Sure honest reviews are possible. The problem is that when someone like the OP dosnt agree with them, they believe their personal opinion is the end of the discussion and claim anything that dosnt agree is trash. My question would be why are you even reading reviews. You’ve already made up your mind before you read, so reviews arnt for people like that. Buy what you want and apparently you’ll be happy with that. A lot of people don’t come with preconceived ideas and those are the ones who the reviews are for.
Honest Amp Reviews: Impossible?
So, I’ve noticed a flood of class D junk hitting the market over the last several years. They come from many different brand names from people you’ve never heard of before like "VTV", to popular Internet-in-the-know brands like PS Audio to famous names like Marantz. One thing they ALL have in common: the complete inability to find honest reviews online for these products.
For example, let’s take for instance the Stellar series from PS Audio. Class D junk with the usual attempt to improve euphonics with some kind of input stage. They call this scheme class AD, I guess to differentiate all the other brands that do something similar. However, you’ll never see a review site point this out; they’ll comment briefly on the design and then dutifully call it class AD afterwards as if it isn’t just a class D amp like many others.
Next, the reviewer will invariably lie about the sound. This lying usually takes the form of lying by omission. They’ll gush about how beefy and controlled it is, how neutral it is, how wide and natural the soundstage is, etc. What they WON’T mention is how lifeless, flat, boring and ultimately fatiguing they ALL are. The buyer who doesn’t know any better has to find that out for themselves while he slowly grows to distrust anything a reviewer has to say about anything. So, the only way to actually get value out of a review is to see if a certain amp has the positive attributes you are looking for while trying to painstakingly research any problems it might have because the reviewer won’t mention them.
In addition to the lies of omission, there’s the usual con of giving certain gear to certain reviewers who will appreciate / like the piece. That Stellar will NEVER be put up against a Dan D’agostino or a Pass for example. This could be valuable to the buyer to see how a lesser amp stacks up against a high end one, but it’s not, apparently, useful to the reviewers. Why? Why is telling the whole truth about amps -- all gear really -- taboo?
For example, let’s take for instance the Stellar series from PS Audio. Class D junk with the usual attempt to improve euphonics with some kind of input stage. They call this scheme class AD, I guess to differentiate all the other brands that do something similar. However, you’ll never see a review site point this out; they’ll comment briefly on the design and then dutifully call it class AD afterwards as if it isn’t just a class D amp like many others.
Next, the reviewer will invariably lie about the sound. This lying usually takes the form of lying by omission. They’ll gush about how beefy and controlled it is, how neutral it is, how wide and natural the soundstage is, etc. What they WON’T mention is how lifeless, flat, boring and ultimately fatiguing they ALL are. The buyer who doesn’t know any better has to find that out for themselves while he slowly grows to distrust anything a reviewer has to say about anything. So, the only way to actually get value out of a review is to see if a certain amp has the positive attributes you are looking for while trying to painstakingly research any problems it might have because the reviewer won’t mention them.
In addition to the lies of omission, there’s the usual con of giving certain gear to certain reviewers who will appreciate / like the piece. That Stellar will NEVER be put up against a Dan D’agostino or a Pass for example. This could be valuable to the buyer to see how a lesser amp stacks up against a high end one, but it’s not, apparently, useful to the reviewers. Why? Why is telling the whole truth about amps -- all gear really -- taboo?
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Kinergetics KBA 75 I Class A power anp - well I still own one. Back in the day it was a great amp in its price range but nothing special especially by todays standards. I know someone who rebuilt one completely. BUT that being said, it does not compete to some of the amps out there today. I said this comment in another thread - I can build anything I want and so far the Class D does not compete with what we build today. Nice for the cheap prices but I have not heard one that I would want to purchase at this time. Happy Listening. . |
The general use of overly broad statements makes the OP’s thesis unassailable, not because it rely on hard facts and small, logical inferential steps from them, but instead paints in broad strokes. Pure opinion, and even accuses some vague group of writers as being intentionally misleading without evidence.Save this. Pin it. To the top of all your posts. And.... wait a minute. Wait just a doggone minute! He gave me the pointer I need to establish my brand. So now you have a BRAND?????!?!?!! Where is the ROTFLMAOH (hysterically) emoji? |
The general use of overly broad statements makes the OP's thesis unassailable, not because it rely on hard facts and small, logical inferential steps from them, but instead paints a broad picture of linear amplifier snobbery. Pure opinion, and even accuses some vague group of writers as being intentionally misleading without evidence. You literally can't argue a point when it is this vague. Not the first time the author has done so either: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/class-d-trash And this real beauty here: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/integrateds-why-do-they-all-suck Though I do have to give the OP credit, if it wasn't for his 2017 meritless bashing of Class D I would have never thought to start so many pro Class D discussions on here. He gave me the pointer I need to establish my brand. Kudos! Erik |
OP, Ive owned all tube systems; Roger Modjeski amp RM 200, OTL Joule Electra, Rogue M150s with cryoed 6550s and EL 34s... several tube preamps; Lazarus, Modulus, Lector balanced tube preamp, multiple SS amps; class A (Kinergetics KBA 75), AB; Bryston 3B, Conrad Johnson, Classe, Brown Electronic Labs BEL 1001 MkII, Parasound A23, more that I can’t recall... I have also owned quite a few Class D; PS Audio- GCC 250, which I still use in my tv system &, M700s (very nice), several W4S, Emerald Physics, and most recent an EVS 1200, dual mono based on IcePower AS1200 modules, a creation of Ric Schultz with lots of pixie dust: it blows away many/most, and compares to the best amp in memory, the KBA 75 I am on the 1.4 year list for a LSA Voyager GaN based hth |
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I dont think a blanket statement like ALL Class D amps are junk really holds much water. BUT, having said that I do agree with the OP that there does seem to be a significant point that he has...and that is that there are reviewer's who seem to fall down ( I won't say, like he does, lie!) as they tend to fail by omission. ( whether that same omission is intentional or not is unknown.) This is exactly why I think it is highly prudent to listen for oneself in one's own system to any component under consideration. Could a Class D amp be the ticket, sure could if it works great with your system and your priorities, IMHO. Guido Corona ( I think the member alluded to above) certainly likes his Class D Jeff Rowland amps. |
Sounds like a Class D conspiracy theory. What’s one more conspiracy theory? Bad reviewers! Where’s the bile? I have 4 Class D amps in my house and listen to them for hours all the time for years. I’ve been an audio hound for >40 years. Heard it all including the “best” at shows. Just saying. Class D is like everything else. You get what you pay for. You will likely get more off it per $$$$ though with Class D. That’s what happens with technological breakthroughs. The rest is all opinion like with many things high end audio. |
There is a member her whose name escapes me right now. He owns the top tier Jeff Rowland class D amplifiers and is very happy with them. I believe that he is an audiophile with long experience, and he can obviously afford whatever he wants. I myself heard early Jeff Rowland class D (small 201 monos I think), and I thought that they were pretty good, but it wasn't a long audition. I've also heard very bad class D from Crown. |
I’ve never owned anything Class D and don’t know that I ever will. BUT, if Ralph Karsten is exploring and experimenting with the technology; there has to be some potential, for a, "High-End" outcome. It’s been my experience; if you input an accurate musical signal, to something with, ’Atma-Sphere’ on it, you’re going to get some beautiful music (ie: realism/ambience) out. Don’t throw the baby out, with the old, funky bathwater (YET). |
Alright. For the class D believers please describe your systems. I bet not one of you has anything approaching high-end and you've all been successfully marketed to by the "affordable" audiophile scam. I also bet that none of you have ever compared your class D to a good linear amp on a long term basis, you just got wow'd immediately by the tight bass and high resolution and are in the throes of desperately pretending you like the sound even though you find yourself not listening to it much anymore. |
Sounds like a Trumpeteer denying reality, believing alternative facts and just pathetically confused. Why don't you give your leader a call and ask him? He clearly doesn't know much about anything but he seems to have a lot of time on his hands. If he doesn't answer your call, try the golf course. Lately, he's been playing and cheating there daily. Tim |
https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1420-purifi-audios-pint-sized-powerhouses Cheap Class D vs $40K Constellation amp. Bruno Putzeys - "Removing a zero from the price of an amp" |
