Hilde45 and douglas_schroeder,
Very good points that I routinely notice in others, and previously noticed in myself, when it comes to many individuals' reactions to the sonic and other perceptions of class D amps and new experiences.
I've been happily aboard the D train for over a decade now and consider my current class D monos, a pair of D-Sonic M-600s, as the best amp(s) yet to drive my inefficient Magnepan speakers that have had a msrp of under $10K.
Please understand, I'm not claiming they can't be bettered by other class D, class A or tube amps. I'm just claiming they represent an excellent solution for a combo music and ht system like mine, especially when considering the multiple benefits of sound quality performance, high power, high electrical efficiency and generally reasonably low prices.
Just a few responses to previous posters on this thread:
daydream16: " what about class d and difficult loads like magnepans? Are they capable of driving them as well as class a-b. This is the internal debate I am having right now as I am putting my system together with magnepan 1.7’s in mind."
I've owned various models of Magnepans and they're not actually a difficult load, mainly stable at just under 4 ohms throughout the entire frequency spectrum. I do think they generally sound more natural, alive and dynamic with increased wattage/power but power is cheap with class D. However, there are significant differences in class D sound quality between amp brands and models. I've found the better ones are distinguished by their smoother midrange and treble performance which typically carry higher price tags, but not always.
lucky_doggg7: " When I think Class D, I automatically think of the good stuff like Devialet, Linn Amps, and Bryston (sp?) amps. I have a very nice pair of Audio Research DS450M monos that I really like. These are fairly powerful, meaning 450 wpc into 8 and 650 wpc into 4 so no lack of power there, and since these are ARC amps, I know it’s good stuff. They’re even voiced with the ARC house sound. As an added bonus, they don’t cook the entire place after an hour or two of listening like my Pass monos do so they’re good on electricity use, and low on heat generation."
What we're often hearing from many higher priced class A/B and good quality class A amps, are amp designs that intentionally emphasize or overemphasize the even ordered harmonics, which tends to be perceived by humans as a warm coloring added to the music that many individuals prefer.
Better class D amps generally have a very accurate, detailed and neutral sound quality, with little to nothing added or subtracted to the musical signals that results in a very high degree of faithfulness to the recorded music. This is something one needs to experience to make sure they enjoy this type of amp design and sound signature, since it equally and accurately reveals good and poor quality recordings without prejudice. You may prefer some added coloring either through the amp or via tubes in the dac or preamp. You won't know for certain until you hear the differences between them with music that you're very familiar with.
One more personal and additional musing on my class D amp experiences:
I always assumed I preferred a bit of added coloring with my class D amps and originally used a a VTL preamp, with a set of expensive NOS Mullard tubes swapped out for the original OEM tubes, to attain a smoother and more dimensional midrange and treble on my music. I've since discovered I can attain he same result using a high quality, accurate and neutral solid state preamp in combination with my high quality, accurate and neutral class D amps. This does, however, require the compromise of only playing high quality recordings. I don't consider this a deal breaker yet but others may feel otherwise, depending on the quality of their recordings.
FWIW,
Tim
Very good points that I routinely notice in others, and previously noticed in myself, when it comes to many individuals' reactions to the sonic and other perceptions of class D amps and new experiences.
I've been happily aboard the D train for over a decade now and consider my current class D monos, a pair of D-Sonic M-600s, as the best amp(s) yet to drive my inefficient Magnepan speakers that have had a msrp of under $10K.
Please understand, I'm not claiming they can't be bettered by other class D, class A or tube amps. I'm just claiming they represent an excellent solution for a combo music and ht system like mine, especially when considering the multiple benefits of sound quality performance, high power, high electrical efficiency and generally reasonably low prices.
Just a few responses to previous posters on this thread:
daydream16: " what about class d and difficult loads like magnepans? Are they capable of driving them as well as class a-b. This is the internal debate I am having right now as I am putting my system together with magnepan 1.7’s in mind."
I've owned various models of Magnepans and they're not actually a difficult load, mainly stable at just under 4 ohms throughout the entire frequency spectrum. I do think they generally sound more natural, alive and dynamic with increased wattage/power but power is cheap with class D. However, there are significant differences in class D sound quality between amp brands and models. I've found the better ones are distinguished by their smoother midrange and treble performance which typically carry higher price tags, but not always.
lucky_doggg7: " When I think Class D, I automatically think of the good stuff like Devialet, Linn Amps, and Bryston (sp?) amps. I have a very nice pair of Audio Research DS450M monos that I really like. These are fairly powerful, meaning 450 wpc into 8 and 650 wpc into 4 so no lack of power there, and since these are ARC amps, I know it’s good stuff. They’re even voiced with the ARC house sound. As an added bonus, they don’t cook the entire place after an hour or two of listening like my Pass monos do so they’re good on electricity use, and low on heat generation."
What we're often hearing from many higher priced class A/B and good quality class A amps, are amp designs that intentionally emphasize or overemphasize the even ordered harmonics, which tends to be perceived by humans as a warm coloring added to the music that many individuals prefer.
Better class D amps generally have a very accurate, detailed and neutral sound quality, with little to nothing added or subtracted to the musical signals that results in a very high degree of faithfulness to the recorded music. This is something one needs to experience to make sure they enjoy this type of amp design and sound signature, since it equally and accurately reveals good and poor quality recordings without prejudice. You may prefer some added coloring either through the amp or via tubes in the dac or preamp. You won't know for certain until you hear the differences between them with music that you're very familiar with.
One more personal and additional musing on my class D amp experiences:
I always assumed I preferred a bit of added coloring with my class D amps and originally used a a VTL preamp, with a set of expensive NOS Mullard tubes swapped out for the original OEM tubes, to attain a smoother and more dimensional midrange and treble on my music. I've since discovered I can attain he same result using a high quality, accurate and neutral solid state preamp in combination with my high quality, accurate and neutral class D amps. This does, however, require the compromise of only playing high quality recordings. I don't consider this a deal breaker yet but others may feel otherwise, depending on the quality of their recordings.
FWIW,
Tim