Buurion & Guurion
Class-D Amplifiers
Form and function
They are small, they are cold, they have perfect sound, they are nice and exciting to look at.
I needed new power amplifiers, both to the media room and to drive the new F205 speakers. Which is small and compact, with enough power to drive a lot of weirdness, and the same low distortion as class-A amplifiers. With new technology, it is now possible to build something like this.
I wanted an amplifier that gives an impression of power and solidity, with a kind of natural, organic touch.
Everything is mounted around a frame structure made of 6mm aluminum, with amplifier module on one side and cooling profiles on others. The front and back parts in wood provides a vibration-free and robust construction.
The narrow shape factor allows for many amplifiers next to each other, very beneficial for multichannel systems.
The Sound
The piano turns out to be particularly demanding for the amplifier. With Buurion to run them, it is a pleasure to hear that it now sounds clean and the way it should be.
It becomes a kind of relaxed touch over the listening, when one is completely sure the amplifier never goes in saturation because there is always enough power.
These amplifiers can also withstand being run in clipping without collapsing – just like the old class-A amplifier. The difference is that Buurion and Guurion are so much more powerful, so that the probability of running out of power is much smaller.
Technical Performance
Buurion delivers 2x 150W/8ohm, 2x 300W/4ohm, in a size format of a medium cigar. Guurion supplies 2x 300W/8ohm, 2x 600W/4ohm – and it is only a few millimeters wider and a few centimeters longer.
It is the new nCore amplifier modules from Hypex that make it possible to create an amplifier with such a performance in such a small format.
Class D has several advantages. High efficiency causes less heat, so that anything can be built much less. Reactive load – such as a speaker – is handled very well, the distortion characteristic reminds a lot of class-A amplifiers.
Specifications