Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 250wpc st amp-great review

The ST-500 is a 250 watts per channel stereo power amplifier that does 550 watts into 4 ohm loads.

In the first review they raved. John Potis of Positive feedback summed up with:
"I'll just come to the point: in some ways the Wyred 4 Sound is a ground breaking accomplishment that'll bring a new level of power and sophistication to a budget conscious listening audience that could only dream of such performance before."

"Because if it's good music that is the goal here and you're looking for a high-powered solid-state amplifier, the Wyred 4 Sound ST 500 comes too damned close to the best out there at a price way too reasonable to be ignored." John Potis

Read the entire review at:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue39/wyred4sound.htm

In the August 2008 Ultimate AV review David Vaughn sums up with:
In my time with this amp, I have been in audio heaven. When I review a product, I usually look forward to placing my own equipment back in my rack, but that wasn't the case here. After I reinstalled my Anthem, I instantly missed the Wyred 4 Sound, and I immediately put it on my short list of upgrades—it's that good."

Read the entire review at:
http://ultimateavmag.com/amplifiers/808wyred/

Here is a user comment:

TO: Underwoodwally
"Got it yesterday and quite love it. Seldom does the performance match the hype but the ST500 does. It's the first amp I've found that outperforms the Pass Aleph 30.
thanks Walter
aloha, Barry"

Wyred 4 Sound amps are manufactured by Cullen Circuits of California. Still doesn’t ring a bell?

Cullen Circuits has been in business for 20 years years and has manufactured amplifiers and other electronics for the following: PS Audio, Ampzilla, Infinity, Genesis, BGW, Camelot, CAT and many more. Now are you staring to get the picture?

Wyred 4 Sound amplifiers are only sold Internet direct, and I am work with the factory. What this means to you is that there is no dealer mark-ups, and therefore, these amps are being sold at about 1/2-1/3rd the price of competitive products with are all sold at substantially higher prices.

The ST-500 is a true dual mono design. The only common parts are the chassis itself and the power cord. The ST-500 uses the same ICE based amp power modules as the Jeff Rowland $4700.00 watt mono amps and the $3000.00 PS Audio GCA250.

They are then modified to sound better. Modifications include extensive use of Dale resistors and Muse audiophile grade capacitors as well as other upgraded parts. These amps also feature a custom buffered dual FET input stage designed by Bascom King. This very high quality input stage has an input impedance of 61k to work with both solid state and tube preamps.

Here is a user review:
"Hi, got my SX-500's Monday, hooked them up that night with my Cary SLP-03 balanced preamp (new also)
, let it play for one day, last night I sat down to listen and I was blown away these amps sound incredible,
more detail, more depth, greater dynamic range, I swear I good tell that Ray Charles (new sacd) was sitting
at his piano with his voice projecting from left to right instead of forward, big upgrade from my Krell 400xi
intergrated. I bought these on Walter Liedermans recommendation unheard and also since Dan Wright
mentioned he liked the sound ( I have Dan's new phono stage), paid full retail and have no regrets, cant wait
to listen to vinyl tonight!!!!" JS

Here is what Dan Wright, the owner of Modwright had to say about his personal Wyred 4 Sound amp:
"I am currently using a Wyred 4 Sound amp that I purchased from Underwood Hifi - www.underwoodhifi.com; 770.667.5633. Walter Liederman is great to deal with and is the ONLY dealer for Wyred 4 Sound products.

"As far as listening goes, so far, with my big Greybeards being driven by only 2CH of the amp, via the 250W modules, I am VERY impressed. Bass is thunderous and controlled. Highs sparkle with no fatigue and the noise floor is NON-EXISTANT. We are driving the amp with our own tube equipment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!"

Thanks, Dan W.
President, ModWright Instruments Inc.

You will find all specifications listed below, but it is worth noting that these amps have a distortion level below 0.02% and a damping factor of 2000 for tremendous bass control.

Sonics are exceptional with superb low level resolution, exceptional transparency and tremendous bass detail and extension. There are a number of big name 250 watt ICE based amps that have received Class A reviews all over the world. Rest assured that the ST-500 is as good as the best and better than most.

See the technical info at the bottom of this ad.

All Wyred 4 Sound amps are Made in the USA (California) and come with a 3-year factory warranty.

Features are below this ad.

I also have the other amps in this line. The 570 watt per channel stereo amp is only $1995.00. It does 1140 watts per channel into 4 ohms and is extremely similar to the $6700.00 Jeff Rowland version less the "Audio Jewelry" look.

We accept Visa and MasterCard as well as money orders. Read our AudiogoN #1 rated feedback and then call me at 770-667-5633 to discuss these ultra high value products.

220-240 volt versions are available for export. International sales are handled by bank funds wire transfer only.

ICE CUBE ST-500 stereo power Amplifier
- 250W into 8ohms (conservatively)550w into 4 ohms
- 16.5"w x 4.25"h x 14.25"d
- Two ohm stable operation
- Balanced and unbalanced input
- Gold plated RCA inputs
- Custom buffered input stage w/61K ohm input impedance
- WBT insulated binding posts
- Dual mono design-Two monos in one box
- Extremely low noise
- Enhanced powerful bass
- Warm and inviting
- Very good low level resolution & detail
- Huge soundstage
- Excellent imaging
- Very low low distortion
- Powered by ICE POWER®.
- FULL OUTPUT THD+N - 83 % total efficiency @ FULL OUTPUT
- CCIF Intermodulation distortion = 0.002%, 19kHz/20kHz
- Damping factor = 2000, 100Hz, 8 ohm
- Factory Selectable mains 115/230VAC
- Stand-by power consumption 4.1W
- Thermal protection
- Over current protection
- DC output protection
• Sound optimized soft clip
• Rugged construction
• Laser Etched 3/8" Milled and Anodized Aluminum Front panel
• Custom insulated 5 way binding posts
• Gold plated unbalanced (RCA) inputs
• Neutrik Balanced (XLR) inputs
• Covered by a 3-YEAR WARRANTY

The following details some of the reasons why these amps outperform many of the big name competition. This was taken from an Internet post by Wyred 4 Sound:
There are many sonic differences with our amplifiers. The main reasons are held within our direct-coupled, balanced, dual FET input stage (input buffer). Not only does this raise the input impedance to 61.9K ohms which allows source equipment to easily and accurately drive the amplifier.

The standard ICE modules which are found in the many other amplifiers have 8K ohms on the positive input and 10K ohms on the negative input to the ICE amp. So if you’re using RCA’s for instance, your source would be driving an 8,000 ohm load which isn’t really bad, but much harder to drive than 61.9K ohms. The lower impedance your source has to drive, the more you will experience lower volume levels, and slightly higher distortion going into your amplifier. This normally changes the way a preamp can amplify the signal applied, thus giving you less than optimal sound.

Balanced amplifiers (differential, driven from + and – signals) have a much better performance when driven balanced, which ours does. All the parts you will find on our input buffer are of the best quality. We use Dale Rn55D copper leaded resistors, Wima, and MUSE audio grade capacitors, and a thick traced PCB to connect everything. Audio signal doesn’t sound as good through standard magnetic steel leaded resistors, and electrolytic capacitors.

Inside the FETs on all of our input buffers, there is a voltage to current conversion. This is where we get the sweeter sound. The way a FET works is the current that flows from the output (the drain to source current) is controlled by the voltage on the input (the gate). This has a softening effect that complements the slight brightness and edgy sound of the Class D amplifier. It tends to make everything softer, smoother, and accurate. Given that the function of the amplifier, our input stage (buffer) has unity gain (no gain produced), and is ultra transparent.

We also perform modifications to the modules in every amplifier to enhance its’ performance. We bypass critical input coupling caps to allow audio to freely flow through while still allowing for DC protection, and “beef-up” the servo (feedback) circuit for enhanced bottom-end extension. Every module is connected to the binding posts with 14AWG 99.9% OFC high strand pure copper paralleled with 14AWG high strand PURE silver wire.

One of my favorite benefits with this amplifier is the sound stage, and AWESOME imaging. If the imaging is correct, you should be able to listen to your speakers R/L, and not hear each one as being separate. Instead, they should blend together and sound like one, half way between the two. Sound stage depths are also much more prominent. You should be able to hear differences vertically, horizontally, and even depth (front to back). Your speakers would obviously have to be able to produce these as well, but nearly all hi-end loudspeakers should be able to produce such results.

Our amplifiers have "tweaks" installed and are built to a much higher standard than other companies (most of which we also OEM manufacture for).

Brands carried:
Acoustic Zen, Audio Space tube electronics, Bob Carver tube amps, Creek, Denon, Emerald Physics, Epos, Gallo, Gini Systems, Graham Slee, Jolida, LSA amps & speakers, Marantz Reference, Modwright amps & preamps, Mordaunt Short loudspeakers, Music Hall, Okki Nokki record cleaners, Peachtree Audio, Project, PS Audio, PurePower AVPS, Quad, Raysonic, Rolls Bellari, SONOS, Silverline Audio speakers, Spatial Computer, Spread Spectrum Technologies, VMPS Loudspeakers, Wadia iTransport, Wireworld, Wyred 4 Sound, Wywires.

Sales policies on our website at www.underwoodhifi.com