SounDigital revealed more details on its new flagship, high end car audio amplifier that uses GAN (Gallium Nitride) transistors instead of traditional MOSFETs.
SounDigital said GAN transistors allow more control over the switching in an amplifier. “That is where the amplifiers get their distortion. If we eliminate it, you eliminate distortion,” said SounDigital’s Jacob Brown, speaking at the company’s booth at KnowledgeFest in Dallas.
In addition to producing lower distortion, the amplifiers offer much higher signal to noise ratio, said Brown. They “allow us to control transistor temperature so it’s better for current. You’ve essentially just re-imagined the Concept of Class D. It’s going to give a customer or sound quality competitor better sound quality, but also … a much better, open, airy environment and in a way that isn’t going to break the bank,” he said.
The new line of GAN amplifiers will launch with a 5 channel model at 1,500 watts due in the fourth quarter with another model to follow.
SounDigital has offered limited GAN technology in the past. Diogo Innaccone said, “We were the first to use GAN. We did only on 200 pieces. The technology was really expensive at the time and we learned a lot.”
Since then, prices have come down. The company is bringing out 300 of the new GAN amplifiers at a suggested retail price of $1,499.
The new model offers a frequency range from 6Hz to 65kHz, so it is Hi-Res Audio capable.
As reported earlier, the amplifier will be offered to select dealers who undergo training in the amplifier technology.
See a video of Brown explaining GAN at www.facebook.com/ceoutlook
