2. amps-preamps
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Class D amps seem poised to take over. Then what?

I am certainly biased by my lifetime final amp being a Class D. But I know that after 30+ years of development, Class D seems to be on a high plain. I know there are now many, many companies focusing on Class D and, maybe, a good handful already as good as it gets. My Class D amp is as smooth and beautifully musical as a great tube amp and as punchy and detailed as a great SS amp. I am satisfied and done with my search. A class D amp has effectively taken me off the amp merry-go-round. It’s about time after 50 years. And, for me, this Class D is a milestone. Will all other classes of amps fade away?
mglik
johnkent3
63 posts
 
Man alive...
The more time i spend here the more it feels like a bunch of geezers trying to hang onto the old tech and talk about how $5k cables augment sound.

This might be the wrong place for me.
invalid
1,312 posts
 
Man alive...
The more time i spend here the more it feels like a bunch of geezers trying to hang onto the old tech and talk about how $5k cables augment sound.

What do you think satellite TV comes from vacuum tubes. Satellites use vacuum tubes.
mike_in_nc
1,205 posts
 
When Class D takes over, the earth will stop rotating and those magnetized by covid vaccines will be demagnetized.

The more time i spend here the more it feels like a bunch of geezers trying to hang onto the old tech and talk about how $5k cables augment sound.

This might be the wrong place for me.

For a friendly forum less obsessed by expensive gear, but rather heavy on vinyl, try the Steve Hoffman Forums. For a friendly one with a more costly slant, try Audio Aficionado.

devilboy
1,176 posts
 
@johnkent3  Lol. It certainly seems that way anymore.
I don't understand all the hatred for class D. I've had a number over the years and all were outstanding in some ways and needed improvement in others, just like any other amp. The same can be said for every tube amp, Class A and AB amps I've had over the years. No amplifier is perfect. 

Last night I was listening to my system and shaking my head in disbelief and loving every minute... with my class D amplifier.
rcronk
52 posts
 
Nothing in the audio world from the 1950s is much more than an antique.  The 2020 something tech changes everything, including the functionality of Class D amplification.  Earlier in discussion someone suggested that putting a tubed pre-amp in front will make it all OK.  I now run a Peachtree Grand X-1 hybrid integrated with a pair of 12AU7s in the pre-amp section.  This is supported by 440 watts per channel of Class D transistors and this is a marvelous machine for a home system.  Smooth, able to wisper and bang a gong.  I do not believe most (any) listeners would be able to detect a real difference.  
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