high, wider than each speaker and as deep as tey are in the room.
Bass. Everything is fast, very fast. Class D can sound thin in the bass, which is why I could not keep the Wyred4Sound, even the top of the line monoblocks, could not compete here. A small improvement in the bass in space is observed as it has matured, and everything just seems more relaxed and open.
After so many huge and heavy beasts over the years, Parasound, Quad, Emotiva, Carver, Rotel, Meridian, Wyred4Sound, Nuprime, Odyssey, NAD, Cary, Linn, Starke and Lexicon, I wanted to find a class D with the sonics of the best class A/B, which I have no desire to lift anymore, so I needed to dethrone the Parasound and Nuprime, and eventually I have.
So how could it be improved? An exotic case, but that is nit picking. Only bass weight and consistency are unknown. Bass weight seems very good but I don't have a great alternative to test this, the Nuprime and Starke Audio are class D too, and it is better than they are. Consistency I will checj once I receive another order when I can compare the build consistency between multiple builds.
Yes, this is a rave review, and in the context of my goals very successful. Can I do better, with more money and weight, I can think of Parasound JC5 or JC1+, my favorite amps so far, only more thump and fullness, but this little baby is getting closer at a fraction of the cost, and maybe the bigger GAN amplifier can reach the levels of the JC1+. I await the dream."
Review by Zaphod
Posted on 9/18/21
I can't believe the sound coming from my rebuilt KEF Reference Series Model 107's connected to the Mini Gan 5 amp. I compared it to my Pioneer Elite VSX-TX49 Receiver. This is a $4,200.00 amp when new. The Mini Gan 5 makes the Pioneer Elite sound like a 1940's Philco Radio! The Pioneer Elite sounds so muddy and distorted compared to the Mini Gan 5. The Mini Gan 5 is light years ahead dealing with distortion. The sound separation between musical instruments and voice is just amazing. I can literally hear different barbs on the bow when it glides across a string! With this kind of clarity, it makes listening to music for long periods of time so much easier. Ear fatigue just doesn't happen. I have been an Audio Aficionado for more than 60 years and this little amp is the biggest step up in music sound quality that I have ever experienced. David 8/16/2021
Review by David
Posted on 9/18/21
I prefer a clean and neutral sound for critical listening, but don't mind a bit of distortion either.
Seems the distortion profile would be a bit tiring, looking at the measurements there's a lot of 2nd order distortion, and in relation to 2nd the 3rd order seems nicely balanced, but 4th to 18th order would completely drown out the "smoothing" effect caused by a fairly balanced amount of 2nd and 3rd order distortion.
Could be they aimed for a distinct distortion profile to avoid making it sound "too clean", and ended up making an expensive ear grater.
Daniboun, the text of your three first examples give off an impression of a mix of "buyers bias" combined with "need a bit of distortion to make the sound seem fuller".
The 4th and last review makes me question whether he has changed out the electrolytic caps of his 20 year old receiver recently, 6-10 years is about the most you should expect from quality electrolytic caps.
Seems the distortion profile would be a bit tiring, looking at the measurements there's a lot of 2nd order distortion, and in relation to 2nd the 3rd order seems nicely balanced, but 4th to 18th order would completely drown out the "smoothing" effect caused by a fairly balanced amount of 2nd and 3rd order distortion.
Could be they aimed for a distinct distortion profile to avoid making it sound "too clean", and ended up making an expensive ear grater.
Daniboun, the text of your three first examples give off an impression of a mix of "buyers bias" combined with "need a bit of distortion to make the sound seem fuller".
The 4th and last review makes me question whether he has changed out the electrolytic caps of his 20 year old receiver recently, 6-10 years is about the most you should expect from quality electrolytic caps.
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thank you for the feedback, these are just a few examples...
Listens are so personal and borrow from subjectivity that it will always be difficult to tune all ears) Someone compared the MiniGan vs the Peachtree Gan400 :
Peachtree GaN 400 vs Class D Audio Mini GAN 5 | Audiogon Discussion Forum
Listens are so personal and borrow from subjectivity that it will always be difficult to tune all ears) Someone compared the MiniGan vs the Peachtree Gan400 :
Peachtree GaN 400 vs Class D Audio Mini GAN 5 | Audiogon Discussion Forum
Reading the stuff you linked to, this here can all be related to the distinct distortion profile:
People often have difficulties understanding what distortion is and what it does, so it's very common to just throw out a lot of words like this example you are showing.
"Mush" would be a lot of higher order harmonics, "warmth and smoothness" would be 2nd and 3rd order combined. People also do not understand that a very clean and neutral signal chain would often seem like it has less bass, because with higher distortion levels you add sound that is not really there. So in the eyes of the un-initiated: with more distortion you get "more bass", at the same time what bass (and vocal notes) you get will sound a lot less defined and in some ways "smoother".
Edit:
I would just like to add that this is the reason I make music and master it the way I do, because I want it to sound a certain way if the noise floor and distortion is low enough, if you have problems with distortion it will sound like mush, but it can sound very defined on anything from a JBL Charge, in a car or on a bigger system with no eq at all.
Like in my tune "Ninja Kittens" there are up to three layers of bass at the same time, you cannot hear more than a sluggish mush some systems.
People often have difficulties understanding what distortion is and what it does, so it's very common to just throw out a lot of words like this example you are showing.
"Mush" would be a lot of higher order harmonics, "warmth and smoothness" would be 2nd and 3rd order combined. People also do not understand that a very clean and neutral signal chain would often seem like it has less bass, because with higher distortion levels you add sound that is not really there. So in the eyes of the un-initiated: with more distortion you get "more bass", at the same time what bass (and vocal notes) you get will sound a lot less defined and in some ways "smoother".
Edit:
I would just like to add that this is the reason I make music and master it the way I do, because I want it to sound a certain way if the noise floor and distortion is low enough, if you have problems with distortion it will sound like mush, but it can sound very defined on anything from a JBL Charge, in a car or on a bigger system with no eq at all.
Like in my tune "Ninja Kittens" there are up to three layers of bass at the same time, you cannot hear more than a sluggish mush some systems.
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Let me try to understand what you wrote. You compared a bad Class D implementation to another Class AB amp and, finding the first one lacking, conclude that Class D is not there yet for serious audio.
I also fear that you might have thought that the Class D amp at hand had to be the best Class D can offer because it uses GaN FETs.
I leave to you as an exercise to determine how many things are utterly wrong in this line of reasoning.
I also fear that you might have thought that the Class D amp at hand had to be the best Class D can offer because it uses GaN FETs.
I leave to you as an exercise to determine how many things are utterly wrong in this line of reasoning.
How about the sound of Class D amplifier? It is better than vacuum tube amp? Could somebody give a link for Class D amplifier Demo with high quality?
NO .... All these years later, and I'm still using my BEL Class A/B amplifiers, because NOTHING digital sounds as good to my ears.
Too bad. I wanted digital amplifiers to save room.
Too bad. I wanted digital amplifiers to save room.
Purifi amps are out there. Don't listen to anything below that device class. Rest is fine, good for replacing amps of 40y old.
The best AB amplifiers I have experienced had around 100dB S/N.
To my ears there is not much difference between a good quality class D, class A or class AB amplifier provided they have enough power for the application.
The biggest difference is when you push the amplifiers too har and get heavy distortion, in that scenario there is a big advantage to certain tube amplifiers IMO. But this problem is easily solved by getting a PROPERLY specced amplifier. Because to me it screams of poor system integration if one part is woefully inadequate of keeping up with the rest of the system, deliberately having bottlenecks is not my idea of doing things right.
Another thing is if you WANT to have a distinct distortion profile, it can sound really nice if you add just the right amount of distortion.
But this absolute drivel about "Class A is better than Class (A)B" (or D in this instance) is to me clearly based purely on subjective opinions easily swayed by today's weather and which side of the bed you fell out in the morning as well as a lacking experience with a properly made amplifier from either type of design.
To keep in line with the thread topic:
I have high hopes for GAN based amplifiers, but right now it doesn't seem like anyone have cracked the code in terms of getting a proper quality design put together.
To my ears there is not much difference between a good quality class D, class A or class AB amplifier provided they have enough power for the application.
The biggest difference is when you push the amplifiers too har and get heavy distortion, in that scenario there is a big advantage to certain tube amplifiers IMO. But this problem is easily solved by getting a PROPERLY specced amplifier. Because to me it screams of poor system integration if one part is woefully inadequate of keeping up with the rest of the system, deliberately having bottlenecks is not my idea of doing things right.
Another thing is if you WANT to have a distinct distortion profile, it can sound really nice if you add just the right amount of distortion.
But this absolute drivel about "Class A is better than Class (A)B" (or D in this instance) is to me clearly based purely on subjective opinions easily swayed by today's weather and which side of the bed you fell out in the morning as well as a lacking experience with a properly made amplifier from either type of design.
To keep in line with the thread topic:
I have high hopes for GAN based amplifiers, but right now it doesn't seem like anyone have cracked the code in terms of getting a proper quality design put together.
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