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Time to buy a class D amp?


Will some new class D amplifiers outperforming the current ones appear soon

(the newest ones i know were released a  few years ago)?

Class D amps attract me as I consider them the most ecological ones with obvious non-auditionable benefits.

I have no doubts that they posses the maximum ratio performance/sound quality among the amplifiers of all classes.

At the same time, the sound quality the class D amplifiers that I have auditioned produce, although is quite good,

but not yet ideal (for my taste).


I use PS Audio Stellar S300 amp with PS audio Gain Cell pre/DAC with Thiel CS 3.6 speakers in one of my systems.

The sound is ok (deep bass, clear soundstage) but not perfect (a bit bright and somehow dry, lacking warmness which might be more or less ok for rock but not for jazz music).

I wonder if there are softer sounding class D amps with the same or better details and resolution. Considering two reasonable (as to the budget) choices for test, Red Dragon S500 and Digital Audio Company's

Cherry  2 (or Maraschino monoblocks), did anybody compare these two?



128x128niodari
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
How can you say "It’s not hifi yet"
Because they still have two important problems to improve on, phase shift and dead time. Which the above GaN equipped SE-R1 addresses, but it's not for the common man to afford.

Cheers George
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,948 posts
 
LOL....not hifi..... 

Tell all the reviewers including Stereophile that have done positive reviews of various Class D amps that.  Not to mention the users like me.

I get it.  We're all obsessed with something.  Some are obsessed with Class D not being perfect like pretty much everything else (yet).  To each their own.
sthlm78's avatar
sthlm78
156 posts
 
@atmasphere  I always enjoying reading your posts 👍🏻✌🏻👌🏻
everest_audio
285 posts
 
Class D is in prime time. Some companies like Bel Canto and Aavik, as just two examples, are putting out superb Class D. I just had a customer upgrade from a couple Simaudio pieces (certainly not inexpensive) to a Bel Canto Black EX integrated amplifier. He was in a situation in a new house where he needed something that didn't produce as much heat. I said he should try out the Bel Canto Black EX. When I brought one over to try, he was hoping it would get close to sounding as good. In my mind, I was quite sure the Bel Canto would sound better. He was thrilled to find out that he found the Bel Canto to sound superior.
snapsc
666 posts
 
I more of a believer that we "prefer" amplifier A vs amplifier B because of the way it makes our systems sound...to us...in our rooms...with our other equipment...and our selected music.  In this respect, there appears to be plenty of people buying class d amplifiers and then making detailed descriptions about why they enjoy their purchase, as much or more than their previous amplifiers.  This definitely describes my situation with the 2Cherry that I purchased from Cherry Amp six months ago...beautifully accurate tonality with veil removing clarity...the music is just more alive.

But, it is only fair to say that not everyone has found a class d amplifier that was good enough to remain in their systems.  To slightly paraphrase Herb Reichert in his review of the JBL A170...." In the realm of reviews, John Atkinson's measurements and my empirical observations have one important equivalency: Both are meaningless abstractions until confirmed by your listening experience".
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