450 Pound Monobloc Amplifier

Guido,

How about the current generation Class Ds that have been out there for a while, Icepower-based, Spectral, others? That would be a good baseline for such a comparison to see if/how the latest gen has upped the ante.

I've probably read such things in bits and pieces from various sources in recent years, especially when I was researching my own hi power amp purchase a few years back (yes I considered big monster amps from Pass, Krell, and others at the time but had no desire to go that way if avoidable), but I do not recall any comprehensive "shootouts" from a single source.

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Mark Levinson makes a switching monobloc, 500 wpc (8 ohms), but it weighs 150 pounds. Jeff Rowland, as mentioned above makes a 325 wpc (8 ohms) monobloc that weighs 54 lbs, probably 30 lbs of it is its heavy chassis.

I would really like to see where the other big names like Krell, Pass Labs, Bryston and the others could take the Class D or switching technology in the future. Even Audio Research has a switching amplifier. I'm sure if the brains of those companies pushed that technology forward, really high end sound would get more affordable.
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"I would really like to see where the other big names like Krell, Pass Labs, Bryston and the others could take the Class D or switching technology in the future."

One thing sure about technology in general, things generally get smaller, cheaper and more efficient over time.

Another sure thing is there will always be early adapters. Those are often not the biggest names but rather smaller upstarts that have something to gain from change/innovation.

Over time, a true innovation will gain more and more traction. Eventually, the more forward thinking big boys catch on. Some never do. You know what happens to them, right? That's why technical innovation and those who can drive it are always in demand.

I think Mapman is correct I have not seen any shootouts of class D vs pure class A either tube or solid state.

Some people argue that class D, as good as it is for the money, cannot really compete with best traditional SS amp. I can see that, especially with still limited bandwidth, but most of the weight is in the power supply that can be definitely class D (SMPS) since it is only holding steady voltage (much easier task than driving complex load with music signal). Rowland does it so why not the others? I think it is for three reasons:

1. Design itself is much more difficult than just
transformer+rectifier+capacitors
2. SMPS have bad rap from crude cheap computer applications
3. Audiophiles still believe that it has to be heavy to
sound good.

Third point is very important - why to design complicated light power supply when market believes that heavy=quality.