Усилители мощности моно — PS Audio M1200 Amplifier

The M1200 Amplifier is a single-channel hybrid in the Stellar series from PS Audio, the work of Darren Myers, who earlier created the Stellar Phono stage for the company. It joins a vacuum tube input stage to a Class D output stage and was announced on 7 May 2020 for June shipping at a US price of USD 5,998 per pair.

Key specs that matter

The input stage uses a single hand-selected 12AU7 vacuum tube, the same type used in the BHK Signature amplifiers, which PS Audio chose for its gain and voltage characteristics in this circuit. Frequency response is 10 Hz to 20 kHz within 0.5 dB. The high-current output stage is a customised ICEpower module based on ICEedge technology. The amplifier is stable into 2 ohm and has a damping factor above 1,100 at 8 ohm. The maker quotes total harmonic distortion below 0.005% at 1 kHz and 1 W into 4 ohm. Output reaches 1,200 W into 4 ohm, and idle consumption is 27 W. Each unit measures 43.2 cm wide, 9.5 cm high and 30.5 cm deep, or 33 cm including connectors, and weighs 12.2 kg.

Engineering and use context

The tube stage runs in class A without feedback and has its own dedicated analogue power supply, separate from the supply serving the output stage. According to PS Audio, the ICEedge design lowers parasitic effects typical of switching amplifiers, including high-order harmonic distortion, phase distortion and output impedance instability, and the designer credits patented circuitry and feedback techniques for removing non-linear phase and impedance behaviour at the frequency extremes. The circuit is fully balanced from the input connectors onward, and the maker describes the whole design as a high-efficiency hybrid of tube and ICEedge technology. Connections per unit are RCA and XLR inputs plus two sets of solid copper plated binding posts, which allow bi-wiring. A 12 V trigger input allows remote switching. Black and silver versions exist, and PS Audio guarantees the amplifier for three years, parts and labour included.

Pairing

Stereo playback requires two of them. The XLR inputs suit a balanced preamplifier such as a Stellar or PMG Signature model from the same maker, and the trigger input lets a control unit fitted with a trigger output start both amplifiers at once. These load-handling traits suit loudspeakers with a demanding impedance curve.

Alternatives

The M700 Amplifier is the lower-powered monoblock in the same Stellar series, rated at 350 W into 8 ohm.