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Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000R Power Amplifier

Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000R

During the time that I’ve been a reviewer for The Absolute Sound I’ve played host to many power amps. Some were large, heavy, and sucked juice from my AC outlets like a dehydrated Great Dane, while others were so small that they could even fit into one of those “tiny houses” featured on HGTV. But whether big or small, powerful or flea-watt, all power amplifiers perform the same function: supplying somewhere between 20 and 30dB of gain, turning a volt or two into multiple watts of power. But even after all these years there is still no way to know, before listening, how well a particular power amplifier will mate with a given set of loudspeakers. Often the subtle differences between a synergistic match and one that leaves something to be desired comes down to things that we can’t measure reliably in a home listening room by any methodology except listening.

Obviously after many years of listening to and using power amplifiers I have developed my own set of preferences. I am not a big fan of big, heavy, energy-sucking, high-power, and usually expensive-to-own power amplifiers. And while low-power single-ended tube amplifiers can sound superb when connected to the “right” loudspeaker, they certainly aren’t a universal power-amp solution. In recent years, I have gravitated towards high-efficiency power amplifiers that use switching technology. The first units that sounded good used a Tri-path module; later, B&O ICEpower modules came along. Recently, some manufacturers, including Bel Canto, have been using Hypex modules as the heart of their Class D designs. Wyred 4 Sound’s new power amplifier, the SX-1000R, uses the B&O ICE power module. Does this current incarnation of Class D topology finally deliver all the sonic special sauce found in traditional solid-state AB or even Class A designs? Let’s find out.

Tech Tour
The SX-1000R monoblock power amplifier can produce up to 625W into 8 ohms with 1% THD and noise, and 1225W into 4 ohms at the same distortion level. It delivers 27dB of gain with 118dB of dynamic range. The SX-1000R has an output impedance of only 0.005 ohms and a damping factor of 2000 at 100Hz into 8 ohms. Although quite powerful, the SX-1000R draws only 15 watts at idle and has an efficiency of 78% when delivering 500 watts into 8 ohms. Compare this to a Class A amplifier, which averages only 25% efficiency, and you begin to see how much more energy-efficient the SX-1000R is compared to older power amplifier topologies.

Although the SX-1000R has at its heart the B&O ICE module, much of the rest of its design is proprietary, such as the field effect transistor (FET) input buffer that supplies both single-ended and balanced input options. This circuit includes a dual-differential common mode converter, originally developed for the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2, that produces a true balanced signal. The SX-1000R’s front-end design also isolates the power amplifier from impedance mismatches: Its high 91k ohm input impedance matches both solid-state and tube preamplifiers without loading down their output stages. Wyred 4 Sound’s third-generation circuit topology also significantly reduces the detrimental effects os noisy sources due to its balanced circuitry, audio-grade capacitors, and quad-paralleled front-end layout.

The SX-1000R replaces the now-discontinued SX-1000 that garnered TAS’ Editors’ Choice award for six years in a row. Since the new amplifier uses many of the same parts, including the chassis, Wyred4Sound offers a trade-in program giving owners of the earlier-gen amp the option of upgrading to the new design for $2000 (for amps up to three years old). If your SX-1000 is more than three years old the trade-in will cost an extra $200, or $2200 plus your two amps. Unlike many firms that offer only a one- or two-year warranty, Wyred 4 Sound offers a five-year warranty on the SX-1000R.

Cosmetics, Ergonomics, and Setup
The SX-1000R power amplifiers will never qualify as audio jewelry, but I think their understated looks are in line with Wyred 4 Sound’s focus on performance rather than bling. The SX-1000R is available with either a black or slate-gray chassis. The front panel features a thin blue line of illumination of adjustable intensity flanked by a pair of wedge-shaped, satin-black corner panels. The SX-1000R’s on/off switch is located on the back along with one pair of five-way binding posts, single-ended RCA and balanced XLR inputs, a 12-volt trigger, and an IEC AC input. Both sides of the its chassis sport a row of diagonal ventilation slots. One minor quibble with the SX-1000R’s layout: There’s no on/off switch on the front panel, so when or if you want to turn the amp off, you will need to access its rear panel.

Installing the SX-1000R monoblocks in my two primary listening systems was easy. They are relatively small at 8.5 inches wide, 4.125 inches high, and 13.5 inches deep—and certainly light at only 13 pounds each. In both setups I used the balanced XLR input connections. The banana terminations on the Audience Au24 SE speaker cables fit snugly into the SX-1000R’s WBT five-way binding posts. When connected and powered on there is no physical noise from the SX-1000R. Even when I placed my ear directly on its cabinet I could hear nothing—no hum whatsoever. This quiet extended to the loudspeaker output when the input was muted—with the 94dB-sensitive Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S speakers I needed to be within four inches of the tweeter to hear any hiss.

Sound
My primary listening room is very quiet, with a steady-state background-noise level of 35dB. So, the noise, or lack of noise, of the power amplifier is very important to me. The SX-1000R proved to be almost as quiet in base noise level as the Bel Canto REF600M monoblock amplifiers I reviewed recently, and quieter than the Pass Labs X150.8 stereo power amplifier. Having an amplifier that doesn’t add to the noise floor is very important, not only for low-level information retrieval, but also so the speakers disappear completely from aural view. Obviously, audiophiles with less sensitive (say 90dB or less) loudspeakers will find the SX-1000R to be even quieter than I did.

One of the most dominant sonic characteristics of the SX-1000R is its sense of unlimited power. With both the Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S and Audience 1+1 loudspeakers there was never any sense of strain or added hardness during even the most punishing triple-fortissimo passages. Also, the SX-1000R’s control of the drivers, due in part to its high damping factor, meant the chances of the Audience 1+1’s transducers getting damaged during momentary high SPLs was reduced to the point where I didn’t worry about it after the first couple of days of use.

And what does the SX-1000R sound like? It sounds like whatever music you choose to play through it. This is not an amp for someone who is trying to warm up, sweeten, or euphonize his system. No, the SX-1000R is very much a “straight, no chaser” sort of device where the harmonic balance doesn’t get “improved” and that badly-recorded cymbal will still sound like eggs frying (as it should). But on well-recorded albums, such as Todd Rundgren’s Runt, which is over 30 years old, it was easy to hear that the newly remastered MQA version on Tidal had a level of clarity and articulation that I had never heard from previous releases. I was even more aware that the piano was recorded on a tape machine that had some speed stability issues, but the increased lucidity of the presentation made even that sonic wart more acceptable.

 

Imaging through the SX-1000R was laterally precise to the point that on some cuts I could not only pinpoint each primary instrument accurately, but the secondary and tertiary players also occupied distinct locations across the soundfield. On the 192/24 MQA version of the Cars’ “Just What I Needed,” I could not only hear Elliot Easton’s muted rhythm guitar on the left, but also the secondary rhythm guitar that was nestled just to the right and behind Ric Ocasek’s lead vocals, in front of the drum kit in the center of the soundstage. Unlike most versions I’ve heard in which that center rhythm guitar track gets buried by the drums halfway through the cut, on this MQA version that guitar remained distinct throughout.

Soundstage width was determined more by each musical selection than by the system itself. On some cuts, such as Chance the Rapper’s “Same Drugs” via Tidal, the synth drum pans extended from one wall in my listening room all the way to the other. On Thin Lizzy’s “The Cowboy Song” from their Live and Dangerous album, the crowd’s sounds on the Tidal MQA version were even wider than the band’s. Switching to a mono source, Charlie Christian’s Genius of the Electric Guitar on CD, the entire band on “Flying Home” seemed no wider than a strand of spaghetti held by one end.

Treble extension was both smooth and incisive. There was no loss of air on the flute and piccolo on my own live concert recordings. Also, when I compared MP3 versions of several recordings I know well with full-res or hi-res versions, the MP3s lacked that last bit of air and treble extension when compared to the uncompressed versions played through the SX-1000R.

Bass extension, speed, and pitch definition through the SX-1000R proved to be among the best I’ve heard from any power amplifier. Take DJ Snake’s “Too Damn Low” from Tidal—the SX-1000R preserved the “puff of air” that accompanied the low-frequency attack. Also, the pitch of the synth drums was easy to identify and remained easy to hear throughout their decay from low to too damned low. I have my Spatial M3 Turbo S loudspeakers set up so their bass rolls off naturally without any crossover-imposed augmentation or restriction. Even when the pair of JL Audio Fathom f112 subwoofers were turned off, plenty of well-defined and well-controlled upper and midbass remained.

Inner detail and low-level information retention through the SX-1000R were exemplary. Listening to the remastered MQA version on Tidal of Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” all the subtle micro-dynamics of the slightly fluttery piano as well as the variations of her vocal vibrato were obvious. On the well-recorded “live” album Cayamo Sessions at Sea by Buddy Miller and Friends, on the “Angel from Montgomery” cut featuring Brandi Carlile and Lone Bellow, it was easy to hear every instrument, including the cello drone and the background fills.

When I compared the SX-1000R with the power amplifier I reviewed most recently, the Bel Canto REF600M ($2495 each), I noticed that the former had more precise lateral imaging, but the latter had a better sense of depth. Also, the SX-1000R’s images had better defined edges while the Bel Cantos’ had greater dimensionality but less distinct edges. There was some subtle difference in image height between the two amps with the SX-1000R having a consistently higher image (but not by much). In presentation the SX-1000R was a bit more forward, with the listening perspective moved two or three rows closer.

Another power amplifier on premises for comparison was the Pass X150.8 ($6400). The Pass projected a more three-dimensional image than the Wyred 4 Sound. Also, the overall presentation through the Pass seemed more relaxed, but with an equal amount of low-level information and detail. Like the REF600M, the X150.8 had a less forward presentation than the SX-1000R, but it also had a greater sense of intimacy, envelopment, and bloom. The X150.8 also created a slightly larger image overall, with greater height, width, and depth. Overall, the Pass X150.8 is one heck of a fine power amplifier.

I also have a Pass X150.3 power amplifier that I’ve used regularly over the past 25 years. Compared with the SX1000R the X150.3 was noticeably noisier at the speakers with a louder hiss level and a small amount of low-level buzz. The X150.3 had a warmer and less controlled midbass that lacked the definition and detail of the SX-1000R. The X150.3 was also less forward in its image presentation, more like the Bel Canto REF600M and Pass X150.8. Finally, the X150.3 was more three-dimensional than the SX-1000R, but the SX-1000R had more precise lateral imaging. As I switched back and forth between the two amps I kept thinking that the ideal power amplifier would possess a combination of the best characteristics of each—which would result in it sounding much like a Pass X150.8.

Summary
At the beginning of the review I posed the question of whether the latest switching amplifier technologies equaled the sonic performance of more traditional linear Class AB amplifiers. While I found that the SX-1000R performed at a very high level, it did not quite equal the current-production Pass X150.8. But it also costs $2800 less and will use substantially less energy during its lifetime. So, while the SX-1000R does not yet surpass a cost-no-object traditional-circuit topology, it is, without a doubt, a fine and near-state-of-the-art performer.

If you require a power amplifier that can generate oodles of effortless output, runs cool, produces a very precise lateral soundstage, has substantial bass extension and control, has a neutral harmonic balance, and is exceedingly quiet, the Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000R should be on your short list. It does its job with understated aplomb so you can focus on the music. Also, I have little doubt that, like its predecessor the SX-1000, the Wyred 4 Sound SX-1000R is practically a shoe-in for a seventh TAS Editors’ Choice award. It is simply that good.

Specs & Pricing

Type: Switching (Class D) monoblock power amplifier
Output power: 625W into 8 ohms, 1225W into 4 ohms
Inputs: Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA
Output impedance: 0.005 ohms
Dimensions: 8.5″ x 4.125″ x 13.5″
Weight: 13 lbs.
Price: $1799 each

WYRED 4 SOUND
4235 Traffic Way
Atascadero, CA 93422
(805) 466-9973
wyred4sound.com

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