Once upon a time, in the early days of class-D amplification, the very notion that the ELAC (ELectroACoustic) Alchemy DPA-2 Stereo/Mono Power Amplifier ($1495 each) uses a class-D output stage would cause some readers to turn the page.1 But as class-D amplifiers established their pedigree as bona fide hi-fi components, audiophiles have begun to embrace the notion of a lightweight, cool-running amplifier that will not dramatically increase the electric bill and that, when properly executed, can be quite musical.
I could easily discern the naturally resonant spaciousness that the engineering/ mastering team of Jin Choi and Michael Fine captured in the Salle Colonne in Paris.
When he developed the DPA-2, which combines a Hypex UCD class-D output module with a class-AB input stage, Madnick worked with ELAC’s power supply designer to prepare the switching power supply that supplies the juiceto its class-D module. Drawing on his experience designing close to 400 products, including 20 or 30 amplifiers for several companies, he and his team designed everything except the housing; cosmetics were left to a different ELAC team.
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