You’re going down the right road looking for class A, don’t listen to anyone who says that a properly made class D amp has the qualities you seem to seek. A, A/B, D etc. each have a flavor. Although some A/B are biased for a handful of watts at the top. .
Question about Class A
So I read all the time how awesome Class A Amps/Integrated's (SS and Tube) are.
I currently have a Vincent SV-500 Hybrid and feel it sounds really good.
But I have this itch now to hear what Class A would sound like and would it be a big difference to my current Vincent.
I wanted to ask what are some good Class A Integrated's that I could look into?
I know Pass Labs always comes up and for good reason but those might be a bit out of my budget.
I would say I can probably go to $3K new or used.
Sugden is another brand that I have researched a lot and the A21 retails for around $2500 and there is a dealer in Socal that carries it, so that one is tempting.
Vincent has the SV-237 MK II but I think that is only Class A for the 1st 10 watts into 8-ohms and I have 4-ohm speakers so I am not sure if that would give me any Class A magic. I am sure it would sound similar to my SV-500 but have more base extension.
Could you all recommend any other one's? I have been researching but haven't come across any (SS or Tube).
Thanks
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IME You can't judge any amplifier by its class of operation. For example class D amps vary in sound just as much as tube amps do- some are quite nice, others make you wonder what the fuss is about. The 'flavor' of any amplifier is essentially its distortion characteristics. Some designers know this and others don't. |
wisdom from ralph yet again people confuse technologies with results... those folks lack a fundamental understanding of engineering, which is to make specific technologies work to achieve targeted performance parameters just like dacs when people say r2r sounds x, delta sigma sounds y... ugh... |
This may not help, but it depends. If you have efficient horn loaded speakers > 95 dB/watt-meter, you may hear a difference. Most amps are Class A for the first five to 10 watts and switch to Class AB for higher power. Class A is terribly inefficient, with a theoretical value of 50% conversion to power, the other 50% lost as heat. In practice the value is 20-25%. The amp is producing four watts of heat for every one watt of amplification power. Here are two good technical descriptions about Class A without the audiophile voodoo
https://www.sound-au.com/class-a.htm In short there is nothing wrong with Class AB. Performance sound reinforcement, especially in arenas with rock concerts are running AB through PA speakers. Try the Class A and see if you like it. If you have the skills, they are very easy to build as there are thousands of designs in the literature. |
@ronald8 , my speakers are 92db. That is one thing that I am afraid of, that I acquire a Class A device like the Sugden but don't really hear a significant difference from what I have now (at least in my system). |
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