2. amps-preamps
  3. 165827-20253

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 All I am saying is that the stories about how bad Class D is compared to linear amps have been outdated for ages.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
erik_squires OP
15,948 posts
 
All I can say is that the OP must have gotten the good one. The 2 I had were nothing to write threads like this about.

I think you are misreading the intention of the thread. That the general complaints about Class D don't hold anymore.  Not that you would like the 3020D per se.  If any of the Class D bashers that float around Audiogon were correct then even the shop would not be possible for you. :) This is not a thread to convince you to buy a 3020D but to stop Class D bashing.

I will say that the character of the amp with speakers on my desk is one of pure air and seeing deep into the soundstage.

Best,
Erik

erik_squires OP
15,948 posts
 
looks like a cool little monitor.

Thanks @chicagoblue1977 !

I think if I attempted a similar build again though I might use a FaitalPro mid-woofer instead.  While I adore the transparency of the Peerless, it has a lot of limitations, including power, -3dB point and high frequency extension.  The Faital would be more versatile, and more compatible with tweeters that don't need to go so low.  On the desktop with a little bass or as surrounds they really are fun.

dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Desk Top...😳  Uh, yeah..ok then 👍
erik_squires OP
15,948 posts
 

Desk Top...😳 Uh, yeah..ok then 👍


Yeah, desktop, as in near field monitors. As in the most revealing place to put speakers. If you don’t hear Class D problems in near field you are not going to hear them in far field.  Desktop, as in: How many recording artists master their work.
erik_squires OP
15,948 posts
 
I just recently bit the bullet and ordered a Luxman 590AXII after listening to many different amps. I suppose that if you look hard you can find some poor sounding amps, but nothing I have heard across many typologies sounded bad. In fact, I am rather partial to some Bel Canto models. OTOH, the Luxman sounded sufficiently magical to my ears to spend more money than I should have and to sell off some other kit to pull off the deal. I was looking for a certain sound, not a certain amplifier type.


This is a very similar path to mine, but instead of Bel Cantos I was using ICEPower modules in custom cases.  I agree.  There was nothing wrong with my Class D amps, and a lot of linear amps did NOT best them at all. The Luxmans did and that's when I bought.  Again:  The Class D naysayers are prejudiced without cause.
More to discover