Kinda seems like this jumped right into the weeds about amp design without getting some critical bigger-picture info. You’ve got a long list of equipment on your system page so what are you using now, what improvements would you like to achieve (if any), and what sound characteristics are most important to you? That’s really the bottom line more than whether a given amp is Class A or A/B, at least IMHO.
Higher-End Class A/B vs. Class A Integrateds
I’ve been thinking about downsizing from separates to an integrated amp. I’ve noticed that some companies have both class A and class A/B amps that are both pretty expensive such as Luxman for example. Hegel seems to be well received and they’re not true class A as far as I know.
I was kind of under the impression that class A was better than class A/B due to lower distortion yet again, there are some well reviewed class A/B amps that are as pricey as some class A amps.
To be clear, it’s really not the price I’m concerned about. It’s the fact that some integrated amps $5000 and up are still only Class AB.
How do these higher priced class AB amps sound in comparison to true class A amps?
Showing 3 responses by soix
Well, I asked very specific questions before about what sound characteristics you’re looking for but you didn’t answer and just seem stuck on amplifier topology, so I’m out. I don’t think PBN has ever designed a full Class A amp although I reviewed one of Peter’s Liberty amps that had low- and high-bias settings and I much preferred it in high bias mode. My guess is his higher-level PBN amps are Class A/B but skewed toward a higher bias that achieves some of the qualities of a pure Class A amp and maybe that’s what you liked, but that’s just a guess. |
@erik_squires Was your response AI-generated too? Ehem. I think in general if you’re relying on ChatGPT to make your arguments here your credibility sinks like a stone and likely for good reason. Might go over well on Reddit tho. |