2. amps-preamps
  3. 161772-20253

The NAD M33 will cancel your complaints about Class D

There are many reasons to like one type of sound over another. Even among what are considered very good amplifiers there’s a broad range of tastes and preferences among audiophiles. Just ask a SET aficionado!

However, no class is more maligned, inappropriately, than Class D. To hear some regulars tell it, Class D sound will thin your blood, make your teeth fall out and ruin your enjoyment of just about everything because it sounds so (fill in a lot of tropes from the 1980’s here).

I’ve been listening to NAD’s prior collaboration with Bruno Putzy and I can tell with some confidence that none of those tired old tropes apply. For reasons related much more to tonal balance than anything else, I’m sticking with Class A/B in my main system, but with the introduction of the next gen Anthem AVR receivers and the NAD M33 I may be making the switch back to class D.

You don’t have to like the M33 or the Anthem’s but can we at least agree that it’s time to retire the old guard of reasons not to buy Class D? Lets lay those poor phantoms to rest.
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,722 posts
 
OP acts like it’s some miracle that NAD has created a good Class D product


It would be really hard to come to this conclusion if you knew anything about the history of my many pro Class D threads, or just my opening statement.

I don't think it's a miracle, I think it's a broadly well reviewed product that doesn't have the failings Class D is still accused of after all these years.

really they’ve just licensed a Bruno Putzey PuriFi topology and done a mediocre job implementing it.


Oh, now there's a man with an axe to grind. Please explain why this is a mediocre example of  BP Class D amplifier? Who in your mind has done better?

Please remember, I'm not saying the M33 is a great amplifier, just that it shows us that typical anti-Class D prejudice (pre-judging) no longer hold true.
noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 

I detect no bloviating, rambling or commonness about teo_audio
I just sense intelligence and enlightenment to the maximo
If deep thoughts happen to be your bailiwick
Just find one of his posts and give it a click
Sure, if you're a bit dense, his posts may initially go over your head
Considering your disabilities, perhaps they just need to be slowly reread
I consider Deep Thoughts by teo_audio to be a real treat
Wittiness, cleverness and intellectual stimulation that can't be beat.
Please be respectful to my man teo or you'll force me to be bold
Remember naysayers, I can bring you in warm or I can bring you in cold

Thank you,
  Tim
 XOX 

 
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
Several of you are leaning toward NAD.  I had a 2200 PE or something like that, 100 wpc.  I liked that it was very clean sound, with no tonal imbalances.  I did not like all of the instruments and voices coming from the exact same place, making it sound like one very fine synthesizer.  I expect the same, or worse from their Class D amps, but here's hoping for the best?  Someone is bound to figure it out, if they have not already.  Those who refuse to even listen will die off, as will I, with my beloved Audire equipment.
seanheis1
633 posts
 
Here is a quote from Bruno Putzey, creator of Hypex modules and Mola Mola in an interview with Sound & Vision.

S&V: Generally speaking, what are the key benefits of Class D versus the traditional Class AB and Class A designs that have long been favored by audiophiles? 

BP: Efficiency and therefore the ability to construct amps that are powerful for their size. Only that. Modern Class D amps, in particular mine—ahem—sound good not because they’re Class D, but in spite of it. I can’t repeat that often enough. Left to its own devices, a switching power stage tries to do just about anything except amplify audio. You choose Class D to save energy but it’s all elbow grease after that. People don’t realize how much more challenging Class D is compared to Class AB. It’s truly an order of magnitude.
dougeyjones's avatar
dougeyjones
163 posts
 
@erik_squires

The reason it’s a mediocre implementation would be obvious if you (or really anybody here) had bothered to read detailed measurements of other PuriFi implementations, which routinely reach -120db SINAD. The fact that NADs implementation is around -92db is pathetic by comparison. 

No axe to grind, just facts..
More to discover