If it weren't for efficiency & power, would there be any reason to own a Class D amp? Do they beat Class A in any other categories that count for sound
quality?"
"
Let me try to respond to the question posed by the OP in the crispiest way I can:
1. I am deeply dissatisfied with at least 90% of amps on the market that I had the fortune, or the misfortune, to audition, regardless of class of operation.
2. I have selected my class D amps because I fell in love with their total audible performance, for every parameter.
3. Their power efficiency is important to me, but I would have overlooked it, if I had found an amp that was clearly audibly preferable for my allocated budget and musical taste.
4. I found less than a handful of amps that enthrolled me as much, or almost as much... The leading contender was made by Solution... Enchanting class A/B amp, which I would put more or less at par with the classs D Rowland M925
As for which class is inherently audibly superior .... It is an absurd question, which has no meaningful answer.
On the other hand, I grant you that when class D misses the musicality mark, either because the amp is not properly broken in, or because of inherent design flaws/limitations more common on older designs, it has the ability of outschreetching and outtubbing most everything on the market... The most unendurable listening experience for me was in fact that of a lower cost class D amp... Closely followed by that of an uber-stratospheric SS class A/B system... Conversely, even the worse uber-expensive tubed amp I heard, was only marginally worse than totally uninspiring.
G.
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