2. amps-preamps
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My NAD 3020 D proves your Class D tropes are wrong

I have a desktop integrated, the NAD 3020D which I use with custom near field monitors. It is being fed by Roon via a Squeezebox Touch and coaxial digital.

It is 5 years old and it sounds great. None of the standard myths of bad Class D sound exist here. It may lack the tube like liquid midrange of my Luxman, or the warmth of my prior Parasound but no one in this forum could hear it and go "aha, Class D!!" by itself, except maybe by the absolute lack of noise even when 3’ away from the speakers.

I’m not going to argue that this is the greatest amp ever, or that it is even a standout desktop integrated. All I am saying is that the stories about how bad Class D is compared to linear amps have been outdated for ages.

Great to see new development with GaN based Class D amps, great to see Technics using DSP feed-forward designs to overcome minor limitations in impedance matching and Atmasphere’s work on reducing measurable distortion as well but OMG stop with the "Class D was awful until just now" threads as it ignores about 30 years of steady research and innovation.
erik_squires
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,579 posts
 
"...What makes them special in my mind is that they are true bookshelf speakers, designed with on-shelf or on-desk placement in mind thus they lack the bass bloat you’d experience with "normal" bookshelf speakers..."

Very cool. BTW: I'm willing to accept your experience with this system of yours. I'll put it into my memory bank for future use. 
mrdecibel
3,171 posts
 
I have heard the specific NAD spoken of here, driving my modified and tweaked Klipsch Lascalas. Knowing you enjoy this sound, it is now understandable why you never liked Pass designs. As I have always said.....to each his / her own.
erik_squires OP
16,892 posts
 
I have to disagree, my AGD GaN amps are miles ahead of the older tech and design in sound SQ and i have heard all of the NAD products from the 33 down. You cannot even compare.


I am not saying the older Class D could not be bettered, but that the criticisms of it are overblown.
erik_squires OP
16,892 posts
 
I'm willing to accept your experience with this system of yours.


Why thank you.  The monitors are of course an unknown variable to anyone but me, but none of the criticisms levied against older Class D amps could be fixed by my speakers, or if they are, then damn, I designed some amazing speakers. :)

The impedance curve for them is also quite conventional.
erik_squires OP
16,892 posts
 
Knowing you enjoy this sound, it is now understandable why you never liked Pass designs.

Well, I've been pretty vocal about what I do like instead:  Luxman, Ayre and Parasound, so the 3020 D alone shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

Keep in mind, again, I’m not calling the 3020D the end all be all. I’d much rather listen to my Luxman all day long, but for a desktop system none of the stereotypes of Class D apply in my listening experience. I’m not at all unhappy with this. Of course the nearfield part of this also means I have different room acoustic issues, so I hear music differently at my desk than in my living room. The NAD 3020 D is good enough that I’m not rending my clothes and wearing sackcloth in despair.
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