It is a fact that the middle of the herd is not the top of the mountain or the peak of endeavor.
No matter how much the middle of the herd may look around and try to convince itself of that by looking at those (others) which may be similar and comfortable.
Hearing is one of those things that is not perfected in measurement or meaning, not by a long shot. Therefore we have no perfect correlation in measurement that can fit what we hear. Hearing is a thign that is a massive variable in quality and capacity tied to the brain, in discernment, a variance a great as the variances in human intelligence. And human intelligence can span a difference as large as a million to one, in cognitive speed differences. Seriously. that huge a range. (add 5 IQ points, halve the cognition rate or speed). Hearing is tied to this, and is similar. not the same, bit similar. connected to it. Thus hearing has a IQ connection or quotient of a sort. Not all ear/brains are the same. There is a range, of capacity, for discernment. differences between individuals.
To add, part of our hearing is self trained, self created.
So.....the map is not the territory. This point is ultra critical to understand.
But we can still have peaks and we can still have average.
And it is noted that the average of what Class D is, has not yet taken over the peak of quality in the world of high performance audio. Specifically, it is not at the peak..for the ears that want that mountain peak of quality.
It may do so in the future and it may not. Who knows. The peak may move further away from where class D is headed. It’s a moving, living, breathing, growing, changing target.
I’ve torn down Class D amps and spent about 2 years of my life, off and on, trying to make it sound better. Via analyzing the electronic parts, their function and what they are doing wrong, and what changes are needed and then doing what I can.
To improve the correlation between what they do and the psycho-acoustic model of the ear, what that ear requires. And I made some great Class D amplifiers. So good that many folks thought the modded out versions that made it to an audio show, were among the best they’d ever heard. If not the best.
But they still did not compete with the best of the standard model of audio amplification, be it class A or class a/b, or tube based versions. They just don’t have it. I could get into the psycho-acoustic modelling and how that compares to what Class D is doing wrong, and how to deal with it re changes to the design of class D, and that would help people a lot. It would help designers and end users.
But that information is valuable, hard fought for... and it is my life blood in the world of putting food on my table ----and this is business.
Some day, Class-D, some day. Never Know. But.. not yet..not yet.