Little class D monoblock is ridiculously good...

[Tinman1952]

if it has a volume control it's integrated however many inputs it has.
A monoblock power amp has no means of adjusting volume and no source inputs

No it isn't. You need to remind yourself what 'integrated' means....preamp and power amp in one box!

 

[Al ears]

No it isn't. You need to remind yourself what 'integrated' means....preamp and power amp in one box!

That's exactly what I was implying, if it has an input it must have some form of preamp hence it is integrated.
However, perhaps best if we left it there.
Personally I am intrigued by the design and was curious as to it's application.

 

[davidf]

Have to agree, it seems more like an integrated than a power amp to me. If it has a volume control (rather than a limited means of adjusting volume to match up with another amp), and an input, It qualifies as a pre-amplifier.

 

[Gray]

What power amp doesn't have an input? 👹

 

[Al ears]

What power amp doesn't have an input? 👹

Not specifically for a source, it has an input from a preamp yes but that's not quite the same I feel.
Unless that source has an output that can be regulated then something with a volume control needs to be attached i.e. a preamp.
This has been the standard method for years
Now perhaps we can get back to agreeing with the OP that these mono integrated boxes are an excellent idea? 😎

 

[Tinman1952]

Well 20 hours in and the little amps continue to impress. Doesn't sound like your typical class D at all. In fact many of you will laugh at this...(or scoff...🙂) but the soundstage, clarity and general tonality reminds me very much of a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated that I had many years ago. Which was ten times more expensive....
How things have moved on.....

 

[davidf]

Well 20 hours in and the little amps continue to impress. Doesn't sound like your typical class D at all. In fact many of you will laugh at this...(or scoff...🙂) but the soundstage, clarity and general tonality reminds me very much of a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated that I had many years ago. Which was ten times more expensive....
How things have moved on.....

Those MFs were big soundstage, loads of bass, played loud, but had very little else going for them! I always said you could hear the opposite to a Quad by comparing them to MF - Quad is all about an expressive midrange, MF all about frequency extremes with nothing in the middle. I think I’d rather listen to typical Class D!

 

[Tinman1952]

Those MFs were big soundstage, loads of bass, played loud, but had very little else going for them! I always said you could hear the opposite to a Quad by comparing them to MF - Quad is all about an expressive midrange, MF all about frequency extremes with nothing in the middle. I think I’d rather listen to typical Class D!

Interesting...I never found the MF had loads of bass but then I didn't play it loud! It did have a large soundstage and good instrument separation. I didn't keep it that long though... I think I moved to a Naim integrated. Chalk and cheese! 😀

 

[davidf]

I think I moved to a Naim integrated. Chalk and cheese! 😀

Definitely!

 

[willpower]

Thank you so much @Tinman1952 for this suggestion! I recently blew my beloved Dynakit ST70 power amp. Since repair would cost a great deal, I was looking for alternatives and bought two Aiyima A3000s. I thought it would be interesting to, from a technical perspective, try a polar opposite. The result way exceeded my expectations! Clean and natural sound, what else could one want from a system. My setup is Schiit Saga+ preamp and Dynaco A35 speakers, Thorens TD125 Mk2 with Grace 707 tonearm and Pickering XSV3000 (Shibata stylus) and a Musical Fidelity V90-LPS phono amp. Hard to admit but I must say that the new power amps sounds better than my old Tube amp.