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Do all Class D amps lack soundstage depth?

Hello!
Recently I bought a class D amp for my friend from Audiogon - PS Audio Trio A-100. In general, I liked it sound very much. Compared to the power section of my much cheaper integrated amp (NAD C320BEE), Trio A-100 sounded fresher, more transparent, richer and juicier. NAD was obviously duller and more reserved. Trio A-100 seemed to energize the air with a sort of vibrancy, while NAD seemed more lifeless. (Of course, I am exaggerating the difference between the amps a bit to make it more clear how they differ from each other.) However, Trio A-100 lacked one parameter, which is very essential for me and without which I cannot truly get lost in the music – namely, the soundstage was flat. It wasn’t absolutely flat, no – but NAD did so much better in this department. When NAD was playing, I heard which instruments and singers were farther from me and which were closer to me. When Trio was playing, everything seemed to be on the same line, equidistant from me.

The previous owner of PS Audio Trio A-100 had told to me about its sound before I bought the amp from him, and he frankly admitted that the soundstage was kind of flat. Before this purchase, I nearly bought another Class D amp – namely, Bel Canto S300. Eventually, this amp went to another buyer, but the owner shared with me his impressions about this amp and, among other things, he wrote: “There might be less depth with some recordings”.

So, at least two owners of Class D amps confessed that their amps lacked soundstage depth.

I wonder – are all Class D amps like that? Is the lack of depth something which is intrinsically inherent in Class D?

My second question is – what if I buy TWO Class D amps and use them as monoblocks – will it solve the problem with the flatness of the soundstage?

Any advice based on personal experience will be much appreciated.
ironmine
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
What goes between the amp and the speakers are the speaker cables, and that is a whole other story.

My preamp was designed, because there were virtually no preamps good enough. You would have had to dig real deep in your pockets.

Class D will spotlight any defect in the chain, and amplify that to annoyance as if to meat punishment.
magnumpi205
504 posts
 
Muralman1,
Do you have a class D amp?
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
He seems to be on another planet today. Direct questions don't phase him.

Dave
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
On his "System" description Muralman1 shows H2O Class-D monoblocks driving Apogee Scintillas. That system will certainly be revealing of any weakness in the front end.

Dave
ironmine OP
41 posts
 
Some guys commented that "the other components in your system affect the class D amps more then you would think" (Tan43) and that it "sounds like a speaker placement issue" (2chnlben).

I would like to emphasize that when me and my friend compared my NAD and his Trio A-100, we used the same room, same speakers, same cables, same preamp, same DAC, same songs, etc. We just changed the power amps - that’s all. So, it is hard for me to believe that I have an issue with speaker placement or other components.

I would think that Heavystarch is right – the culprit must be the same ICEpower 200ASC module used in both PS Audio Trio A-100 and Bel Canto S300.

What about PS Audio HCA-2? Does it use the same module as these two amps?

In general, I am looking for a class D amp, which I want to buy used at around $1000 and which can give to me a good feeling of depth in the soundstage. You know that feeling which you get when you close your eyes and the walls in your room simply disappear (especially the wall behind the speakers), because the sound comes at you from places which are much further then the wall behind the speakers. When I open my eyes again I am always surprised to see the wall only 3 m away from me – because, I swear that just one second ago I heard sounds which were coming at me from 10 or 15 meters away from me… I wonder if such kind of magic is attainable from class D amps within my budget...
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