Class D is just Dandy!

I just realized this thread was started in April of 2017!! It has outlasted GeorgeHifi as well as MQA and still going strong.

Thanks to everyone who has made a constructive contribution to this thread!

FYI, I've gone from linear (Parasound) to Class D (ICEpower) to LInear (Luxman) and am about to transition fully to Class-D active speakers based on Hypex amps and DSP.

@erik_squires ,

Which Parasound? How did the sound change from Parasound to Class D. I am wondering why you went back to class AB. And now looking to change to active speakers. I am very curious about NAD M23 since it is not a beast and seems well made. But not sure if I will like it compared to the Parasound A21.

@celo wrote:

I am very very impressed with this amp. It is stupid powerful but that’s not why I like it. It is super balanced. Detailed sound, big soundstage, the instruments sound like live almost, very good vocals.

Great that you like its sound! What speakers are you running them with?

However, the fans. Ohh those stupid loud fans!

I replaced the built-in fans with low noise Arctic dittos. Noctua fans is another option, and while some of them they don’t shift as much air as the Arctic’s (a potential problem with high wattage usage) their noise floor is a bit lower even. Consult MC² Audio for advice with regard to fan replacement. I had mine delivered by the company to a pro dealer I know well and who’s importing the amps, and this way the fans were fitted with the right wire socket type.

@phusis I already talked to MC2. They are very helpful and responsive. They told me I can do the replacement but I cannot get fans out myself. Looks easy but need an angled/suitable tools which I don’t have. About Noctua, they said it maybe risky to use if you don’t know what you are doing. Because the Noctua has metal parts on the fan and if it touches the heatsink, it will short out and damage the amplifier.

I maybe after a T1000 which has an option to set the back fan to kick in when it reaches to 90 Celsius, the front fan is still on at all times. The T1500 has fans are always on design.

Did you really hear a big difference when you changed it to more quiet fans or is it still there?

I am only using it in my second system for now which is connected to NHT 1.5.

@milpai

Which Parasound?

A21 driving Focal Profile floor standers

How did the sound change from Parasound to Class D.

I can’t answer that because I don’t believe in the class itself making a sound. If you ask how did it change between my A21 and ICEPower 250ASP I can honestly say they sounded identical in good and bad ways. Very laid back and maybe even too laid back with no euphonic colorations

I am wondering why you went back to class AB.

I didn’t. I went to a Luxman because it sounded better. In particular, compared to both the Parasound and ICEpower it had more extension in the bass and treble and an almost tube quality to the midrange and treble. The Luxman just happens to be A/B.  I suspect much of the sound quality of the Luxman however is in the preamp design so I hope to switch to a Luxman preamp (perhaps tubed) when I go active.

And now looking to change to active speakers.

Making speakers is how I enjoy my hobby and the next step in my system’s evolution is to convert my 2-way speakers with passive crossovers to 3-way actives.

I am very curious about NAD M23 since it is not a beast and seems well made. But not sure if I will like it compared to the Parasound A21.

I can’t speak about that particular jump. I’m using a Hypex plate amp for my center and I like it a great deal, but the NAD hybrid amps are significantly different in design so hard to compare.