There goes George with his dark conspiracies and kabalas... Fascinating stuff really.... Except that blind men -- e.g. your truly -- use their ears, and he apparently does not.... Perhaps a deaf audiophile?! :)
The Future of Audio Amplification
I have recently paired an Audio Research DS225 Class D amplifier with an Audio Research tube preamplifier (SP8 mkii). I cannot believe how wonderful and lifelike my music sounds. The DS225 replaced an Audio Research SD135 Class AB amplifier. Perhaps the SD135 is just not as good as some of the better quality amps that are out there, but it got me thinking that amazingly wonderful sonance can be achieved with a tubed pre and Class D amp. I have a hunch that as more people experience this combination, it will likely catch on and become the future path of many, if not most audiophile systems. It is interesting that Audio Research has been at the forefront of this development.
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Isn't it interesting that a guy that continuously blasts active preamps because he manufactures and sells passives would protest so vehemently about his perception of what another manufacturer is doing that may benefit them? The two he is taking exception with have been nowhere near as overt as he has. |
Doesn’t matter what spin you put on it, your just in future product protection mode like ricevs. I suggest all members here to look close at these two scope shots of the same Class-D amp this one without the "AP filter" used, this large % of switching noise is what’s being sent to the speaker, and it is NOT repeat NOT!!! going into slewing protection. https://www.stereophile.com/images/1212AM1fig02.jpg The this a shot of the same amp exactly the same scope shot, but this one with the "AP test filter" in place, exactly the same save for the deletion of the % of switching noise, that gives the impression that this is what goes to the speaker to make it look good to the buying public, but it’s not, whats above is! https://www.stereophile.com/images/1212AM1fig03.jpg And let me say, what ever you look at, these are both pathetic looking square wave shots, even for an old cheap 1970’s solid state amp to be producing, yet alone a "today’s state of the art modern Class-D" the only one approaching that is below and now the new GaN transistor equipped Merrill Audio Element 118 monoblocks. Now look what happens to the GaN transistor equipped Technics SE-R1 with far higher switching speeds. The blue trace is what the Technics can produce (hardly any residual switching noise, and look how straight up an down the sides of the square wave is this indicates hardly any phase shift down into the audio band, unlike the 2 above who’s sides are quite inward tilted which indicates phase shift into the audio band. https://www.technics.com/content/products/r1/images/se-r1-img2-2-uk.png Cheers George |
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