Class D Technology
I'm concerned that comments like yours, and other posters earlier in this thread, may give readers the false impression that switching to class D involves some sacrifices in sound quality.Class D did exactly that at my house. I want to make it clear to everyone considering a switch from class A/B to class D amplification that these sort of comments may have been accurate for some early lower quality class D amps but are definitely not valid for current good quality class D amps.Not sure what you consider "current good quality class D amps" but to confirm, my comments are based solely on comparisons with the Ncore NC1200 Acoustic Imagery Atsah monoblocks ($10K/pair). Once you've experienced the extraordinary improvements a good recent class D amp will make in your system, you'll begin to realize how inaccurate, no longer relevant and simply untrue these types of comments are.Again, not here. My evaluation started with four amplifiers, all of which I owned and the Class D Ncore amps were the first eliminated. There were indeed sonic trade-offs and the Ncore amps did some things quite well (bass, tone, power, body and lack of noise). For some, those attributes at would be enough since they were enjoyable to listen to but, for me, there was a missing musicality factor that ended up being a deal-breaker, at least in my system and to my ears. The Atsahs, like Merrill's Veritas, use the stock NC1200 amplifier and power modules. I would like to hear those amplifier modules with a linear power supply as in Theta's Prometheus and I would also like to hear the NC1200 modules with an input buffer, as some are using like, I believe, Mola Mola in the Kaluga. I can only rationalize these sorts of comments by assuming that these individuals have obviously never auditioned a recent good quality class D amp in their system or anywhere else. Although it's possible they're just parroting comments they've heard years ago about early examples of class D.Again, be careful painting with a broad brush. Some of us have indeed auditioned and even owned amps considered to be "good quality Class D amps." I ended up voting with my wallet. Class D amps are obviously getting closer to sounding as good as really good Class A or AB amps and in some specific implementations may sound better. The Atsahs were good sounding amps but they were not as good-sounding as my other options. There have been many positive reviews of the NC1200-based amps but for another perspective, read near the end of the linked review of the Mola Mola Kaluga. http://www.monoandstereo.com/2015/08/mola-mola-makua-and-kaluga-review.html |
Absolutely, "musicality" is indeed subjective . I am not trying to convince anyone. My intention is to point out the inaccuracy of making broad generalizations about folks here who still like the sound of their Class A or AB amps better than the Class D amps they have compared against, and how that doesn’t necessarily mean they are only comparing against old Class D technology or less expensive Class D implementations. I may not have defined "musicality" adequately but would add, the sound of the Mola Mola Kaluga described in the review linked to my prior post is not unlike what I heard from the Atsahs. Again, I thought they were good amps, just not as good as my other options. |
I’ll repeat what I’ve said several times on this forum. I had a Jeff Rowland Class D Continuum S2 Integrated amp and to my ears it was musical and did all of the "audiophile" things very well. I rate it above every amp I’ve every had in my system; except the Class AB Jeff Rowland 625 S2. To be fair I have the 625 S2 with a Jeff Rowland Corus preamp and together they are in a totally different price category. In my system the 625 S2/Corus is just more musical and I submit highlights the shortcomings of Class D. At least in direct comparison with products made by the same manufacture. |
