Digital Amplifier Questions

I can only offer my experiences in my case. Different products may always behave and perform differently.

Do digital amps benefit from being left on 24/7in the same way the ss amps do?

I don't notice too much difference in teh sound quality either way but I leave mine on most of teh time unless I know I will not be listening for a day or more mostly out of convenience. Power draw idle is small.

2. Is plugging a digital amp into a different outlet as your preamp as crucial compared to a ss amp?

Digital (Class D) amps have their own unique noise characteristics due to their high speed switching nature. I find using shielded ICs to be beneficial in this regard but also use unshielded ones but these tend to be more sensitive to noise issues.

3. Do digital amps have small transformers? If so, is distancing equipment from one another less important? (My peachtre Nova Pre/220 look best stacked).

Mine uses a dedicated power supply circuit board internally. No large or heavy parts involved. It works well...the amp never sounds even slightly strained or runs our of steam or clips that I have heard. Some other designs I have read about do appear to still use overbuilt large and heavy power supplies that may work well also but seems to defeat the purpose of being small and lightweight.

4. When upgrading power cords on a digital amp, do you look for cords that do well with digital gear like your preamp and dac, or do you still go for a beefy cord?

I use upgraded cords on my line leve gear to control noise but still use stock cords on my amps in that I have no clear reason to change. They seem to do teh job needed well. I might try better ones someday just to see but stock cords are not a problem as best I can tell.

I apologize ahead of time for my ignorance on the matter! Thanks!

Whoops in response to question 2, I do plug my amps into a different wall outlet from the rest of my gear mostly as a convenient way to utilize the outlets I have available. My line level gear plugs into a conditioning strip and my amps plug into a different wall outlet directly. Seems to work well. Noise levels are non existent and everything sounds most clean smooth and dynamic.

In my system pic, you will notice that I do keep my amps on their own stand physically separated from other line level gear to help insure against noise. Can only help and not hurt. One can always experiment either way to see if it makes a difference. I also keep some space between amps as additional physical isolation between the two.

ALso not that it seems there have been strides made with newer Class D amps in regards to noise levels. Mine are a generation old and are quieter than what proceeded them. The latest and greatest are likely even better in taht regard, but of course every product is different. Its just worth noting that these things can produce a fair amount of RF noise if not addressed in the design.

Also not that Class D amps are switching amps, not digital, however both use very high frequency oscillators that produce RF noise and that must be controlled, either by design or otherwise. Most modern devices like Class D amps and computers that can suffer from noise issues designed for hifi audio use tend to have these things largely in control due to their potential negative effects on sound quality but just be aware that it can be a real issue that can limit performance if not under control somehow.

Once is enough!!

B limo,

By 'digital amps' do you mean class d amps? 'digital amps' is a bit of a misnomer probably persisting because people believe 'class d' refers to digital, but it was just the next letter in the alphabet used to designate various types of audio amplifiers using different methods of amplification. Class A defines amplifiers that use a more traditional circuit that has input devices that constantly remain 'on', resulting in excellent sound but produce excessive heat as a byproduct. Class D amps use 'switch mode power supplies' (smps) that are able to switch on and off extremely quickly, which produces much less wasted heat as a byproduct. I use a pair of class d mono-blocks that sound very good, output over 1k watts and barely get warm to the touch no matter how hard they're driven. I leave them on 24/7 since they only require a few watts of electricity at idle.

I'm no expert on amplifier design, so others may need to answer your other questions. So, if by 'digital' you meant class d, then yes I would advise to leave them on constantly. I thought it would be useful to clarify your question before your thread progresses.

Let us know,
Tim