Srajan, I look forward to your Hifi Rose review. As you mention, you prefer the class A/B sound of amps from the likes of Kinki and Enleum but also favourably reviewed GaN amps from AGD and Merrill. I'm way out of my league but my limited understanding is that GaN amps don't require as much negative feedback (thus noise and poorer performance at higher frequencies) as other class D amps due to faster switching times though I believe the Merrill Element 114 cleverly requires no negative feedback at all. The key is whether GaN can deliver great SQ across the audio band. As I write the line above, I'm reminded of F For Fake, the Orson Welles film that examines a famous art forger. At the film's outset Welles says "I'm a charlatan" and then gravely says that everything you hear will be true. Like any good conjurer, Welles has some tricks up his sleeve. That's entirely illustrative of me and my understanding of GaN! Michael
As you reiterate from my preview, the two prior GaN amps I reviewed did deliver excellent sound quality across the audio band. My curiosity is now what Hifi Rose manage to do at 1/5th the price four years later. I shall report my thoughts as soon as I have them. Srajan
