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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?

nicktheknife
jeffreyw's avatar
jeffreyw
270 posts
 

@nicktheknife 

I would caution you on the pure Class A Luxman integrateds (20W & 30W) driving a difficult load/ low sensitivity speaker. They will produce very little bass to the extent that you would think a component is broken. I tried to power a pair of KEF Ref 1Metas with a 590 AXII, those speakers ate the integrated up. Their M10X is a different story though and produced prodigous bass. 

nicktheknife OP
194 posts
 

@jeffreyw 

Thanks for the advice.  I may want to upgrade my speakers sometime and I would like an amp that can drive my future speakers without having to upgrade the amp ... again.

roncagg
61 posts
 

The Sugden class A integrated amps sound wonderful and are reasonably priced for their sound quality, especially when bought preowned. I downsized from LTA separates (a lot more expensive), and in my system I didn’t lose anything, very happy (running the amp into Revival Audio Atalante 3 standmounts, excellent).

erik_squires
16,127 posts
 

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.

 

There are some megabuck Class A amps I would never trade my A/B Luxman integrated for. The theory is that Class A amplifiers have less distortion right at the zero crossing point, but in absolute distortion terms it is not always the case that Class A has less distortion, it just doesn’t suffer from one particular challenge. I find the peculiarities of an amp to be much more important than the class. Also, I can’t really imagine living with a large class A amplifier due to the power waste.

There are even some Class D designs I like a lot more than some famous Class As.

bigkidz
3,387 posts
 

Are you just looking for the lowest distortion?  You cannot determine sound quality by class alone.  We build pure class A mono blocks and hybrid power amplifiers.  It comes down to design implementation and the quality of parts.  If you want a good power amp for the price, try out the BEL power amps. Even the early models have a beautiful sound.

Happy Listening.

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