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The Hifi Trajectory Of Class D Amplifiers

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I bought my first digital SLR camera back in 2005. Film SLR cameras were still king back then. Longtime film camera hobbyists and pros thumbed their noses at digital. Ten years later, film cameras have been surpassed by digital cameras and are nearly extinct. Millions of people use cameras. The market was already in place for anyone that would advance the technology of digital photography.

With Class D amps, you don't have a marketplace the size of the camera marketplace. There doesn't seem to be enough economic incentive to spend the necessary research dollars to advance the technology to get the same sort of improvement trajectory that digital photography has enjoyed.

Anyone care to speculate how long it will take for Class D amps to consistently rival the best tube, Class A and Class A/B across the board....and do it without resorting to the stratospheric prices that current non-Class D amps are priced at.
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128x128mitch4t
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Couple of people reported on another thread, that Rowland's new $38k class D integrated had the best sound of NY Audio show. Feel free to keep discussing bass guitar applications.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

Class D is still growing and coming out from it's infancy.
The technology isn't here YET to get the switching frequency for Class D far higher than what's available at present.
Once this technology is developed only then Class D may get to be considered real high end.

Doesn't matter how much is spent today like the above $38k Rowland, hifi manufacturers can't make the switching frequency technology happen, this can only come from big component manufacturers, like Burr Brown, Analog Devices and such.

Once this Technology is developed, and it's coming, all linear amps tube or solid state, will become worth less boat anchors, and Class D will become the norm for hiend instead of being just a good bass amp.

Cheers George
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t OP
1,610 posts
 
hifi manufacturers can't make the switching frequency technology happen, this can only come from big component manufacturers, like Burr Brown, Analog Devices and such.

George, is this because hifi mfgs pockets aren't deep enough to finance the research to advance the technology?

What's the incentive for Burr Brown, Analog Devices etc to advance the technology of high end Class D? That market is sooo small.

Why wouldn't a guy like Nelson Pass or Bob Carver look into Class D? Are the best brains in hifi amplification stuck on linear amplification? I believe if they put their minds to it, they could advance Class D.
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mapman's avatar
mapman
22,182 posts
 
Screw the technical theories and assessments.

Listen to some and make your own assessment.

You might like them better than a tube amp or not. There is a chance. It all depends. There is a lot of top notch performers out there of all types to consider.

Class D is a bigger threat to Class a and A/B I think than to tube amps. Class D and Class a/b amps will tend to work best in similar systems whereas tube amps are a different paradigm that requires other differences as well to work their best.

No doubt in my mind a $35K 1500 w/ch Class D integrated amp by Rowland will hold its own own with most anything and possibly even win head to head if all is done right.

But,if its loose, warm euphoric tube amp sound specifically you are looking for, Class D amps will not give you that.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,182 posts
 
Although technology is much different, I think it a good analogy that Class D eventually will do to other amp designs what digital cameras did to film cameras. it may take another 5-10 years of market growth still to totally dominate in most common applications. The reason will be because the technology is "greener" as well as being capable of doing the same applications as older amp technologies better and for less in general.

Tube amps have enough unique properties though I think to stick around even longer as a niche technology, much like phonograph technology.
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