Class D is just Dandy!

+1 Exactly.


If you want to look at another very respected amplifier design that has a residual waveform imposed on the output signal, look no further than the Berning amplifiers. These amps are excellent; they are liked by everyone who hears them. They employ a switching power supply at their output which is modulated (loaded) by the operation of the power tubes. The switching supply thus has the audio signal imposed on its output. The switching frequency is then filtered out, leaving the audio signal to drive the loudspeaker.


If this sounds familiar to those versed in class D amplifier concepts, it should because its a very similar idea!

So how is it that such a respected amplifier as heard by all comers gets a Murphy while class D does not? They both have a residual. The conclusion can only be that the residual is not harmful in either case. 

+1 atmosphere
     Another prime example of the universal principle that
 georgehifi happens. 

      Due to the vast amounts of prior fecal matter georgehifi has dropped on this Audiogon Forum over the years, an elite group of the world's best scientists currently believe after completing their thorough analysis of this over abundance of raw data, that this principle can be relied upon to such an exceptionally high degree without a single exception that this Principle merits upgrading to a Law, pending peer review.

Tim

I just replaced a Schiit Vidar with a Parasound Zonemaster 2305 and find it a great addition to my system (and I really like the Vidar!).

I can’t speak to the technology points being raised however for myself Class D gives me a level of performance that I could never afford in a Class A, A/B amp.

Interesting.  I would only offer the following on that.  The Vidar measures better in many of the specs like crosstalk and frequency range.  It also costs about half of the Parasound 2350(I don't think there is a 2305, you must mean the 2350).  

I suspect the reason you like it over the Vidar is because it is giving you 3 x the wpc.  You could get 400 wpc if you had 2 Vidars, and ran them in mono, for roughly the same cost as the 2350.  Different strokes for different folks...

Nice thread Erik.
I bought the ATI NC528 class D amp to replace an ATI 6012.
Needed more power for the new woofers in my Linkwitz Lab Orion speakers. The Orions need 8 channels of amp. One for each driver. The 528 has linear power supplies.
Someone asked about soundstage depth. My back wall is 20 feet behind the speakers and the soundstage can go well beyond that. The ATI sounds nuanced, has great dynamics and musical ease. Sounds as good as the front end components. Just bought a used phono-preamp. Asked the vendor who is going to sweep that giant soundstage? I used to own a First Watt SIT2. Class A Magic with the right loudspeakers. But the ATI class D with Orions is also magical.

K

Another thought on class D and design. One must also consider longevity of parts used and future serviceability of current digital parts implemented in its design. Here today gone tomorrow world of digital parts and design would make me seriously think about putting serious money into a product that may have obsolete parts in the future that aren’t available. Unless a manufacturer stock piles enough parts for future service needs your probably looking at Something that’s worthless if it needs repair of digital parts that are unavailable. Even then there’s no guarantees that a manufacturer will still be around to service it.