Class D vs Class A Education

IMO, the type of music would strongly lead to one's preference over the other. Class D has all the efficiency and power reserves for strong and demanding type of music. On the other hand, Class A typically has the refinement and finesse to track and amplify the signal more faithfully. Acoustic instruments like flute, oboe, violin, piano, harpsichord...etc., their natural timber and harmonics are somewhat rendered more realistically with Class A amps. With difficult to drive speakers and demanding type of musical preferences, Class D would be the preferable choice.

Vinw, I suppose you are right. But how about having the best compromise in one package? Would you recommend particular amps that deliver closer to the ideal regardless of As and Ds?

Heres the deal with class d it absolutely wows you at first,huge wallop of bass,way to much for me,just my opin,extreme power out of class d also,but in long term listening ,i just had a overwhelming feeling of something not right,can i explain it ,of course not.Although system matching is important,but i hate to say this sometimes i think the system matching is just another excuse for a component that just doesnt sound good in the first place.

Inna, I suppose dollar for dollar, D amps win and would likely be close to the ideal in general (97~98% level). Small, light weight, low price ..etc are a big plus for us in a typical home. On the other hand if price, space and heat is not a concern, then the uber expensive high wattage Class A amps would be the ultimate choice that would bring us closer to the last 2~3%.

Ok what class A amps are we talking about, at what prices?
And, what class D amps are we basing our opinions on and at what prices?

I've stated what I use and what they were compared to.

My amps weren't cheap,and they look nice, but that's not why I bought them and have continued to marvel at what they do, especially after comparing them to several other designs at different prices above and below what my amps cost me.

I don't agree that all A amps are great and all D amps are less than great.

The law of averages would have to be that there are some clunkers at all prices in both categories.

Synergy ,who really knows when you have it 100%?

I think all our systems are in a constant state of flux.
The synergy was there when we bought the gear, we just want to fine tune it,not synergize it.

I know what synergy is supposed to mean, and it's another bugaboo term that I try to dismiss.
To me, the ultimate synergy is when the whole becomes one .

When you no longer can tell what component is doing what to the music.
It's a time when you stop looking for the "right" amp to match up with your speakers.

If that's what synergy is, then I guess I am there, but I really don't think I am even close to getting sound that makes you forget you are listening to electronics and electrically reproduced music.

I also dismiss those who say they don't listen to the gear, just the music.

If it wasn't for the gear and the ears"you don't trust" what would this hobby be all about?

Maybe to be a purist music lover, we should all forgo any electronic music reproducing system, forget about going to concerts to give our ears a real sense of what music should sound like, and instead just buy the sheet music, and follow the score and hum along with what we are reading.

I guess I will have to listen to an"uber expensive high wattage Class A" amp to put this one to sleep.

But truth be told, the 1961 20 watt Bell tubed integrated was the marvel of the whole exercise.

Only, however when you know how old a design it is(still uses orig tubes)do you get a feel for how well it performs.

Not hearing it, most would write it off, based on a description of the amp.
Just as most do with D amps, based on what they read.

Not one of the amps stood head and shoulders above the rest, no matter what price or design,synergy or no synergy,they all served the music and did their job.

Yet each amp had a sonic signiture, they didn't all sound the same,but the differences weren't big .

The D amp and the A amps had the best bass control, the PP and SET amps had nice mid range liquid sound,the OTL had a bit of everything and it was the closest to the D amp after the A amp if I had to decide.

It had good bass impact and a nice roundness but not a tubey sound. It was really engaging.
You listened to it, and wanted more.

The old tube pp el34 design had a special magic with drumsticks on cymbals that none of the other amps bettered.But overall clarity was lacking and the bass was too flabby and indistinct.

The A amp ruled the day in bass slam and depth.Drum whacks went thru the floor and bass waves shook the listeneing seat, yet cymbals were harshm strident, the upper rgisters were lacking the three dimensional sound of the tube units.

The SET amp was quite nice, but didn't really do anything to ditinguish itself from any of the other tube amps and they all cost less than it did.
Everything was nice.But not great, just nice, it didn't call attention to itself or any section of the music, maybe it was the most neutral synergistic amp then?
But even if it was the least expensive amp in the comparison(it was the most expensive) I wasn't smitten with it.It didn't move me.
This was one of the reasons the old cheap Bell left such an impression, for most of the same reasons, it also didn't draw attention to itself.

So that brings me to the D amps that I own.
They do as much good and at least as little harm as any of the other amps.
They can draw attention to themselves when bass slam is called for, they have that nice tube like warmth and roundness, they also have that SET see thru mid range,they are well balanced,and can draw you into the music and make you want to listen longer because of their get out of the way character.

Are they perfect?
I know they aren't, that's why I started to look for somethingelse,as I usually change gear every couple of years, the amps were next in line for an upgrade.

But for now ,I am satisfied that they are as good as anything out there class be damned.