Genesis Reference Amplifier 30
th
Anniversary Monoblock Owners Manual
7
About Your Amplifier
Background
The Genesis Reference Amplifier uses proprietary designs and circuits, high
quality components, and state-of-the-art Class D amplifier modules to deliver
sonic performance rivaling amplifiers costing much, much more. The design
brief was to deliver a load-invariant, wide-bandwidth amplifier that would
deliver the musicality, emotion, and tonal colors and timbre of a low-powered
valve amplifier with the reliability, power, and control of a high power solid-
state design.
A valve amplifier matched with an appropriate loudspeaker can produce a
sound that we can only call magical. The hard, brittle, and edgy presentation
of many transistor amplifiers is contrasted with the rich, lush and silky sound
of the tube amplifier. Often, valve amplifiers offer much better imaging and
sound stage presentation compared to an equivalently priced solid-state
amplifier. It is more musical, and the performance seems almost
alive
.
However, a solid-state amplifier often offers better control and dynamics, is
easier to set-up and to own (without having to change tubes every so often).
Except for Class A solid state amplifiers, they also run much cooler and
consume less electricity than valve amplifiers. Solid-state amplifiers are also
able to drive a far wider range of loudspeakers than most valve amplifiers.
The Genesis Reference Amplifier (GRAmp) offers the best of both worlds,
without the disadvantages of either.
Design and Construction
The GRAmp challenges the status quo of music amplifiers by marrying the
advantages of tube (emotion, imaging, soundstage, and portrayal of tonal
colors) with solid state (control, dynamics and accuracy). It uses a modified
Class D power amplifier module with ground-breaking power supply
technologies, and resonance and vibration control to achieve this.
Dynamic Power Delivery Supply (DPDS)
Traditional DC power supplies developed with established design principles
are usually specified into a constant steady current draw with a resistive
load. However, except for Class A amplifiers (and Class AB at low power),
the load is not linear. The power supply is hence specified for the maximum
current drawn, but such a huge power supply is often slow. Resulting in a
dark, brooding, muscle-bound sound.
The Genesis DPDS, on the other hand, is designed to deliver current into a
non-linear, dynamic, rapidly changing musical load, leading to a sense of