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A great article on Class D/switching amps

The latest edition of The Absolute Sound has, in my opinion, the best overall perspective and evaluation of the eight most regarded class D switching amps on the market today.

The article contains an explanation of the technology, an interview with a couple of the most important designers, the individual reviews and finally a round table discussion regarding these amps.

I believe any of you GON members who might be considering auditioning a class D switching amp would want to review this piece regarding their different sonic signatures.

I had the pleasure of listening to the Kharma MP150 which the panel picked as being on top of the "heap" compared to Audio Research 300.2,Channel Island Audio D-200, Nuforce Reference 9 Special Edition, Red Dragon Audio Leviathan Signature, Jeff Roland Design Group 201, Cary Audio Design A 306,and finally the Spectron Musician III.

Each amp had at least two different reviewers with different systems evaluate them and then compare their experiences. This was a well done piece and if you read it I believe you find it both educational and helpful to understand what these amps are all about.
teajay
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Down here where I live, the question of whether or not a Class D design is superior to $40,000 Class A amps is utterly academic. My RWA Signature 30 is the best sounding amplifier I can afford and it outperforms anything I'm aware of at less than 3 times its price.
The mere fact that we are discussing subtle areas of comparison between the newcomer, dirt cheap digital amps and the finest, most expensive conventional designs speaks very well of the future of Class D.
In photography, we might find a parallel. I'm told by some hobbyists that film provides a certain character that digital doesn't quite convey but that digital has a clarity and precision that film was never able to capture.
coffeey's avatar
coffeey
363 posts
 
And in doing such a comparison as the Ab. Sound did,most of the amps probably did ok to very good compared to how they set everything up.There is no haze or colorization to what i listen to.
coffeey's avatar
coffeey
363 posts
 
Also I think part of it might be ,do you really need 40,000 to build a reference,seriously 30,40, 50,000 thousand,pretty ridiculous when it gets right down to actually.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Teajay, there have been two pairs of H2O amps for sale recently. One was sold along with speakers for financial reasons. The other sale was speaker driven IMHO. In any event, that seller is a die hard tube lover. There is no telling for preferences.

I would love Nelson to drive down the hill to hear what I have. My bet is he would change his design priorities straight away.

Who says there must be one design? Henry makes ICE ASP amps at a substantially lower price for those who want them. He sells the Signature monos direct, and makes only a decent return. It takes some dough to make these amps in America.

macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Copy that, Coffeey. Why should a pair of speakers or an amplifier or a turntable cost as much to produce as a luxury car? Or twice as much? The prices of modern high end equipment are downright scandalous. We audiophiles seem to be goose stepping along in mass hypnosis nodding our heads in agreement about what a bargain a $600 power cord represents.
I think the reason behind the endless proliferation of new high end manufacturers relative to the nearly static growth in the number of audio buyers can be explained by the preposterous margins enjoyed when a sale is occassionally made. I never really fed this beast in any big way in the past but I'm going to try to starve it from now on by seeking products which do very well for little money. Class D seems to provide that option.
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