Topic: Channel Island Audio

[Nick's Picks]

anyone heard their stuff?
DAC looks nice, and is cheap.

their new digital mono blocks are being hyped up a lot on a few hifi boards i'm on.
they are also not expensive.  $1500 for the 100w jobs, and $2500 for the 200w.
im trying to get a pair for review....

[BobW]

anyone heard their stuff?
DAC looks nice, and is cheap.

their new digital mono blocks are being hyped up a lot on a few hifi boards i'm on.
they are also not expensive.  $1500 for the 100w jobs, and $2500 for the 200w.
im trying to get a pair for review....

I thought that they pulled all US dealerships "for reasons undisclosed."
I saw the DAC and PS being sold off really cheap a few months back by thre separate dealers.

[Tim]

I asked about the DAC quite awhile ago and never heard anything...

[JackoRoses]

I was looking to have their mods done to the msb dac  but no one will do them anymore.
No I never had the opportunity to listen to anything of theirs yet.

[Nick's Picks]

Stereophile just reviewed the D-100s in this current issue.  so i'd say the company is alive and well.

[BobW]

Stereophile just reviewed the D-100s in this current issue.  so i'd say the company is alive and well.

They pulled the DAC from US dealers, never a good sign.
They may be doing direct only, which isn't always a bad thing, but more dealers = more repair/ mod. houses.

Hmm, class D being hi-fi, who'd have thunk it ?

[Nick's Picks]

just refers to digital switching...not a score...like your HS report cards were

[The Kilted Taper]

just refers to digital switching...not a score...like your HS report cards were

Actually, if you go to the CIAudio site, it states the are indeed Class D as stated by Nick's. sorry...bob

[Daryan]

You can build the exact same amps, 500W per channel, for less than 750 and ANYONE can do it.  If you want more info on how, let me know.

Daryan

[Todd R]

I really don't know much about Channel Island, but it was founded by one of the lead designers for Audio Alchemy.  The president of Audio Alchemy went on to form Perpetual Technologies.

[Nick's Picks]

You can build the exact same amps, 500W per channel, for less than 750 and ANYONE can do it. If you want more info on how, let me know.

Daryan

do tell

[Nick's Picks]

just refers to digital switching...not a score...like your HS report cards were

Actually, if you go to the CIAudio site, it states the are indeed Class D as stated by Nick's. sorry...bob

I thought class D was spelled out in a recent stereophile article.  and it didn't say that it was the same as their "rating system" used to discribe how amps run.
I'll see if I can find it before I spread any more mis-information.

[cheshirecat]

http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~mleach/ece4435/f01/ClassD2.pdf

Enjoy if you can digest all that.  The first few paragraphs are useful. 

[Daryan]

Nick et al,

The turnkey solution runs 750 shipped.  It includes the hypex power supply, hyped ucd-400 amp modules, as well as the connecting wires for the rca's as well as nextgen style binding posts and banana speaker connectors.  You can get this from Ken at diyzone.com I believe it is.  If that doesn't work, let me know.  The other option is to buy 2x ucd 400's directly from hypex itself.  Then you would need to outsource a chassis, connectors, as well as the toroid power supply, iec, etc.  For 200 bucks more, you get the turnkey solution.  If you PM me, I can put you in touch with Ken.

The CI amps are based on hypex modules.   They say they are tweaked a bit, but there is info on doing that yourself as well at diyaudio.com.  Look under the class d header, then read the posts.  It really is that easy.  Specifics, just ask.

D--------

[BobW]

just refers to digital switching...not a score...like your HS report cards were

Actually, if you go to the CIAudio site, it states the are indeed Class D as stated by Nick's. sorry...bob

I thought class D was spelled out in a recent stereophile article.  and it didn't say that it was the same as their "rating system" used to discribe how amps run.
I'll see if I can find it before I spread any more mis-information.

Nope, not a rating system, originally class A, B, and C described the biasing of tube and transistor amps and were analagous(sp?) to the amount of power conduction on the output vs. the input signal.  Class C was the worst and put out pulses that were relative to the input signal yet sure wasn't a sine wave. More like a sine wave hacked up by samuri barber.....
Anyhow, in short, this output would be used to stimulate a tuned circuit and recreate the input signal.
Works for radio, not audio.

AB uses two half-waves stitched together a la "push-pull."

To the point (do I ever stay on topic?) Class D, is as described in the document reff'd above.
It uses some really clever means to increase the signal to be loud enough to power the speakers.
In it's early incarnations, it was called revolutionary, but not audiophile.
In fact, Hafler and Levinson avoided it like a plague. It was noisey (analog artifacts)
Apparently it has evolved. 

Interesting catch, I totally forgot that Stereophile uses that letter grade system to rate gear.
My complaint is that they break by cost, so if price is not being considered, a C can be rated a A, if it is inexpensive.

Here's a fairly short and sweet article on amplifier class:
http://psbg.emusician.com/ar/emusic_power_hungry/

Don't confuse switching amplifier with an amplifer powered with a switching power supply, another issue and a reason DAWs can have  noise issues.   Whoa, there I go again.....way off topic.

A final word. Why all the fuss ?  Heat.  A perfect Class A amp is about 20% efficient wasting 80% of the electricity it uses as heat.
A 50 wpc Class A amp throws off 400 watts of heat, as much as many space heaters.
Modern fireplaces