Class A amp vs Class D amp


I have B&W 802s for fronts and HTM1 fronts and SCMs for rears. I like listening to stereo and watching movies. I recently visited a high end stereo establisment and came up with two options and am trying to make an educated and wise decision. It comes down to should I spend more on the audio side and have less for the visual side or vice versa. I looked at class D Rotel RB 1091 500watt monos as three seperates to power the front and a 2channel RB 1092 500 watt to power the rears in a 5.1 system. I also looked at the Classe 5 x 200 amp which is Class A. The Classe is approximately $8,000 and the Rotel $5200. The matching processor for the Rotel top of the line RSP 1098 is $2600 and the bottom of the line Classe SSP 300 is 4500. First of all is there roughly a $5000 difference in sound quality that justifies the more expensive system. I listened to both at seperate establishments and they both sounded good, with certainly the classe seemingly superior. The question is it in total $5000 superior? Secondly do you sink $4500 into a processor that has no HDMI connects and will likely be obsolete soon, if not now. I also listened to the anthem P5 and was not significantly impressed.
ghaas

Showing 1 response by pdreher

Mixing the Classe amps for the fronts and the cheaper Rotel for the center and surrounds is not a problem, and would be the preferred way to go if you are truly sold on investing in a surround system.

However, from personal experience, I'd skip surround sound and stick all of your money into high quality 2 channel gear with a quality subwoofer... you'll end up with very good performance for movies, and even better performance for music.