DEVIALET POWER AMP, Will there ever be a power amp...

[Confused]

Here is more:

AMPLIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
Analog/Digital Converter component TI PCM4220, 24 bit/192 kHz -
upsampling of all content DSP 400 MHz 4 channels 40 bit/192 kHz floating point
Single Ultra High Precision clock, low jitter
Patented ADH Core (Analog Digital Hybrid)
Patented Ultra Linear Class A
Patented "Magic Wire" Digital/Analog Converter - component TI PCM1792, 24 bit/192 kHz
Patented Switch Mode Power Supply 600W, peak 3000W

This is from the old Expert brochure:

   

[Confused]

So to break all of this down:

1) All digital inputs are initially upsampled to 24/192

2) Anologue inputs are digitaised to 24/96 or 24/192 (and so presumably if you set the internal ADC to 24/92, it is then itself upsampled to 24/192 per the digital inputs)

3) Internal DSP uses 40/192 or 40/384 (maybe the integrated amps are 192 and dual mono are 384) The old brochure states upsampling of all content to 40 bit, so presumably the volume control etc. uses 40 bit. Maybe ADH also? I am not so sure about ADH.

All of this leaves the initial question.

Could you have a true ADH power amplifier without the DAC? Feed it an analogue signal and you get an analogue output, no ADC, no DAC, pure analogue. OK - For a start there would be no SAM, or any other DSP, and it would need to be a pure power amp (rather than analogue integrated) or at least the 40 bit floating point volume control replaced with an analogue equivalent.

So I think the basic question is, could a version of ADH be made to work without the TI PCM1792 DAC chip and run with an analogue feed? Earlier posts stated that this is not possible, although to be honest I am not 100% clear as to why exactly this is.

I am sure as I can be that such a beast would never actually be build, but it is fun to speculate I guess.

[Damon]

If I wanted a bunch of separates, they would need to be all big and brutish and dramatic; lots of gauges and fins and glowing bits. Or a stack of black, like Naim. Why bother with thin boxes that just take up a lot of horizontal space? Well, I suppose they could make the pizza box with, say, 3-10 watts of pure Class A. Or set it up vertically, like a book or vinyl record. That would be a niche product for sure.

Nope, what we need is a Phantom Subwoofer. After all, the Phantoms already blow most purpose-built subs out of the water. I'd definitely go for a Classic or Reactor-sized sub.

Could someone here figure that out for me? Take your time. I can wait until the next billing cycle on my VISA card.

[Chris Marshall]

If I wanted a bunch of separates, they would need to be all big and brutish and dramatic; lots of gauges and fins and glowing bits. Or a stack of black, like Naim. Why bother with thin boxes that just take up a lot of horizontal space? Well, I suppose they could make the pizza box with, say, 3-10 watts of pure Class A. Or set it up vertically, like a book or vinyl record. That would be a niche product for sure.

Nope, what we need is a Phantom Subwoofer. After all, the Phantoms already blow most purpose-built subs out of the water. I'd definitely go for a Classic or Reactor-sized sub.

Could someone here figure that out for me? Take your time. I can wait until the next billing cycle on my VISA card.

Agreed on the Phantom subwoofer, they could implement crossovers based on SAM measurement, theoretically at least it should be possible to get fantastic integration!

I fancy 2 for stereo, flat down to 15hz with my sonus faber olympicas.

[Delija]

Subwoofer integration depends a lot from the room and subwoofer(s) placement, so it's far from enough to have perfect integration in anechoic chamber.