E108: AGD Productions Gran Vivace GaN Amplifier

[@NicoJeanRas]

As an electronic engineer for the past 45 years, I commend you for your accurate and very simple explanation of operation.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Hello. Thank you so much for this... I think you can see that - I really do understand the materials I cover here at the channel. Thanks again for the kind words, for watching, and for taking the time to write.

[@Revelator2025]

I own a pair of AGD Audions and it’s a game-changing love affair. I’ve owned many a Class A/Class A/B amps over the decades. All the familiar designers and models. Many I still own and love but my Audions are right there among them and are in my system most all the time. Usually the changes in my system are the types of line stage I’m in the mood for. Most of the time I prefer tubes in the line stage paired with the AGDs. The synergy is fantastic and leaves nothing to desire. You never truly know until you give them a try in your own system. You will not regret it…It’s a listening revelation and for me it continues to touch my soul. Thanks for the Gran Vivace review. When I saw “AGD” a smile came across my face, knowing how special AG’s GaN technology has been implemented across the line. Very nice ❤

[@jazzbass6246]

I am the happy owner of a pair of AUDION. Thank you for your comment. There is nothing more to be said. A real love affair

[@stephanem.2268]

Thank you Greg for this very interesting episode. Being an audiophile who used to never consider class D as an option, I moved to class D few years ago after a "blind" listening session of the TAD M1000 (I didn't know it was class D). It is said to be "engineered with a Class D output stage combined with a power supply circuit design featuring a high capacity (1kVA-class) toroidal power transformer and specially designed electrolytic capacitors". No hint of harshness, big power (250W 8Ω / 500W 4Ω) a very fast sounding amp with smaller footprint. My point being that whatever the technology used (A / AB / D...) quality of the implementation is the key to achieve audiophile results. Thanks again for your reviews Greg!

[@innomax007]

Greg, thanks for a recap of Class D history and operation, I think you got Albert's design spot on, the ability to upgrade by simply swapping "output tubes" is genius, and a beautiful aesthetic to boot.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed this one...

[@russellbrikowski6139]

Greg I love the looks of the Gran Vivace amps, great review.

[@bra69er]

Only just found your site and very pleased I have! This is a very interesting review. I really like the balance of the technical description and history of Class D. You have also been able to describe the sound of the amplifiers very well. I became interested in changing from valve amps due to cost of replacements, adjustments required and energy consumption. I bought AGD Audions and I'm delighted with them. Listening to your review aligns very closely with my thoughts on my Audions. I also love the looks of the Gran Vivace and Audions.

[@hilde45]

Thank you for providing a potted history of the beginning of this video. Very helpful and I think you do a great job explaining things.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thank you, DH!

[@hulksmash6476]

Oh, I didn't see you there 😂😂

[@jamesj9728]

Greg, I took possession of my Gran Vivace on Tuesday and they unseated my Accuphase, something I bet against. The Accuphase is going up for sale. These are so addicting, beautiful and future proof... I am a happy camper! I wish you had shown the extra mile AGD went to in terms of the hard case, white gloves, and beautiful power cable that come standard. I too have Fidelium cables and need to know the where I can get those lifters?!?!

[@prokofievchambers8603]

Stunning analysis, sir! Game changing event afoot.

[@soundinsight]

Very informative and thorough review.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thank you, Steve! 😉

[@hilde45]

It would be interesting to hear these compared to a really nice tube amplifier on a fairly sensitive speaker.

[@n.lyndley.9889]

OCD HiFi Mikey has that in his KZbin channel. The Ga FET won hands down

[@geraldlukehart4150]

Thank U Good info 😅

[@gilpatmore4312]

Thanks for doing this review!

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thank YOU for watching, and taking the time to write.

[@saint6563]

History ✅ Review ✅ Comparison ✅ Value ✅

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thank you! 😊

[@marcus1970]

I've had no experience with this tech... But the appearance aligns so well with nostalgia (tube appearance) and yet pushing forward in a new way...drawing on comparison with some very expensive offerings and no account of embasasment given... Seems you really must think very highly of these monoblocks.

[@dougg1075]

Love the design. Heard they were good

[@kenandbarbie-b6c]

I’m impressed with the technology & beauty of this amplifier. However, I do not have the reach for this beautiful piece of high end audio. I can see room for improvement in the recent wave of budget class D amplifiers utilizing conventional Silicon IC chips from manufacturers such as Texas Instruments, Infineon, etc.. possible future fabrication of GaN class D IC chips will help bring high end performance to the affordable range. If there is a will to exploit the audiophile market, it will be done given enough time. We live in a new golden age of amplification.

[@theaudioanalyst]

I completely concur with your statements, in particular, your last sentence! Thanks for taking the time to write.

[@007EnglishAcademy]

Excellent review

[@O_D_O_U4YA]

I currently have a full mola mola set up (Makua, Tambaqui and Kaluga monoblocks) but have the opportunity to purchase pre-owned 5:46 AGD Gran Vivace monoblocks for a very good price. Unfortunately, it would not be possible to audition the AGD mono blocks prior to purchase. Having heard of these amplifiers, would you advise me to take the plunge with Sid advance.

[@brucering1190]

thanks greg, i am considering getting the audions to drive a 102 db voxativ but would like to try them first, i will get in contact with AGD and see if they have a trial period thanks for your thorough review.!!!

[@2013brzsubaru]

I read somewhere where Albert offered a trial period and the guy had to pay shipping back if he didn't keep them

[@pennfootball71]

I heard them at CAF I think they were rolling off just a bit on the highs. They were decent for the money.

[@King_Dusty_Of_Pookytopia]

How unexpected. GaN or Gallium Nitride is being used to substantially increase the energy efficiency of the F-35 jet fighters' new radar.

[@Nonsense62365]

Great review!

[@2013brzsubaru]

Hi Greg, I was hoping you could give me your opinion on 2 amps I'm interested in. I know you heard both ( agd gran vivace and audione watt) . I am pretty sure that you would say the Audionet is better, as audionet is your reference. Could you briefly give me your thoughts on what the watt does that the agd doesn't? I can get a chance to hear the AGD, but would have to order the watt from the us and I'm in Canada. Thanks!

[@petekutheis3822]

I think that's the engineer that presented on Class D GANfet with Mychal at CAPfest in Nov. I asked him to contrast with Bruno's e-purifi and he got very rude. Short fused. Mychal to his credit bailed him out and explained why GANfet led to even lower noise. As low noise as e-purifi is I still am not sure I understand any significant advantage. At any rate I am enjoying my Audiophonics e-purifi---also one of the few things that Amir likes. Not that I have any love for ASR at all.

[@truman4956]

Great video, but I have to ask…do you work as a voiceover actor or an announcer? You have that classic announcer voice. Bravo.

[@theaudioanalyst]

LOL... Thanks for this. No, I don't do any voice work these days. But another viewer offered that I should have done Voice Overs for "Game of Thrones!" 😁 And I DID do a good bit of FM radio announcing when I was younger.

[@ericstefko4852]

I am curious since your ULTRA 9 have a built in subwoofer, wouldn't the bass be defined by the amp in the speaker more than the amp driving the rest of the system?

[@theaudioanalyst]

That may, at first, seem to be a reasonable and valid question, but I’d suggest that you really aren’t looking at this with the proper perspective. While it is true that the ULTRA 9s have a dedicated 1KW Class D amplifier driving the fifteen inch Dayton Audio subwoofer in each enclosure, it is ALWAYS a continuous part of the speaker, and therefore, an equal and constant part of the speaker’s overall sonic signature. As such, it is as clearly as much a commonality to the speaker and its resultant voice as any other individual component, such as each individual Accuton, ScanSpeak, Fountek, Seas, or Dayton Audio driver, each crossover resistor, capacitor, diode, or coil, the Fostex transformer type attenuators, or the internal ULTRA wiring, right? It doesn’t vary with changes of upstream components any more than any of the other individual components that make up the loudspeaker, and contribute to its overall voice. Yet the ULTRA 9 is CLEARLY able to distinctly and fluently present the different sonic characteristics of ANY source or other component placed before it, be that a CD Player, a DAC, a Phono Stage, a cartridge, a linestage, an amplifier, a power supply, a power filter/conditioner, a power cord, an interconnect, a digital cable (USB, AES/EBU, Toslink), speaker cables, or even different cable lifters. Get it now?

[@ericstefko4852]

@@theaudioanalyst thanks for the info

[@BioMedUSA]

@@theaudioanalyst Nice review and speakers but oh brother...what a non-sensical word salad response to @ericstefko4852 valid question. The way I interpret your response, apparently the ADG has magical powers (acting as a preamp to the Ultra's built in amps) somehow make the base tighter and deeper? It feels like you are gaslighting yourself on that one.

[@theaudioanalyst]

@@BioMedUSA The only nonsense I find here is your interpretation of what I actually said... Read it again. The speaker is the speaker is the speaker - like any other, passive OR active. That stays the same regardless of ANY upstream product, from the sources, though the electronics, cables, etc. Where you get the absurd notion that the Gran Vivace is somehow imbued with "magical powers" is beyond comprehension.

[@Captain_Mike]

Has anyone heard AGD Audion Monoblocks in combination with FERRUM WANDLA (DAC + Preamp)?

[@mikegemmati8658]

My only experience with Gan amps was a 350w $3k amp. Outside of its smooth high end, it lacked in comparison to my Parasound 160w Halo amp. The Parasound had more bottom end tightness and grunt, midrange lent more weight to voices. Playing Sinatra at the Sands on vinyl, the Gan amp did a disservice to his voice. The dynamics were lacking in comparison in that album too with the Gan amp. It had much less weight to it. The Gan amp also didn’t “project” sound into the room like the Parasound. There was no toe tapping with the Gan amp compared to the Parasound. Both amps were connected with balanced cables and driving 4 ohm Salk speakers. I tried to like the Gan, but it wasn’t to be. Perhaps the Vivace would be better in these regards.

[@claudechasle4154]

Hi. I wonder about the matching of thes e amps with my Air Tight preamp would be appropriate. Speakers are the not too well known but excellent Jean Maurer Swiss JM 370E Thks

[@claudechasle4154]

Air Tiight atc2 preamp

[@jdh3828]

I returned them after listening in my setup for 2 weeks.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Hello J Dh... I can understand that. While they are among the best of their breed, they are not exactly my cup of tea, if you will. I personally prefer my Parasound Halo JC 1+s in that price range. And my Audionet MAXes, while costing considerably more, are simply superb. May I ask you if you would share what amps you've settled on? Thank you...

[@Albert-nj9xm]

Hello JD, only 2 customers ever returned an AGD amp. Assuning you are one of them, what was the reason you did return them? We definitely would like to address your concern. Please contact us, and we will be more than glad to talk and help where possible. Thanks

[@labalo5]

Would like to know as well JD. What sort of speakers did you have on them….I wonder how these would sound with my 94db horn speakers?

[@jaakanshorter]

I never understood why class D got so much hate until I connected my first one from Rotel ( rmb-1085 I got when it was new ) to a bad pre-amp last year when I sold it. It showed how bad the pre-amp was. The buyer didn't notice but I did. Before that I've only had good experiences with Class D amps. I don't have the money for the AGD but I'm glad there is more love for class D and amps that will scare the top dogs.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Thanks, Jaakan. I have heard Class-D from TriPath, Channel Islands Audio (I still have my D-500 MkIIs), Kharma, Spectron, Rotel, Jeff Rowland Design Group, Cary Audio, Red Dragon, Mola Mola and others... At this point, the two that have come closest to winning me over were the newest from Mola Mola and the AGD Gran Vivace... Thanks for taking the time to watch and write!

[@michaelcorlet2998]

Another expert.

[@theaudioanalyst]

I think that was meant as a slight... But if you bothered to find out who I am and what I've done over the many decades that I've been in, around, and involved with this industry, you may just begin to understand how well informed my opinions actually are... You might start with my very first episode, Who is the audio analyst @ kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqC3Y42gmbqfrposi=uG2gRlun19bsmChn, if you actually would like to begin to understand.

[@philb-ze8sz]

Class D really, your ears are lacking due to age..LOL! Kidding a good review for such a class D product.

[@prokofievchambers8603]

That was the definition of a giant killer.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Well, not exactly... First, in my experience, while there are MANY overachieving products at virtually any price point, I've never actually run across an ACTUAL giant-killer - something at some smaller percentage of the cost of a product that is accepted as offering the most accomplished performance in its category, that can be said to best that products performance.

[@VagabondOfNote]

I think you meant to say "considerably more coin for marginally better".... that's the reality with these.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Hello VagabondOfNote. Well, I suspect that would be a matter of perspective, no? When dropped into my system, they really did show their limitations, most notably in the realm of microdynamic resolution and shading. I live with considerably more refined and expressive amplification daily, and have had the honor and pleasure of having had some of the finest amplification on planet earth dropped into my system, like the VAC Statement 452iQ Musicbloc's and the Audionet Heisenberg's most recently. In a system like mine, the sonic differences expressed are not "marginal." And while I do find them to be near the fore of the world of Class D devices, I'll reiterate that the nearly identically priced Parasound JC 1+ monos offer a slight edge in performance over the Grand Vivace's and as such, are my preference in that price range. Thanks for watching and writing.

[@DBTAudio]

@@theaudioanalystThanks for the excellent review! It was good to hear your opinion of the Grand Vivaci’s monos vs. Parasound JC1+ monos because I own the Parasound JC5, stereo version of the JC1+, paired w/Wilson Audio Sabrina X and the JC5 performs incredibly well! I’m sure the JC1+ pushes the envelope even more, but I have a good taste of the JC1+ packaged in the JC5. Thanks!

[@theaudioanalyst]

@@DBTAudio Parasound simply embodies the best of what can be accomplished with the most realistic of price points. And the goals of, and direction, that new CEO David Sheriff is leading the company are truly exciting.

[@ramsaybolton9099]

So what’s the price?

[@theaudioanalyst]

It's in the Description section, $18,500/pair.

[@annebokma4637]

How many significant better "tubes" have been put to the market since that gear first came to market? It's been quite a while now. I like the look, but I don't think the "tube" is more then a gimmick.

[@Albert-nj9xm]

We introduced 2 revisions. The one reviewed by Mr. Waver is MKii, as you can detect from the marking on the PCB as per the photo published in the video. And with all due respect, I beg to differ, it is not a "gimmick".

[@annebokma4637]

@@Albert-nj9xm since I wrote the first part I have visited the website and seen the different options. The fact that there is development and an upgrade path makes it way more interesting indeed. I will remain a sceptic if it needs to be in a tube, but I imagine when I hear it and it does sound as good as described here (and I think I read an article on 6mooms a while ago) I won't care what makes it sound the way it sounds. And as I said I do like the estethics. Also thank you for your quick reply, it is appreciated 👍

[@theaudioanalyst]

Hello Anne. While I guess I can somewhat understand your skepticism, keep in mind - this is NOT a vacuum tube. In this application, the KT120-like glass bottle contains the complete Gallium Nitride output power stage, and includes the Class-D amplifier module, its output filter, and the linear power supply rails used to feed the PWM controllers and auxiliary circuits. ANY refinement to that power stage, any subsequent degree of improvement that can be mustered by AGD Production over time, can therefore be EASILY implemented. The amp doesn't have to go back to the factory for upgrades! It is a matter of a simple field swap, and the customer is back online in minutes... I hope you can see the difference here...

[@annebokma4637]

@@theaudioanalyst sure I can. But the same thing could be done by swapping a card instead of a tube? That's what I meant by "gymmick" what does the tube add to the module that a more traditional way of module swapping can't do. I am all for being able to change a device by using a modular system. That's why I don't have an integrated or all in one amp, this just takes it further. But I may be one of the lucky audiophiles that has been happy with the same components for decades. Only the digital side changes

[@theaudioanalyst]

@@annebokma4637 So, my point here was that ANYONE could do the swap. I've a degree in electronics, owned and operated an electronics repair shop, can do board level parts swaps, etc. And, while a card change is fairly easy, it is NOT something that everyone would be comfortable doing. I know a LOT of music loving audiophiles who shouldn't be allowed to use tools, let alone open the case on an amplifier! 😁

[@matereo]

No, we don't all.. I am trying to resease as mucgh life giving CO2 as possible for the optimally green planet

[@tallpaull9367]

I realize it’s a bit late here, but you put me to sleep. Are you reading a written article?

[@theaudioanalyst]

LOL... I'm so glad you could wake up in time to leave your complaint.