Oh how I wish Class D amps ...

Another poster stated: "Sir Timtim,with a price difference of around 4500 buckaroos i would expect complete annihilation." refering to how a non-class D amp (McCormich to be specific) compared to a class D amp (W4S to be specific).

This is where the line needs to be drawn. The class D amp manufacturers and the owner proponents of them make statements that these amps blow away the best of the class A amps at many times the price. Yet when anybody compares them to another (non class D amp) at a higher price and the class A (or whatever) amp wins, this reference to price is always drawn.

Are the proponents and manufacturers therefore saying that "their" class D amp only beats faulty amps that cost much more or the "good" amps that cost much more?

I honestly cannot put my finger exactly on the part of the class D amps performance (that I have owned and/or auditioned), but I do know that over time installed in my system I listen to music less and enjoy it less when the class D amps are installed. When putting my class A amps back into the systems, I find that I return to listening to more music and enjoying it more.

Is there a future where class D amps will compare performance wise with the better class A amps (regardless of cost)? I sure hope so, but so far, I have not heard a class D amp that can compare to the class A amps that I "like" or own.

Most recently, I installed my BC Ref 1000s on a pair of maggies I picked up recently, and this seems to be the best I have heard from these amps. But I have yet to install these speakers on my main system with my class A amp as a comparison.

I think it is just that to SOME people class D sounds great and for OTHERS not so great. You happened to be in the second group. Some reviewers and makers (like Jeff Rowland) love class D while others hate it. It is all subjective.

On the other hand it would be hard to find 2x1000W class A amplifier to compete with BC Ref 1000 not only for monetary reasons but also for power requirements (10kW@110V=91A)

"On the other hand it would be hard to find 2x1000W class A amplifier to compete with BC Ref 1000 not only for monetary reasons but also for power requirements (10kW@110V=91A)"

Not to mention size and weight.

I pay no attention to this sounds better than that discussions. There are many viable high quality options. You just have to pick and chose. Everyone has different wants/needs/requirements.

The undeniable advantages of Class D is size, weight and power consumption. Also frequently, but not always, cost. That matters to some (like me) and not others.

I do not expect any new amp technology to sound radically better than older technologies categorically these days. There is a limit to how good any system can sound, usually determined most by source material and listening room characteristics.

I will say that the clear benefits of Class D are of the most significance when compared to similar high powered monster amps.

In cases where smaller, lowered powered Class A or Class A/B amps suffice, Class D amps may still suffice as well but they tend to lose their distinct advantages.

Any of the class D users driving a pair of soundlab speakers;if so whats your opinion?

First off, the Ref 1000 is not a 1000 WPC amp, it is a 500 WPC amp (but that is really only for peak/short periods, not continuous). My experience has been that my BC1000 does not have sufficient power for my Thiel CS6 speakers, whereas, my 125 WPC all class A Mark Levinson has much better control over these speakers. I also feel that the 125 wpc Levinson amp holds together better than the BC Ref 1000 when driving my Watt/Puppies (a sign of running out of power?) at high volume levels.

My prior Krell FPB 300-C was rated at 300 WPC, continuous, at 8 ohms (in reality it was closer to 380-400+ WPC, continuous at 8 ohms from 20-20K htz.) and that amp had a lot more power than my current Levinson amp.

From my limited experience with non-cone drivers combined with the class D amps is that they seem to shine a bit more with these speakers than with box speakers - that being preliminary as my listening has been brief to date with this set-up.

I love the idea of what the class D amps bring to the table, size, weight, heat, power consumption. But as a believer in class A over A/B, these issues are all secondary to sound for me. And so far, it has been the sound performance that has been lacking in my system, in my experience, with my sound goals with the class D amps.