If Class D amplification becomes accepted by audiophiles there should be a glut of high end amps (Krell, Levinson, Pass etc) becoming available on the used market at prices a fraction of
what they are now.
Think CRT TV when the flat panels began emerging.I think Ill hold off on a new/used amp purchase for a little while. Maybe I will bet a Boulder.
It's all about what you are familiar with. If you never heard a good class A amp, or heard a not so good class A amp, a class D can be impressive. I had a Pioneer Elite receiver about 12 years ago and it sounded great. However, I purchased an older B&K st140 and there seems to be a deep soundstage where instruments are at various places. Whereas the Pioneer sounded as if every instrument was lined up front and center ( if that makes sense). Now I have not heard a recent class d amp
Seriously? How many people outside of (some of) the folks who post here do you think are spinning a turntable? Look around and see how the next generation of young folks are consuming their music. Buying CDs, vinyl - don't think so. Audiophile will keep doing what they're doing now and everybody else will go for cheaper, lighter - read more portable, and more energy efficient- read class D, stuff. I'm not holding my breathe to grab a Pass XA60.8 at fire sale prices anytime soon. I just wish.
Unless you have personally heard the newest Nuforce/Nuprime amps, such as Reference 20 mono amps which come at Class D in a different, proprietary way not using the modules that others use, you have not heard what Class D type amps can currently offer.
Although I did say I was waiting I know I can't. Ill lose my mind.My Aragon 8008 (admittedly not true high end) has been at the shop for 6 weeks now and I’m suffering withdrawl. If it isn’t ready soon or can’t be economically repaired I will buy something similar. Nope..Not class D. Maybe by the time my next upgrade is due Class D will be the standard and I'll be able to afford that Pass Labs 250x I drool so heavily over.
I compare the two because I am very familiar wit CRT and its slow demise. I see the amp situation to be somewhat similiar. I agree vinyl is very alive and I agree Class D is not ready for high end prime time. I dont believe high end class A ala Krell, Pass etc will ever disappear. I just see the possibility of breakthroughs in Class D as a great thing for budget USED high end if Class D ever becomes the standard. To say it will never happen or that it absolutely will happen is folly. The title is High End Amp Price Collapse musings and you are correct. Musing could be substituted for Mental Gymnastics. This is nothing serious....just fun.
The time may be coming, maybe not. Class D is not really new, it's been around for about 15 years now. I seem to think that Class D was more popular 10 years ago than it is today.
You keep trying to compare Class A to CRT TV's, how about you compare it to vinyl? 35(?) years after the release of digital, and vinyl is still very much alive.
Trying to guess what audio products will gain favor and which will lose favor in the next 10-25 years would seem to be an exercise in futility. Mental gymnastics, nothing more.
There are a number of Class D amps that sound really good at their modest price points, such as the offerings by Bel Canto. But, so far, the really high end and expensive models have not impressed me. I have no idea why the Devialet amps get such good reviews for sound quality; they sound lifeless and I find myself losing interest quickly when listening to music through those amps (they look fantastic and are incredibly compact and versatile so I can understand their non-sonic appeal).
I agree that class D is not there yet. There was a time when flat panel and digital projection could not hold a candle to CRT particularily in black level. Discerning home theatre enthusiasts would still put up with huge, heavy, inefficient CRT displays to get that black level. Once digital got close the value of CRT plummeted. At that time one could pick up high end CRT displays and projectors for dirt cheap. Arguably these displays still out performed all but the very best digital systems and it was heaven for those on a tight budget. I agree this is a way off for amplification but I do believe the time is coming.
I once thought that high power PA and studio amps by Crown for example would be an obvious way to get the big power I thought I wanted. That was 15 years ago, since then class D came along with much fanfare but left me wanting and even the vaunted B & O ICE module amps don't sound like the amps I have come to like most, which are moderate/medium power tube amps running mostly in class A.
Believe me when I came back to audio I thought I was going to be a Krell guy all the way and still think I will want to get some Pass Class A biased amps someday. However, I'll keep my tube amps anyway even while having my dalliances with SS.
Good point. We’ll see what happens when it happens.
One caveat though is Class D can be relatively inexpensive and high bang for the buck but there are still many Class D amps not any less than competition. Smaller and lighter maybe, but not even that always the case. Depends on who’s making it and what their marketing and design goals are.
Definitely new competition for traditional monster and/or tube amps though. I tried Class D before going that or tube amp way and glad I did.
I agree with okeeteekid completely. I was interested in class D amps a while back, but after hearing a few (including Devialet), I still think class D technology has a long way to go before being able to compete with class A sound.
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