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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
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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.
snapsc
674 posts
 
A couple more things about the cherry amps that I didn’t mention. 


1.  Most of their more detailed information seems to be located on their audio circle page... link at the bottom of their web page. 


2. You will find that the are willing to sacrifice some S/N for feedback and electronics changes that they perceive results in a more colorless sound. 



3.  The cherry amps have an absolutely black background.... silence through my loudspeakers with the volume turned up full. 


4.  They solved my piano, sax, trumpet and drums tone issue... they do tone beautifully 


Hope this clears a few things up.
noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 
audiofun,

     I believe the issues you've experienced with SMPSs are the result of RF interference most likely escaping from the component due to insufficient internal shielding and isolation.  This is based on what I've read and not personal experience.

Tim
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,117 posts
 
From my experience with several Class D amps, newer Class D amp designs in general seem to have very effectively resolved the noise issues that can otherwise be associated with SMPS. I’ve seen this with my Class D amps ranging in cost from <$100 to those going for several thousand dollars. Does not seem to be an issue anymore if done right. Not so much the case as recent as just a few years back though I’d say.
slimpikins5's avatar
slimpikins5
191 posts
 
Here is an interesting take on Class D amps: I picked up a pair like new Anthem M1 Monoblocks from a very wealthy guy who decided that he just had to have a pair of Levinson 53’s at some god awful price point. I got a really nice deal on the pair in mint condition and with later serial numbers, consecutive of course. I put them into service against my Parasound A51 Halo which is 400 watts per channel at 4 ohms vs. the 2000 watts per channel of the M1’s (when fed with dedicated 240V mains). It was love at first sound; these things blew away the A51 in all respects, it was no contest. I have not used the A51 in two years now, its occasionally used as the power amp for a center channel when I run the TV.
I spoke not too long ago with the guy who sold me the amps and asked how he’s enjoying the $35K amps he bought and he told me he made a major mistake selling me the M1’s, they are actually better than the Levenson’s! That really surprised me, but then again, it doesn’t as I have not heard anything as beautiful as the M1 monoblocks.....  Class D of course
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