2. amps-preamps
  3. 149476-20253

I went from Class D to Luxman A/AB - And most of what you think is wrong

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, I’m a fan of Class D. I have lived with ICEPower 250AS based amps for a couple of years. Before that I lived with a pair of Parasound A21s (for HT) and now I’m listening to a Luxman 507ux.


I have some thoughts after long term listening:
  • The tropes of Class D having particularly bad, noticeable Class D qualities are all wrong and have been for years.
  • No one has ever heard my Class D amps and gone: "Oh, wow, Class D, that’s why I hate it."
  • The Luxman is a better amp than my ICEPower modules, which are already pretty old.

I found the Class D a touch warm, powerful, noise free. Blindfolded I cannot tell them apart from the Parasound A21s which are completely linear, and run a touch warm due to high Class A operation, and VERY similar in power output.


The Luxman 507 beats them both, but no amp stands out as nasty sounding or lacking in the ability to be musical and involving.


What the Luxman 507 does better is in the midrange and ends of the spectrum. It is less dark, sweeter in the midrange, and sounds more powerful, almost "louder" in the sense of having more treble and bass. It IS a better amplifier than I had before. Imaging is about the same.


There was one significant operational difference, which others have confirmed. I don't know why this is true, but the Class D amps needed 2-4 days to warm up. The Luxman needs no time at all. I have no rational, engineering explanation for this. After leaving the ICEPower amps off for a weekend, they sounded pretty low fi. Took 2 days to come back. I can come home after work and turn the Luxman on and it sounds great from the first moment.


Please keep this in mind when evaluating.


Best,

E
erik_squires
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,452 posts
 
One more thing (as Columbo said): SMPS are not cheap. Cost of high quality SMPS has to include high cost of development. Rowland’s supplies deliver thousands of regulated watts operating at 1MHz (and components doing this are not cheap either). I couldn’t believe it is even possible, since most of switchers operate at 1/10 of this frequency. I can give you a simple reason (other than complexity) why many manufacturers decide to go with linear supplies. It is because there is still a lot of people thinking like you.  There was similar prejudice against all class D amps not so long ago.  Many believed they are good only for subwoofers.  I would advise the same as Eric did - don't look too much into technicals like class of operation or type of supplies, but listen instead.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
Wolf golf, the Mola Mola Kaluga’s can be left on standby (red light) and then switched fully on (white light). Disconnect if going away for sometime.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I visited Cherry's web site yesterday alerted to this amp by another threat. I would love to hear a mono pair of the Megachinos. The web site is not very informative as to what type of sampling he is using PWM or PCM and he does not mention how fast. 2 meg is mentioned above. The Tact and Lyngdorf amps sample at 9 meg PWM. Those amps were/are crystalline but do not have the best bass and have trouble with difficult loads. For a system that uses subwoofers they are first class driving any speaker 4 ohms and above. You had a choice of digital or analog inputs.
The Cherry amps are a nice clean design without unnecessary filigree. The only thing I would like to see is a digital input that accepted 192/24.
Many if not most of us are using digital sources and processors myself included. I actually digitize my tube phono amp. Analog inputs only forces me into two more conversions that could be avoided. Converting 192/24 into whatever the amp is doing should not be that hard.
If you look at pictures of the Megachino you will see several large ICs. The analog circuits may be discrete but the digital ones are certainly not. He does not mention what chips he is using and why. You could say he does not use anyone else's class D module. I like that but would want to know more. He does give you a 30 day home trial. If I were looking for new amps I would give them a spin but I am not and would not do a home trial without the possibility of a purchase. 
Humans are very change resistant and risk adverse with few exceptions.
They are also egocentric particularly males. It is cool to see those who manage to break away from this like Ford, Edison, Musk and many more.    
tweak1
3,687 posts
 
audiofun. Thanks for your input, and behind the scenes insight.

About a year ago I upgraded my Oppo 105 oem SMPS to a modified LPS from Ebay (~$130). To my ears it is a huge improvement
jimclarkstereo
38 posts
 
Thanks to the OP.. Heard some class D a decade ago, they sucked. Heard some in the last year that were excellent.. Tech changes much faster than the conversation in audio. Consider that class A purist still claim an advantage over A/B due to notch distortion in early A/B designs. The notch distortion was solved in good A/B designs decades ago, but the stereotype is still talked about today.  Same with class D today. People will talk about the original issues with class D for decades after the tech is equivalent or even after an improvement has been made. Imho. class D has became competitive in performance and sound quality today. In a couple more decades the stereotype might start to fade away.. Hearing/comparing some of the latest class D for yourself is the only way to know the truth of today. Agree with the OP.. Don't limit your choices at this point in amplifier design, based on old news.
More to discover