I find many of the comments about class D topology to be counter to my experience. Yes, not many years ago, it was a new and difficult topology to execute well. That is no longer true.
I own parasound gear (halo A23 and P3) in one system. It’s good but not great, but nice from a performance/value standpoint. In a newer system, I own NAD Masters series which is class D. The NAD is in another league relative to the parasound as it’s more musical, smoother, more revealing. Of course, it was also a lot more expensive.
However, I also own the PS Audio Stellar stack in a third system and it’s shockingly good for the price. (It might be as good as the NAD but they’re in different locations so no comparison can be made). It’s very smooth, very full and very nice to listen to on speakers that can be very unforgiving too. The Stellar stack replaced a class A/B amp topology and a very well regarded DAC which together cost 2x more, and the improvement was immediate and significant.
The claim that companies are making class D because it’s so cheap to execute is just plain wrong. Yes, there are cheap, poorly executed examples, particularly in HT. But this can be true of any topology, including class A, SET, class A/B, etc and there are myriad examples of poorly done versions of each.
I will also say that I went out of my way to evaluate class D because I wanted these newer systems to be more effecient to reduce their environmental impact. Personally, it seems to me we should be pushing for more class D gear and should begin to steer away from class A gear (whether tubes or SS). There are now good sounding alternatives available.
My $.03 (inflation)
I own parasound gear (halo A23 and P3) in one system. It’s good but not great, but nice from a performance/value standpoint. In a newer system, I own NAD Masters series which is class D. The NAD is in another league relative to the parasound as it’s more musical, smoother, more revealing. Of course, it was also a lot more expensive.
However, I also own the PS Audio Stellar stack in a third system and it’s shockingly good for the price. (It might be as good as the NAD but they’re in different locations so no comparison can be made). It’s very smooth, very full and very nice to listen to on speakers that can be very unforgiving too. The Stellar stack replaced a class A/B amp topology and a very well regarded DAC which together cost 2x more, and the improvement was immediate and significant.
The claim that companies are making class D because it’s so cheap to execute is just plain wrong. Yes, there are cheap, poorly executed examples, particularly in HT. But this can be true of any topology, including class A, SET, class A/B, etc and there are myriad examples of poorly done versions of each.
I will also say that I went out of my way to evaluate class D because I wanted these newer systems to be more effecient to reduce their environmental impact. Personally, it seems to me we should be pushing for more class D gear and should begin to steer away from class A gear (whether tubes or SS). There are now good sounding alternatives available.
My $.03 (inflation)