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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
auxinput
2,921 posts
 
@phomchick - well it's a good suggestion, and the cost of Class D can make it possible to create a separate amp for each driver and use an active crossover.  But you're still forgetting the challenge of Class D to reproduce the ultra high frequency "air" that a good Class AB amp will do.  I am in the same camp as stereo5 in that I have not heard a Class D amp that really "sings".  Granted, they are so extremely clean that it's insane (I have actually been told that sound engineers like to use them because they can hear individual instruments when doing the mix for a record), but every Class D I have heard leaves me wanting more.  It just doesn't have that extra edge of "life" that Class AB gives you.
bigkidz
3,444 posts
 
It does not come down to like or dislike as much IMO as it comes down to the system and comparisons.  I have a friend of mine who has Class-D amps and fells like many that they compete in the market for sound quality and price.  He has told me that same thing about many other components he has owned.  It is only when he finally hears something that presents a difference in his system that he recognizes the sound differences and why. Until he hears that, he feels he has something that is very good.  I guess I need to get him the Class A amp my partner built recently to see if he hears any difference.  Until then we both won't really know if he is correct or not.

Happy Listening.
erik_squires OP
16,839 posts
 
There are certain things I cannot argue with. Personal choice for specific amplifiers and speakers. That’s fine.

My argument was not "you should like Class D more than your favorite" but that Class D as a whole is just as good as capable and musical as any other solid state amps, with a lot of the same pitfalls. The technology has in fact arrived for good, and we are better for it. 


helomech
1,838 posts
 

We better put up the question again to what this answer above relates to, which is:
" Is Class D competitive with linear designs in sound quality, and if not, will it ever be?"

I believe it may be someday but it isn't yet to my ears. I've heard the Parasound Halo Integrated take the Devialet Pro monoblocks to school. The new NAD N-Core based amps sound no better than class D of 15 years ago: cold, analytical and fatiguing. Same for the hybrids I've heard. I'll continue to give new designs a chance, but I've yet to encounter one that sounds as smooth/listenable as a halfway decent class AB amp. I think some audiophiles just don't hear the digital-like character that most, if not all of them exhibit.
erik_squires OP
16,839 posts
 
@helomech I’ve had Parasound Halo amps. I traded them for ICEpower amps which in my environment sounded equivalent.

Can you tell us about the speakers you evaluated with when you say the Parasound took the Devialet to school?

PS - I like Parasound a great deal. This is not about trashing them.
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