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Class A or Class D solid-state amplifiers (modern designs)

Hey guys.

 

Class A is supposedly superior. Something to do with a conduction angle of 360 degrees...so the entire signal gets processed in one go without crossover distortion.

But in terms of sound quality (subjective enjoyment) is there a benefit to Class A? Can class D provide the same level of enjoyment?

 

The dealer I’m talking to says that really nice Class A amplifiers are designed for "reference quality" meaning completely true to the real life performance.

 

Let’s compare and contrast. Which one is technically better?

 

In other words, could you have equal technical performance and quality in a Class D amp?

 

- Jack.

jackhifiguy
walnuts
9 posts
 
Re comment above by atmasphere I can understand one of the reasons why my class A/B monoblocs sound so good - they use zero feedback and run very high into class A (400w each at idle). BAT VK655SE's.
elangley01
93 posts
 

You aren’t going to find better measured performance than a pair of Hypex NC400 Monoblocks.

clearthinker's avatar
clearthinker
1,582 posts
 

Perhaps forget about 'technical performance' and configuration.  By 'quality' I presume OP means sound quality.

That's what all of us are looking for, but it cannot be an absolute - each of us has different tastes in sound reproduction.

So I suggest OP  just goes and listens to a range of amps of many configurations and takes the ones he likes best.

jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 

Check out the new Topping PA5 Class D amp. $349! Clips at 110wpc@8ohms with 1% distortion. Uses advanced circuitry and has an input level control. Ranks just below the Benchmark AHB2 in SINAD at 1/10 the price! 

markmuse
287 posts
 

TCO is total cost of ownership--I'm guessing he means power bill.

TCO for class A should include the cost of back surgery.

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