In other words, could you have equal technical performance and quality in a Class D amp?
@jackhifiguy by what measure would we consider equal “technical performance” and “quality”?
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.
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- 121 posts total
Actually, the 70s were the Spec Wars. Objectivism ruled and high negative feedback gave vanishingly low THD and IM numbers. However, the resulting sound quality got worse, not better. TIM distortion was discovered, feedback was dialed back, and the importance of listening was once again proved. Anyone remember the Leach amp, designed by Marshall Leach? Another young amp designer to emerge at this time was Nelson Pass. His Threshold CAS amps were the result of a design exercise in minimizing the need for feedback by optimizing the circuit's inherent linearity. While he was already producing STASIS amps, the CAS line brought his work into a more affordable range. In many respects, they're the progenitors of First Watt. |
@atmasphere Are you showing these at Axpona? |
I would suspect that a good salesman would not claim that others are close or better. But I have also heard nothing but good about Ralph’s work. There is Purifi and Benchmark that are generally well regarded amps in the Class-D space. Or… personally… I would only be looking at those three for class-D HiFi amps. |
- 121 posts total