Class D Technology

To me, not being much of a technical whiz about these things, it's all about the ears. We all have different tastes and we all have different ears, thus we all have different preferences. I recently bought an ARC DSi200 here on Audiogon (the prices for used ones are very attractive) as an expedient replacement for my very capable Hegel H-200 integrated. The latter likes to be powered on 24/7 and uses up 60 watts at idle. Since I live in an area (Northern California) where electricity rates are abusive, I wanted something more efficient than the class AB Hegel to power my Proac Response D2s. I have to say that I'm very happy indeed with the ARC. It has no trace of the harshness or thinness, or even soullessness people so often ascribe to class D amplification. Music sounds very controlled and (pardon the pun) composed which suits my tastes admirably. I'm very happy with what this sound and hopefully, when the next utility bill arrives, I'll be happier still. 

Wading through this discussion, I found myself reminded of the late neurologist, Oliver Sacks. He was, as I’m sure you all know, hugely interested in music and how we experience it. He was an enthusiastic devotee of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and was pretty indifferent to the music of Beethoven. He volunteered for a brain-scan to see how he reacted to the music of each composer, and the results showed that Bach noticeably increased his brain’s activity, while Beethoven showed no such effect. http://mentalfloss.com/article/23288/inside-oliver-sackss-brain-he-listens-music

I mention this because what I’m taking away from this lively discourse (apart from the technical details which is mostly beyond me) is that we all have our innate preferences. A sound that lights one person’s candle might have no effect at all on another, and some of these sounds might be actively irritating to a few. Our ears and our brain-wiring are all different, so what appeals to one group of us won’t appeal to another. Hence our differing preferences for and reactions to various classes of amplification.

Personally (and I’ve alluded to this subject in my review of the Wyred4Sound reclocker, q.v.), as a professional musician, I like to be "inside" the music, that is, to be able to discern its details and building-blocks, but I still want the overall sound to be pleasing (musical) enough to be enjoyable. It’s a balancing act. As stated in my previous post in this thread, my ARC STi200 achieves this for me. It might not for you, though, which is fine. I’m not a tube-person, but I certainly can see (hear) why this sound appeals to so many of you. Would be very interesting to see what MY brain looks like on music.