POWER AMPLIFIER
Reviewing LKV Research’s Veros PWR+ power amplifier in the September 2020 issue, Senior Contributing Editor Herbert Reichert enthusiastically opined, “the class-D LKV amp played equally rich and atmosphere-soaked through the entire audio band. It did atmospheric dreamy like class-A does atmospheric dreamy.” Herb concluded, “Sound quality and music enjoyment–wise, the LKV Research Veros PWR+ amplifier sits on a higher mountain than any other class-D amp I’ve encountered.”
“I kept two essential elements … and [thereby] preserved the sound character of the PWR+ at a dramatically lower price.”
I took Herb’s comments into consideration as I went searching for a power amplifier to complement my Sugden LA-4 preamplifier. The $10,000 LKV PWR+ ranked top on my list. I put in a request to LKV Research’s majordomo, Bill Hutchins, who dispatched the large, 50lb PWR+ to my Greenwich Village flat for evaluation.
I enjoyed the New Hampshire–made, 200Wpc (8 ohms) amplifier; it became my solid state/class-D reference power amplifier.1 The PWR+ presented an extravagant soundstage, bold dynamics, and clear, pure sound, with effortless, exemplary microdynamics and microdetail.
When I spied the shoebox-size LKV Research PWR-3 power amplifier ($3350) at Capitol Audiofest 2021, I wondered, Could this new class-D amp deliver a solid chunk of the sonic finesse of the PWR+ amp at a third of its price?
Design
The PWR-3, like the PWR+, is a “solid state stereo power amplifier with Purifi Audio’s 1ET400A class-D power amplifier modules,” Hutchins wrote to me in an email. The PWR-3 is much smaller, though: Its aluminum case stands just 3.5" high, 17" wide, and 13" deep. It
