"D" amps, general discussion who's 1 and why?


There sure seems to be allot of continued "BUZZ" regarding "D" amps. I am reading more and more SET/Tube users and lovers actually recommending and using them.

So what are your thoughts.
128x128dev
The "D" in class D does not stand for digital. It's simply a sequencing convenience. . . A, B, [C], D. . . do not ask me where class C devices are, I have no idea. Recent Bel Canto amps have abandoned Tripath modules. . . . Bel Canto is now using ICEpower modules: ASP500 in the Ref 500 and ASP 1000 in the Ref 1000 Mk.2. Like with any other basic module/tube, the sound of a class D amp depends as much on what the designer is capable of harnessing from the strengths of underlying devices, as much as on the raw 'sound' of the device itself. . . . which by the way, -- for all it matters -- remains analog.
Geph0007 asked:
"Maybe I missed something. Are you ( Dcstp) saying the Bel Canto with the Tripath module is not digital???? "

I'm saying that Ref 500 and 1000 are NOT digital. Most class D is not.

PS Audio are screwing aroudn with putting a DAC inside a chassis with a Class D amp. The DAC, of course, would be digital, but the amplifier is not.

Tripath was not Class D. I've seen it describe as Class-T, really. I think of it as a hybrid system that may combine power switching with some sort of digital/analog conversion, but I, admittedly, never fully understood what it was doing in the digital mode. There's probably a good reason that they abandoned Tripath.

Dave
See my review of the Bel Canto Ref 1000 Mk.2 monoblock amplifier just posted on issue No. 43 of Positive Feedback Online. Yes, IMO, this is an example of an excellent and very musical high power amplifier at a Real World price, regardless of underlying technology.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue43/bel_canto_ref1000.htm