Indeed, it is a
very serious machine.
This specific view is of the most powerful amp in our lineup - the Apollo. What you see is exactly what you get - a sleek, power-packed chassis, housing a state-of the-art, audiophile grade power amplifier. The specs are eye-popping for some, probably featuring the highest dynamic range on the market today: 126dB unweighted. What this translates into is 'headroom' and a sufficiently low noise floor to justify the investment in high-resolution sources.
It's interesting to reflect back on some of the comments and questions we got at the Munich High End in May this year. The most frequent first:
Comment:
You are crazy!
A: Tell us something we don't already know.
Q:
Is it really 8kW r.m.s.??
A: Yes, it is no exception from Ohm's law. "R.M.S. power" is a function of the waveform and load. With a clean sine wave at maximum amplitude and a 4 ohm resistor, the output power would be as specified. Other waveforms/loads would produce other results. Music would definitely not produce an r.m.s. power output of 8kW.
Q:
But how is it possible to have this much power? Is it a Class D design?
A: It is a Class AB design, but with a "twist" - the supply voltages to the final stages are not fixed - they follow the output signal, dramatically reducing the amount of wasted energy. This also increases performance and reliability.
Q: What about quality? High power amps usually don't sound good, especially at low levels.
A: Possibly true for some high-power PA gear, where the emphasis is on cost and reliability, not on sound quality. In our case, we get the best of both worlds - true audiophile performance at any power level, due to our specific circuit architecture.
Q: But how do you get that much power from an outlet? Is it legal?
A: Actually, you would never need to draw so much power from the outlet, unless you were doing tests under very specific conditions.
Furthermore, power supply to the Apollo is via two high-current sockets which share the load. If any of them is unplugged, the amp will shut down. Average total current draw with music material would rarely approach 10A at 230V mains voltage, 2x11A at 110V, which is well within safety and legal requirements.
High-performance circuit breakers would disconnect the mains in the event of a sustained high current draw - an event that can occur only in case of a severe malfunction.
... etc.
Some people have asked - why would anyone need an amp with such a high power output? What speaker can take it?
- Good question, eh?
Well, who needs a 1,000 horsepower sports car?! Or where can one drive it at 250mph?
Ok, here's the serious answer: I am personally a great fan of live sound. Sometimes I am in the mood to experience my favorite music at the level, at which it was recorded. Need I continue? I guess I'm not alone. We also make excellent amps with 'more reasonable' power ratings, starting at a modest 550W/8 ohm (1000/4) - the Calysto.
Yes, the speaker question is perfectly justified, and yes, not many of the existing systems can handle such peaks at reasonable distortion levels or without compression. But the future is ahead of us.
