Gizmodo
To the un-rock'n'roll like me, the object above looks like a TV cabinet, or a disco oven - but, like I said, I've never had much of a fever for cowbell. This is the Stratos from Hovland, an amp that was 20 years in the making. And this is the price: $50,000. More on what it has and what it does (and doesn't) after the jump.
400W of power into 8 ohms, 625W into 4 ohms and 800W into 2 ohms.
Measurements are 356mm x 244mm x 476mm
Weighs in at a hefty 41kg per channel.
Will give you more cowbell (probably), grief from your other half (definitely), but no 11 on the volume. Shame.
Product Page [Hovland via Tech.co.uk]
Comments
50 grand? And it doesn't travel through time, cook food, or lick my balls,?
pass
For 50 grand it better suck em
My dolby receiver volume goes to 70.........why not 100, I mean, if 70 = 100%...........does that mean that 70 is the new 100, and my 70 cents is now a buck?
if so......i have more money in my account than i thought
Ya i know wishful thinking lol
I don't get it. From what I can tell it only does stereo. That means you need to buy 4 of them to run 7.1, plus a really high end decoder otherwise this thing is amplifying noise from your crappy decoder. So really, it's over $200,000.
Alright kiddies. This company specializes in top-of-the-line, stereo pre-amplifiers and amplifiers for the simple purpose of providing you, the listener, with unadulterated audio splendor.
The products are made for music, not for movies.
@EMoShunz:
A lot of audiophiles I know don't bother with full surround setups. They drop serious coin on a 2 speaker setup that gets incredible range and low distortion. So, a good pre-amp, amp, and 2 speakers (i.e. no subwoofer). I must say, I've heard some of these setups, and they are quite nice. But I'll live with my fairly decent 5.1 rig, for now at least.
That said, you can build a pretty sweet system for cheaper than this. Or at least a sweet amp for less than a fifth of the price of this one.
If you want the best 2 channel and multi-channel amps on planet, it's quite simple...McIntosh. Lowest THD (total harmonic distortion) and those big blue meters. Heaven on earth.
(I am not affiliated with the company...just a product owner)
McIntosh, all the tubbiness of tubes, now with a new transistory glaze!
Uhm... No volume? Duh. It's an amp. Shame Giz. All it does is send juice to your speakers, and it's GLORIOUS juice.
My amp is 5% of that price, and it's 2x250, and I love my two channel setup. I don't have the speakers powerful enough to benefit from something like this Hovland, but my Conrad-Johnson gear works great.
@r00: Shame Giz? Shame r00 for not getting the Spinal Tap reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akaD9v460yI&mode=related&se...
dude, 50grand and it doesn't even double down?? SHAME
(i mean, 400wpc into 8ohm should be 800wpc into 4ohm...)
Yeah, this is an overpriced ripoff, if you want POWER get a Krell or something.
Shall we start a pool on how long it takes HiFi to swoop in and get into a snit?
Spinal Tap? Yeah. I've never seen it. But I get the reference because I've been told that SOOO many times.
@bignaz2k
I can appreciate that.
Way back when my buddies and I would brag about how much we knew about audio equipment (keep in mind this was before most people had internet). Back then Harmon Kardon had the best - bar none - THD and Signal to Noise ratios around. For far less money.
Now, my question is (and forget responding with "your ears would never know the difference") according to a computer, all the testing equipment available, who has the best price to clarity in the business?
@Pappas3278
As a musician, I love tubes.
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