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Do all Class D amps lack soundstage depth?

Hello!
Recently I bought a class D amp for my friend from Audiogon - PS Audio Trio A-100. In general, I liked it sound very much. Compared to the power section of my much cheaper integrated amp (NAD C320BEE), Trio A-100 sounded fresher, more transparent, richer and juicier. NAD was obviously duller and more reserved. Trio A-100 seemed to energize the air with a sort of vibrancy, while NAD seemed more lifeless. (Of course, I am exaggerating the difference between the amps a bit to make it more clear how they differ from each other.) However, Trio A-100 lacked one parameter, which is very essential for me and without which I cannot truly get lost in the music – namely, the soundstage was flat. It wasn’t absolutely flat, no – but NAD did so much better in this department. When NAD was playing, I heard which instruments and singers were farther from me and which were closer to me. When Trio was playing, everything seemed to be on the same line, equidistant from me.

The previous owner of PS Audio Trio A-100 had told to me about its sound before I bought the amp from him, and he frankly admitted that the soundstage was kind of flat. Before this purchase, I nearly bought another Class D amp – namely, Bel Canto S300. Eventually, this amp went to another buyer, but the owner shared with me his impressions about this amp and, among other things, he wrote: “There might be less depth with some recordings”.

So, at least two owners of Class D amps confessed that their amps lacked soundstage depth.

I wonder – are all Class D amps like that? Is the lack of depth something which is intrinsically inherent in Class D?

My second question is – what if I buy TWO Class D amps and use them as monoblocks – will it solve the problem with the flatness of the soundstage?

Any advice based on personal experience will be much appreciated.
ironmine
58 responses Add your response
heavystarch
34 posts
 
Just a bit of clarification:

The term "class-D" is sometimes misunderstood as meaning a "digital" amplifier. The quantization of the output signal at the power stage can be controlled by either an analog signal or a digital signal. Only in the latter case would an amplifier be using fully digital amplification.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switching_amplifier

http://www.audioholics.com/education/amplifier-technology/the-truth-about-digital-class-d-amplifiers
jmelvin
17 posts
 
I also have the Trio A100 with the matching Pre and the presentation is not only deep, but tall and wide as well. I agree that system synergy and speaker placement is key.
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markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
652 posts
 

Bel Canto Black EX Controller/DAC with amp.  Excellent sound stage and everything else. 

timlub
2,040 posts
 

I have built no less than a dozen class D Amps. They vary dramatically in presentation To be fair, I always increase capacitance, replace any caps on the input and bypass the rest of the caps when possible.  I also add a bank of caps between the smps and the amp module. I have found that as long as the coils are good quality and decent size that Changing those does not give improvement. This is in general, but overall correct. I've had varied results with TPA3255 and STA508, but a module with good layout and nice parts upgrades produces smooth accurate Soundstage and imaging. I have just built an amp that I picked up all the components that Jeff Rowland used on his 535. I had to use the Pascal input board, I found a slightly better a/c input filter and better power bank supply caps. I have about 100 hours on this and it is also very good. I hope all of this helps in some way. Tim

audition__audio
1,494 posts
 

With all class D amps I have heard, the music tends to lay on the speaker surface. This includes the amps with the tube like module at Axpona this year. Got most everything else correct, but had a flat characteristic. Having said this I was impressed with that system as a whole. 

tonnesen
138 posts
 

This thread is 14 years old and a lot has changed in Class D since then.   My AGD Duets Class D have excellent imaging and soundstage, and they compare well to my Boulder 866 and Pass INT-25 (with Playback Designs MPS-8/MPS-X DAC/streamer and YG Hailey 2.2 speakers).   

It would depend on the type of music I'm listening to, but at moderate sound levels, I might rank them as Pass INT-25 > AGD Duets > Boulder 866, but all 3 are excellent.  At louder sound levels,  AGD Duets > Boulder 866.  With the AGD's I use the PBD DAC variable volume control with balanced interconnects direct to the AGD amps.   

 

ddafoe
246 posts
 

This thread is 14 years old and a lot has changed in Class D since then...

Yes, exactly.   I own AtmaSphere Class D monos and they replaced a Pass XA30.8 and X250.8.   The two pass amps have the best front to back soundstage depth I've owned at home.   I think the AtmaSphere monos are very close, giving up just a little front to back, but offer a better lateral soundstage and have a blacker background that lets me 'see/feel' more space around the instruments.

All in all, I consider it about a wash give or take with two very fine sounding amplifiers; not bad for two 14 pound boxes that never feel even warm :)

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