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Class D Technology

So I get the obvious strengths of Class D. Efficiency, power output & running cool which allows for small form factors. I also understand the weaknesses somewhat. 1. Non-linear & lots of distortion that needs to be cleaned up with an output filter. 
So my question is, 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?  
seanheis1
savdllc's avatar
savdllc
40 posts
 
@erik_squires and @noble100 ,

I'm glad you both have found systems that you are happy with, and you are certainly correct in that there are some great Class D options available on the market - I do not believe I stated anywhere in my post that Class D in universally inferior to A/B. What I did state is that Class D designs tend to sacrifice fidelity in favor of efficiency, which is true in most cases. Are there exceptions? Sure, though that's not really what the OP was asking; his question was not if the best Class D designs can compete with Class A/B, it was:

"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?"

And while audio quality is somewhat subjective, I think you're going to be hard pressed to argue that even the best Class D amps will rival the best Class A amps on the market. I brought up Class G and Class H as being potentially better options in the ongoing search for increasing efficiency while preserving fidelity, which from a sheer technological and design point of view, is hard to argue with when it comes to reproducing full-range audio. The only downside is cost, as it's a much more expensive technology than Class D, and that may well be what prevents it from ever becoming a mainstream option.

Anyway, I've no wish to start an argument with you or anyone else - I was simply trying to share my thoughts on the subject based on my experience as both a long-time enthusiast and owner of a home theater company. 

Cheers,

-David
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
"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?"
That is the debate, my answer is no, not yet, (except in the bass & upper bass). And it’s not because of the power, but more the damping factor (low impedance output) which some say is aided by of gobs of feedback.

Cheers George
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 

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.





.

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,373 posts
 
Don’t listen to the negative propaganda especially from just one or two who repeat the same thing over and over. Just try them for yourselves if interested and see.

Myself, I’ve had way less trouble finding top notch sounding Class D amps than others. Will probably never go back to anything else. If I had unlimited budget and/or went only with very easy load speakers, perhaps it might be easier to find other amps to match overall performance and sound quality I have experienced with Class D. But even so I have no reason to ever go back to anything else. My Class D amps do it all as well or better than anything else I have heard in recent years. If I were to seek a particular unique flavor of sound only available with a tube amp, maybe.

A good Class D amp is like a high performance car engine. it makes the entire experience a lot more effortless and enjoyable. Those who discount or ignore the advantages inherent in newer more efficient and overall higher performance Class D technology are doing others a disservice. I know I’m glad I went with my gut which told me to actually see what this popular and innovative newer technology is actually capable of before resorting to older more familiar solutions that never seemed able to fit the bill for me 100%.
erik_squires
16,268 posts
 
savdllc (can’t "at" you for some reason) you wrote:

What I did state is that Class D designs tend to sacrifice fidelity in favor of efficiency, which is true in most cases.

This is the bias I was trying to answer, my apologies I did not connect my statements more clearly to your writing. I am unable to support this statement based on any evidence at all.

I do believe that Class D is in a much wider quality range of products than Class A. By this I mean from cheap portable music players to high end.

Class D is, numerically, overwhelmingly dominant and across every market segment, while the ONLY place in audio I know of with Class A being produced today is high end, often mono-blocks. (There’s probably some Bugatti with Class A amps, but lets get real) This may lead us to make unfair apples to oranges comparisons which don’t actually tell us much about the overall potential of Class D.

At the high end, I see no sacrifices being made for Class D except to my carbon footprint. I DO hear differences in amplifiers. However to hear those differences and say "OH, well Class D is inferior, so the A/B amp must be better sounding" is an snobby prejudice.  There are even some strong benefits, as some have very high damping factors (output impedance) and therefore more consistent performance across speakers.

I think that the subjectivity of the "high-end" can be quite trendy, or go pretty far from neutrality. If that keeps a Class D from reaching top-tier status, then it's just a matter of time before a vendor creates the right input buffer for you. 

Again, to everyone, please please buy what you like to hear, but let’s not use cost as our golden calf of determining what’s best.



Best,


Erik
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