I would say the future of class D is Lyngdorf.
Class D amplifiers. What's the future look like?
I have a number of amplifiers: Luxman C900U, Bryston 4BSST2, Audio Research VSI 60 Integrated, NAD C298 and some other less noteworthy units. As I swap them in and out of my main system, I've come to the conclusion my very modest NAD C298 is about all I really need. Granted if I had extremely hard to drive speakers, I might be better with the Bryston or Luxman, but driving my Harbeth 40.2 speakers, the NAD is just fine.
I thought a while ago that class D would quickly overtake amplifier design type mainly due to profit margin which I think would be much greater than A/B and tube. I'm not saying the other design styles would go away, just that D would be the most common style.
Clearly my prediction is not panning out, at least in the mid and high-end audio world and I'm wondering why? It seems companies such as Bryston, Luxman, McIntosh, Hegel and so many others are sticking by A/B. I'm no "golden ears" guy, but is the perceived sound issue(weather real or imaginary) still holding D back? Maybe my assumption of profit margin is not correct? Maybe the amplifier manufacturers are experimenting with D, but keeping tight lipped until release? Perhaps brand loyalists don't want change similar to what happened with "new coke". What else am I missing?
Showing 10 responses by tunefuldude
@inna are you familiar with the law of diminishing returns? |
So, if I understand you correctly @mahgister then the idea that the old school separate pre amp and amp approach being "better" would sort of fall under the bigger is better type of logic, as well? I've only had my tdai 2170 for a little less than 2 weeks but so far the biggest trade off I've been able to observe is something I read about in nearly all of the reviews is what I can now confirm as the blackest background ever. I'm sure someone's gonna show up lately to dispute the virus of the approach, which I understand very little about b/c I have zero interest around the subject matter, But plenty of our members do! And I know not everyone around here is into the high end cable thing but I'm a Nordost kind of guy, which is a very freaking expensive habit so how nice is it to be able to cut out some of that cost ... as another true trade off of the approach. so far, the trade offs are sounding pretty sweet! |
Can someone please explain the wire with gain concept? My understanding is that it's both a pretty cool and also a novel approach, but I'm not real hip to the technical stuff, esp the Pros and Cons. I rely on the opinions of others for that. This thread appears to have some of the most well informed members, tho. For what it's worth, style is actually not only something that I take into account, but it's part of the reason I moved in this direction. I personally find the Lyngdorf style to be sexy as hell and it goes along with my decor beautifully. Very modern and cool with clean lines and not only does it only have 2 knobs on the front ... the action on the volume knob is totally freaking cool. : ) |
@soix LMAO Pretty hilarious! |
@grannyring I'm wondering if you can please extoll the virtues of Lyngdorf's approach to Class D, as it relates to this thread? And, hey! by the way ... tysm for the slick custom mods on my 2170! |