Atma-Sphere Class D… Amazing

@mapman

In any case, it is not possible to properly assess any amp without also considering the speakers it will be driving. The best amp/speaker integrations will ALWAYS produce the best results. Nothing else is possible, though some amps will care less about what speakers are used than others.

And by extension, the space the equipment will be used in. With state of the art class d amps, the dominant barrier to accurate sound reproduction is the speaker and speaker/room interaction, no long the amp.

@fsonicsmith 
 

When I find out that there is a switching amp that thrills listeners whom I trust, I will be glad to audition one. History has shown that switching amps can ace measurement testing and bore the death out of the listener. No meat to the bones. No there there. 

Any amp class can ace measurements and bore the death out of a listener. This is hardly unique to class d amps. Apparently the Benchmark mentioned above didn't excite every listener either, and it's not a class d amp, by the way.

@snapsc

We all know that numbers often don’t tell the story of how something will sound

and yet the designer of the amp under discussion has said this:

Subjective opinions can carry quite a bit of factual information. If all those opinions say the same thing and the people producing them are unaware of each other they carry quite a bit of weight. It seems to me that you've still not made the connection of how important measurements are to the subjective experience (and I see that all the time on the subjectivist side as well...). The rules of human hearing are the reason why; as I pointed out earlier all humans use the same perceptual rules. So if we can sort out what's important to the ear, then we can make the measurements to show if we've made progress.

Hmmmmm

Nope it is Class A-G

Many complain it is to sterile sounding. 

SONIC PURITY THAT SURPASSES CLASS A!

The AHB2 is a linear amplifier that surpasses the sonic purity of all class-A amplifiers. No amplifier delivers lower noise or lower distortion. The small, passively cooled chassis, cleanly delivers 480 Watts bridged mono into 6 Ohms, with additional reserves for driving difficult speaker loads. Unlike power-hungry class-A amplifiers, the AHB2 achieves a power efficiency that rivals that of a Class D (switching) power amplifier.

The feed-forward design even makes the more efficient Class H or G operation possible — with no rise in distortion at class H or G switch point (Class H, or G, rail switching at a 1/3 power threshold);