Class D is just Dandy!


I thought it was time we had a pro- Class D thread. There's plenty of threads about comparisons, or detractors of Class D.

That's fine, you don't have to like Class D amps, and if you don't please go participate on one of those threads.

For those of us who are very happy and excited about having musical, capable amps that we can afford to keep on 24/7 and don't require large spaces to put them in, this thread is for you.

Please share your experiences with class D amps!
erik_squires
georgehifi,

There’s a vast number of class D amp owners literally throughout the world that have absolutely no doubt about whether their amps are extraordinary performers in their systems. Yes, the great majority of them have switching frequencies in the vicinity of 500 KHz and may not possess the latest and fastest FET transistors in their output stages. Most of them are probably unaware of this but likely wouldn’t give a hoot if they were aware because they sound so incredibly good in their systems.
The owners of one of the many current or recent crop of extremely good class D amps just hear the obvious; their amps have very low distortion levels, dead-quiet background noise levels due to very high signal-to-noise ratios, excellent frequency response throughout the entire audible range, very good dynamic range, very good channel separation along with the ability to handle very low speaker impedance levels and deliver more than enough power to properly drive any speakers.
Additional class D amp benefits include small size, low weight, high electrical efficiency that results in low electricity consumption and very little excess heat and all at very affordable prices. What’s not to like, right?
Despite all the benefits of good class D amps described above, you continue to suggest avoidance of these amps until they utilize switching frequencies in the mega-Hz range and the latest and fastest generation of super-fast FET output stage transistors .
Will higher switching frequencies and faster FETs enable class D amp performance to get even better? As a user of several exceptionally good class D amps of recent vintage, I find it somewhat difficult to imagine how their performance could significantly be improved but I’ll keep an open mind until I give one a good listen in my system.
Until then, however, I. would advise anyone considering a class D amp that it makes little sense to wait for possible class D amp perfection.
Nobody needs to deprive themselves of high quality sound by making the same mistake that georgehifi consistently and inexplicably insists upon: making perfection the enemy of the extraordinarily good.

Tim
I love my Audio Alchemy DPA 1, which is said to be a hybrid, due to an FET input stage, I guess. Last night I swapped out a silver over copper Surf XLR for an old PS Audio (mid model) and was floored at the much needed warmth that was hiding in the amp
@tweak1
+1, my friend. I suspect some type of class A-class D hybrid will likely be the future for all class D topologies. 
I am really not a fan of silver over copper cables. 

However, solid silver interconnects are pretty good and inexpensive to build on your own. 

Best,

E
@erik squires
Eric , I purchased a used pair of Bang & Olufsen Penta 1 loudspeakers a few months ago on craigslist. They are circa 1989 . They are active with class d amps inside . These are in no way bright or fatiguing , things I have associated with older class d amps . Looking to find out how and why this could be ?