Class D Amplification Announcement


After 60 some odd years of disappointment, Class D has finally arrived. As per The Absolute Sound’s Jonathan Valin, the Borrenson-designed Aavik P-580 amp “is the first Class D amplifier I can recommend without the usual reservations. …the P-580 does not have the usual digital-like upper-mid/lower-treble glare or brick wall-like top-octave cut-off that Class D amps of the past have evinced.”

Past designers of Class D and audiophiles, rejoice; Michael Borrenson has finally realized the potential of Class D.

psag

regarding reviews, and in particular, doing apt comparisons of competing gear in reviews, i am 100% with @soix

of course a review can be a piece with just well crafted prose about the subject piece, and on its own it is of some help, but to me, as a consumer of such reviews, it is NOWHERE as helpful as when a reviewer carefully states his/her perceived sonic differences, pros and cons, versus what most would consider to be head on competitors/alternatives to the review piece

comparative info, even if subjective, is VERY USEFUL to a reader gathering info, for a whole host of reasons (hardly worth enumerating, it is common sense) -- that said, for a publication that needs to please many, multiple stakeholders (i.e. advertisers, retailers, and so on), one can understand why sharp comparisons indicating ’a may be better than b’ is unwise and undersirable from the reviewer/publication perspective

still, it doesn’t change the fact that comparisons are useful, indeed very useful for the reader, as much as many commercial reviewers try to avoid them

If any Class D amp is “good enough” for you, you’re lucky.  Not being able to hear the differences will save you lots of money.  Unless you buy an Aavik. 

@lloydc Have you heard any of the newer GaN- or Purify-based amps?  They’re not your father’s Class D anymore. 

there is no top sparkle, midrange has never had lively crunch as A or AB no matter how many times you sell your selves they are so awesome, better than class A or AB,                ................Nobody says it's better than A- A/B...

Really? We've been making class A amplifiers for 49 years. While I am certainly not talking about all class D amplifiers, we feel that our class D amps sound better than our class A amps in that they are just as smooth in the mids and highs but exhibit greater detail in the rear of the soundstage (owing to lower distortion). FWIW our class A amps (which are triode OTLs) have been getting nice reviews and awards in the high end press for decades now.

If you have not heard Purifi super tweaked, GaN super tweaked, etc.....you have not heard what class D can do.  Have you heard AGD?  Have you heard the new Merrill MX amp just shown at a show?  Have you heard the Atmasphere monos?  Have you heard VTV with latest Purifi and discrete buffer on input?  Have you heard the Ultra stereo from Orchard?  Or the now gone big Cherrys?....or the Apollon amps?  Have you?  What is possible RIGHT NOW is not what was a few years ago.  It would be good to mention what class D you heard and when you heard it for reference.  Class D is changing all the time and getting better and better.  We shall see if Mytek can finally bring out their GaN based amps soon.....they said recently the mono blocks would start shipping in sept......of course, they were suppose to ship last summer.  Their modded Pascal based amps are pretty darn good so these new much more expensive GaN based amps have to be much better......or they won't sell.  I wish you a happy class d day.