The Future of Audio Amplification


I have recently paired an Audio Research DS225 Class D amplifier with an Audio Research tube preamplifier (SP8 mkii). I cannot believe how wonderful and lifelike my music sounds. The DS225 replaced an Audio Research SD135 Class AB amplifier. Perhaps the SD135 is just not as good as some of the better quality amps that are out there, but it got me thinking that amazingly wonderful sonance can be achieved with a tubed pre and Class D amp. I have a hunch that as more people experience this combination, it will likely catch on and become the future path of many, if not most audiophile systems. It is interesting that Audio Research has been at the forefront of this development.
distortions
All I can say is the good recordings sound scary real including piano brass and vocals and its dead quiet in my little 12x12 office when the music stops.

Squeezebox Touch -> mhdt Constantine DAC -> Arc sp 16 preamp -> Bel Canto ref1000m Class D amps -> KEF ls50s.   Klipsch sw308 sub tossed in for good measure. 

Exactly Michael, how many threads on this forum revolve around system brightness regardless of amp topology. Get nos tubes, get better cables, toe your speakers in/out, get a power conditioner, better power cables, change your preamp, change your speakers....on and on and on.
Yep been there done that. That’s pretty much how these things always work.
And let me say, what ever you look at, these are both pathetic looking square wave shots, even for an old cheap 1970’s solid state amp to be producing,
This is the link about which this comment is made:

https://www.stereophile.com/images/1212AM1fig02.jpg

Obviously the above quote is false, being based on a Hasty Generalization:

Unless you didn't do the math, that's actually a very respectable waveform; 0.05milliseconds is 20KHz! Its pretty hard for **any** amplifier to make a good **squarewave** at 20KHz- to make it really square you need bandwidth to at least 10x the fundamental frequency.
We can see a bit of peaking in the waveform- probably the result of the phase shift of the filter, which is probably set fairly low to deal with the rather low 400KHz switching frequency; my guess is about 60KHz.

And the amplitude is pretty low, so the residual is easily seen. The residual is a bit high, about 1/2 volt. The link does not specify if the amp is under load, but if it is, then this is an older amp not representative of amps made in the last 5 years; if not under load that's quite decent despite the low switching frequency.







Listeners having a problem with their mids and highs have a system problem not a Class D amp problem.

They don't have the problem without the Class-D in the system, are you listening to your self, and you call yourself a room tuner. I wouldn't want to guess what you do to counter the mid/high problem.