Visit our showroom in Rockaway, NJ and get 10% off your purchase. Details here.
Main Menu

STARKRIMSON® ULTRA (500W) REVIEWS

Accolades and Awards

secrets-rec-gear-logo-2024-finale-feature-350
Future Audiophile Gear of The Year Award Badge
recommended-gear-23-759x500-1-min.png
secrets-boa-2022-final_Page_30_2-min.png

Reviews

Print and Online Publications

Kelly – ABX Audiophiles (December 2023)
“The Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra DMC 2.0 amplifier is a stunning piece of neutrality and honesty.“

Steven Stone – Future Audiophile (November 2023)
Gear of The Year 2023 – Best Affordable Audio Power Amplifier
“The Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra 2.0 delivers a level of sonic quality, power output, and energy efficiency that eclipses previous power amplifier technology at an eminently affordable price. If you need a powerful power amplifier that doesn’t gobble up a kilowatt of wasted energy from the wall, stays cool regardless of the speaker’s impedance load, and is quiet enough to connect to reasonably efficient loudspeakers, there’s an exceedingly short list of candidates, and the Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra 2.0 is right at the top of mine.”

Paul Cash – Hi-Fi Trends (October 2023)
“…the speakers disappear, leaving a realistic facsimile of the performance filling the air in front of you. It’s a beautiful thing.” and “It just got out of the way and let the composition shine, which was very special.”

Steve Hoffman – Stevehoffman.tv (Septermer 2023)
“I will say that as solid state amps go, I like it much better than the McIntosh 400 amp that I was using for a while. The Orchard Audio amp is much more musical with well-rounded tonality, wonderful dynamics and a pleasing overall sound. You can play this system for hours without any ear fatigue whatsoever. It’s great.”

Gene Hopstetter – Home Theater HiFi (July 2022)
Thumbs Up Award 2022
“…the most transparent amplifier I’ve ever had in my system.” and “There is a whole world of undiscovered microdetail waiting for you in your recordings.”

Stuart Yaniger – AudioXpress (May 2022)
“Both in use and on the bench, the Ultra was an exemplar of modern audio power amplifier technology, and could easily be an endgame for upgraders.”
and “Lots of superbly distortion-free power in a tiny, cool, and customizable package or prepackaged in an unobtrusive stereo amp. How can you go wrong?”

Nick Wilbur – Toids DIY Audio (March 2022)
“I was amazed, it was a complete transformation of those speakers… they sounded significantly better than they have ever sounded before” and “I was really impressed with the service I got… Leo was very responsive to any questions that I had”

Ryan Herrera – RH Audio Reviews (March 2022)
“No matter what I listened to, whether it be Jazz, Classical, Folk, Rock, R&B, and so on the amp never missed a beat. And while doing so, it ran silent, as well as cool to the touch, both of which I highly value in an amp.” and “If you are looking for a true Audiophile Powerhouse, the Starkrimson Ultra is it!”

David Snyder – Dagogo (October 2021)
“…the background does not get any blacker than this.” and “There was no hint of overload or distortion, and the echo trails and hall reverberation went on and on, extending further into the soundstage than I thought possible…” and “What amazes me is how the Starkrimson Streamer Ultra can deliver such excellent results with minimum fuss.”

Youtubers

About Our Company

We are an audio company that provides an immersive listening experience by offering top-quality DACs, streamers, and amplifiers.

Pages

Shipping Policy
Refund/Returns
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Warranty

Contact Us

Contact Us
Call Us
Live Chat

Email Subscription

* indicates required
 
 
  
 Orchard Audio LLC 
 
 
 Orchard Audio LLC
  
 51 Google reviews 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 Orchard Audio LLC 
 
 
 Orchard Audio LLC
  
 51 Google reviews 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 E Lins 
 
 
 E Lins 
 
2024-02-12
 
 
  
 
Friendly place, honest and knowledgeable guy. Direct and frank exchange, business-driven up-to-the-point purchases.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Wing Ng 
 
 
 Wing Ng 
 
2024-02-11
 
 
  
 
Leo was great to deal with and responsive in working with me to make sure I was satisfied with his amp.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Robert Audet 
 
 
 Robert Audet 
 
2023-07-18
 
 
  
 
If Leo was a DAC, he'd be top of the line for sure.  Few years back when I first heard of Orchard Audio, checked their initial product which was right up their with this new trend of SBCs out of the UK which made robotic learning for kids the new hype, as well as low cost, high quality devices for men and their guilty pleasure, the SOUND.
What made it very interesting is that in the world of RaspberryPi, HifiBerry and so many others, you had this company who's owner and creator was a rock star among us men.  Everyone was talking about Leo this and Leo that.  The product reviews, although always among the most recommended, still came after all the praise for Leo.
Yesterday I got my Orchard-Audio PecanPi Streamer from a private vendor.  The unit was 2nd hand, it arrived in a box with nothing else but a note: Enjoy the music.
Of course nothing worked as I had hoped it would and I was left with no other choice but to contact the company for HELP!
I got on a chat line with someone at the company and that person soon discovered that we were both talking different languages and where could not even described my new purchase  correctly.  Well lucky for me, that person did not give up on me, he tried one thing, and then another, and this went on until we hit a key word that brought us together on the same page, with a sudden clear understanding of what I had to do.  45min. that's all it took after that for me to get my new PecanPi  Streamer connected, with a new SD card in and a fresh configuration.

That was the moment when music started playing, not any kind of music, but for me at least, the MUSIC that I as a man have been evolving to.  I have now reached plenitude and am now ready to die if I must, but before, please let me listen to that music a little while longer.  Oh!, did I mention that the poor sole at the end of the chat, the one who walked me through Dante's Inferno, well, yeah it was indeed...Leo.
Leo thanks for the MUSIC and for being you.
Robert Audet
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Robert A Rust 
 
 
 Robert A Rust 
 
2023-07-01
 
 
  
 
Leo, after our discussion at the Florida International Audio Fest, I am so glad that you built a three channel amplifier, the Duo/Trio. Just having a single power cord to get your amplification over three mono amps with power supplies and power cords is a great help. More importantly, it goes extremely well with my tube amplifier used for my front speakers. I think the GanFet class D works well for the other three speakers because it matches closely to the power rating of the tube amp,  adds clarity to the center channel, and balances the frequency in the rear speakers, without competing with the front speaker pair. I also think that the use of the RCA to XLR converters are important to use instead of XLR to RCA cables. The increase of 6 dB improves the sound and allows the Duo/Trio to work optimally. Why buy an amplifier and then not use it to its full capacity? Anyone who wants to purchase this three channel amp, or any other of your amps, should seriously consider adding these converters to their system. To this point, I like the converters so much that I am ordering a third for my tube amplifier to insure that I am getting a fully balanced performance.

Great job all around, thank you for taking the plunge. I hope this amplifier helps all of those people looking to upgrade their amplifiers using an Audio Video Receiver or processor, including those with tube front channels.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Ronald Hale 
 
 
 Ronald Hale 
 
2023-06-16
 
 
  
 
Leo is awesome! He is the owner. Very quick shipping! Great product! And great customer service. I have asked way too many questions. And he always answers the same day.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Dominic Rushe 
 
 
 Dominic Rushe 
 
2023-04-25
 
 
  
 
TL/DR: Sounds amazing. Extraordinary customer service. Highly recommended.

I have wanted to add a streamer to my hifi for a while - Rega Brio, KEF LS50s, CD and record player. But which one and what sort? Roon? Sonos? Bluetooth? WiFi? I went down the rabbit hole of reviews and forums.

I am not a technophobe by any means but a lot of the info I found was too technical and confusing. I just wanted a plug and play streamer for Tidal and was thinking of getting an Audiolab 600N. I didn’t want to spend too much as the tech seems to be advancing.

Then I read a John Darko piece about Raspberry Pi streamers and thought that seemed like an elegant solution but one that was too much of a DIY project for me to do by myself. More Googling and I found Orchard Audio.

Here’s a dude (Leo) in New Jersey with “decades of engineering expertise” at big companies making reasonably priced streamers that get great reviews. What’s not to like?

I bought the PecanPi, it arrived really quickly. It’s small, sturdy and has a solid, homemade feel that I love. I couldn’t wait to try it out.

I chose the Volumio option after discussion with Leo. Plugged it in and nothing. Ugh. I rebooted everything  (all very IT Crowd). Nothing. So I emailed Leo. Ten minutes later he had emailed me back. Problem was fixed (turned out it was just some glitch in my internet) but it was clear to me that Leo was on the case if I had issues.

So now it is up and running and it’s phenomenal. Hifi descriptions of sound are as impossible as wine reviews, it’s so subjective, one man’s blackberry and slate is another’s blueberry and tar. But for me the PecanPi (in my smallish NY apartment) is big, detailed, has a great, intimate, 3D feel and sounds as good playing Satie as it does the Oh Sees.

Very happy customer. Thank you!
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Jonathan 
 
 
 Jonathan 
 
2023-03-29
 
 
  
 
I was looking for the best GAN based Class D amplifier I could and stumbled across some positive reviews of the Starkrimson Ultra Gan amplifier.  My initial buying experience was atypical in that the amplifier wasn't able to deal with my 125vac due to it triggering the overvoltage circuit to cut off the amplifier. I'm not going to sugar coat it; I reacted a bit too hastily with my words g g and well in the end cooler heads prevailed and Leo agreed to put a better regulated replacement power supply and solved the problem for me. Right out of the gate this amp has a very deep punchy bottom end.  The midrange drivers and AMT tweeters sound as good as I've ever heard them now.  I'm glad I kept this amplifier as it offers so much better control over the bass with extremely natural sounding mids and high. I highly recommend you audition the Starkrimson Ultra before checking out other class D or Gan based amps
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Michael Valentiner 
 
 
 Michael Valentiner 
 
2022-12-29
 
 
  
 
Orchard Audio Starkrimson Stereo Ultra Review
Michael Valentiner

A big thanks to Leo for the opportunity to evaluate the Orchard Audio Starkrimson Stereo Ultra amp.

It is hard to add anything that hasn't been already said about this amp. It is detailed, dynamic, lively, has well defined bass, etc. Superlative in many aspects.

Detailed, smooth, and bright. Musical notes are very articulate and distinct from one another. Great separation of musical instruments. Percussion instruments are rendered in great detail. I was hearing things I hadn't heard in the mix before.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Riley Leclerc 
 
 
 Riley Leclerc 
 
2022-11-26
 
 
  
 
These little monoblocks paired with the streamer as a pre-amp is the smallest footprint endgame stereo set up out there.
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 stuart cadman 
 
 
 stuart cadman 
 
2022-10-08
 
 
  
 
I bought a PecanPi 18 months ago yet Leo didn't hesitate to advise on solving a technical issue I ran into today. Top Man!

    

Yelp
© 2024 Orchard Audio
Shopping Cart