Class A to Class D and back again.
I have owned a variety of Class A and AB solid state amps and after a couple of auditions I thought I could improve on my situation with Ncore, NC1200 Class D monos. After a year, I found the Class D amps simply did not sound as natural to me as my former Class A and AB amps.
Some might describe what I hear as a deficiency with "decay" but I usually describe it as a deficiency in micro-dynamics and, a flattening of the soundstage, or lack of depth/dimensionality, compared to better amps. They also seem to lag behind in the high frequencies and how those can create a sense of space, venue and infill between performers. The end result could be described as the sound of individual musicians cutting tracks in a recording booth that are then put together to make music, instead of a band playing together and the music being recorded at one time. To me the Class D amps were just not as real sounding, which is similar to the opinion of the reviewer at Mono and Stereo in his review of the Mola Mola Kalugas, that you can find on-line.
End result, I am back to a pair of 300 wpc Class A monoblocks and find that they sound much more natural and enjoyable in my system....although they are not quite as cool looking, cool running, or as quiet.
I have owned a variety of Class A and AB solid state amps and after a couple of auditions I thought I could improve on my situation with Ncore, NC1200 Class D monos. After a year, I found the Class D amps simply did not sound as natural to me as my former Class A and AB amps.
Some might describe what I hear as a deficiency with "decay" but I usually describe it as a deficiency in micro-dynamics and, a flattening of the soundstage, or lack of depth/dimensionality, compared to better amps. They also seem to lag behind in the high frequencies and how those can create a sense of space, venue and infill between performers. The end result could be described as the sound of individual musicians cutting tracks in a recording booth that are then put together to make music, instead of a band playing together and the music being recorded at one time. To me the Class D amps were just not as real sounding, which is similar to the opinion of the reviewer at Mono and Stereo in his review of the Mola Mola Kalugas, that you can find on-line.
End result, I am back to a pair of 300 wpc Class A monoblocks and find that they sound much more natural and enjoyable in my system....although they are not quite as cool looking, cool running, or as quiet.