Class D is just Dandy!

Randy,

I trust todd's ear. :)

I would go with the Ghent Audio kits.

Best,


E

Ha! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Erik.

Kdude - I'm only jealous that people get to hear all these amazing pieces of equipment. I'm curious, more than anything. But when I choose a piece of gear, I tend to stick with it for years. I am a content human. Messing around with my system is fun, but I certainly do not have upgrade-itis. Thank Buddha!

The Ghents replaced a crown xls 1500, which replaced a NAD integrated. Can't remember which one, unfortunately. I'll look next time I'm at its current home.

Any amp after these will probably be some kind of class d kit..

Wait, didn't we have a manufacturer participate in this thread?

I tried going to their web site but it seems down?


http://www.iceh2oaudio.com/index_htm.html

Just a few of the industry's heavy hitters of hi-end design give their opinion on the merits of Class-D in a round table discussion with Absolute Sounds.

http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/110007-switching-noise-in-class-d-amps/?do=findComment&com...

Cheers George

@georgehifi

Interesting article, full of inaccuracies. One I may have helped propagate.

Class D vs. Digital Amplification

The article claims, erroneously, that Class D amps all have an A/D converter at the front. They do not.  It is actually more of an Analog to Analog converter with a switching voltage amplifier in the middle. :) Somewhere there is an article or paper by Bruno Putzeyes chafing at the use of "Digital" to describe his amps, which I can't find right now. Worth a read if you can find it

Class D amps (ICEPower/Hypex) generally rely on feedback to control the switching, which uses a linear comparator. There's no A/D conversion in the chain, it's not needed.

Here is a good short article on the subject:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class-D_amplifier

Interestingly, George, the Technics Class-D amp you are looking forward to IS more of a digital amp than most Class D in that it DOES have an A/D front end, followed by a DSP engine to do the calibration and frequency/phase adjustments to the original signal before feeding the amplifier section. You are really trusting the amplifier with a great deal, because it will chew the signal up and digest it before spitting it out again. This is an approach not entirely unlike Theta and Meridian have undertaken.

Best,

E