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The Truth about Modern Class D

All my amps right now are Class D. ICEpower in the living room, and NAD D 3020 in the bedroom.

I’ve had several audiophiles come to my home and not one has ever said "Oh, that sounds like Class D."

Having said this, if I could afford them AND had the room, I’d be tempted to switch for a pair of Ayre monoblocks or Conrad Johnson Premiere 12s and very little else.

I’m not religious about Class D. They sound great for me, low power, easy to hide, but if a lot of cash and the need to upgrade ever hits me, I could be persuaded.

The point: Good modern Class D amps just sound like really good amplifiers, with the usual speaker/source matching issues.

You don’t have to go that route, but it’s time we shrugged off the myths and descriptions of Class D that come right out of the 1980’s.
erik_squires
bassdude
505 posts
 
Hey... I can understand... how you folks can blather on about class A, tube amps, and all manner of BS, but... until you've heard a Class D Audio amp (the brand), you haven't any basis for a judgment.  

Tom builds simply outstanding class d amps, that will challenge any class A, or tube amp out there.  
genesis777
112 posts
 
My Red Dragon mono-blocks sounded every bit as good as my Krell..I'm kind of glad they get a bad rap because otherwise they wouldn't be so cheap...
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,616 posts
 
@atmasphere  

I was talking about units such as the Lyngdorf 2170.....

“The TDAI-2170 is 100% digital, without sound-deteriorating digital-to-analog conversions. The digital signal drives the speakers directly, with no translation and no middleman.” 

It takes a digital signal and amplifies it without a conventional dac.  The signal remains completely digital right to very point where the signal is fed to the outputs....only at this point does the signal convert to analog. This unit is not a Class D amp. 


erik_squires OP
16,720 posts
 
audiothesis - It would help if we had your point of reference. What do you consider the most natural amplifiers you have heard? 

If you want them to sound like a boutique OTL amp, chances are they never will. :) 

Best,

E
audiothesis
168 posts
 
..and that’s just it Erik. I am a single ended fanatic. With solid state I find I usually prefer a good A/B over even class A amplifiers for some reason.

There are always exceptions that might tickle your fancy in a different way and that’s what I hold out for. I’ve found exceptions in most categories now, just not in Class D. The units I’ve heard (rather not mention) were bountiful in the bass but presented artificially. There were other artifacts throughout the spectrum but the bass stood out the most to me. The units I tried were not world-class but not trash either.

Maybe natural was the wrong word and organic fits better. It all felt too etched to me, like overdoing the sharpness on a television.

Mola Mola was on my short list to try and I recently had another one recommended to me (by another single ended fan at that), though the name escapes me at this point.  I definitely am not closed-minded to them - just waiting for the right one.
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