2. amps-preamps
  3. 149476-20253

I went from Class D to Luxman A/AB - And most of what you think is wrong

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, I’m a fan of Class D. I have lived with ICEPower 250AS based amps for a couple of years. Before that I lived with a pair of Parasound A21s (for HT) and now I’m listening to a Luxman 507ux.


I have some thoughts after long term listening:
  • The tropes of Class D having particularly bad, noticeable Class D qualities are all wrong and have been for years.
  • No one has ever heard my Class D amps and gone: "Oh, wow, Class D, that’s why I hate it."
  • The Luxman is a better amp than my ICEPower modules, which are already pretty old.

I found the Class D a touch warm, powerful, noise free. Blindfolded I cannot tell them apart from the Parasound A21s which are completely linear, and run a touch warm due to high Class A operation, and VERY similar in power output.


The Luxman 507 beats them both, but no amp stands out as nasty sounding or lacking in the ability to be musical and involving.


What the Luxman 507 does better is in the midrange and ends of the spectrum. It is less dark, sweeter in the midrange, and sounds more powerful, almost "louder" in the sense of having more treble and bass. It IS a better amplifier than I had before. Imaging is about the same.


There was one significant operational difference, which others have confirmed. I don't know why this is true, but the Class D amps needed 2-4 days to warm up. The Luxman needs no time at all. I have no rational, engineering explanation for this. After leaving the ICEPower amps off for a weekend, they sounded pretty low fi. Took 2 days to come back. I can come home after work and turn the Luxman on and it sounds great from the first moment.


Please keep this in mind when evaluating.


Best,

E
erik_squires

Showing 14 responses by toetapaudio

toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@laserjock, tested Benchmark ABH2 vs Nord 500vs SST Ampzilla 2 vs Mola Mola Kaluga’s. Results in our opinion from best:

Mola Mola Kaluga’s 

SST

Benchmark 

Nord

The Nord was the most reasonably priced amp at around £1,800 and was good value for money. The Benchmark was a bit better with a more relaxed mid and top but costs nearly double. The SST was definitely a step up from the other two, the sound being much more fleshed out and comfortable to listen too. The Mola Mola just plays in another league and is close or better than some much more expensive class A amps.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
Wolf golf, the Mola Mola Kaluga’s can be left on standby (red light) and then switched fully on (white light). Disconnect if going away for sometime.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@noble100, f.y.i. In a recent test of various class D amps by someone we know in the business GAN amps did not come out top but were pretty high up. The other D amps were cheaper. My advice stick with your NC1200 module amps.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
teo, what class D amps have you heard?
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@jmolsberg, suggest trying to get a listen to some of the following class D amp brands, SPEC, Audio Nec and Mola Mola, that might change your mind.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@georgehifi what class D amps have you heard? 
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@rocray, my experience is only with Hypex based class D amps and these have been very reliable.

@georgehifi please try class D amps by SPEC, Audio-Nec and Mola Mola before commenting further.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
So, @georgehifi you have compared GaN with other class D amps?
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@georgehifi, so I take it your not talking from actual experience of GaN or top end class D. 
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@georgehifi, I can only take your opinions about GaN seriously if you have actually listened to some GaN amps compared to other class D amps. We know of somebody in the industry, who’s opinion we respect, who has compared top flight class D including GaN types and the GaN model was second from best. It also cost quite a bit more than the top design. 
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@georgehifi, that’s uncalled for, you have no idea who I am, my background and knowledge. 
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
@georgehifi, you really must go and listen to some amplifiers before giving opinions. As @ricevs says there are many factors that add up to influence the sound of an amplifier, just because it is using GaN doesn’t necessarily make it better. This was shown in a recent high end class D comparison were a GaN based amp came second despite being considerably more expensive than the “conventional” class D amp that came out on top. A close third was a class D amp that cost considerably less than the GaN based amp.

We have listened to a number of highly regarded class A/B designs and a particular class D design we use was far better.

You mentioned Soulution class A, we know somebody who has had the 7 series (£50k +) in his system and changed to the same class D amp that won the shootout mentioned and is very happy with the changeover.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
 @georgehifi there are different types of audio dealers, most are not very knowledgeable I find and haven’t heard or bothered to hear a wide range of equipment, they sell whatever they have. They don’t even know about things like the importance of seismic isolation for example or their approach to this may be totally wrong and inadequate. Then there are others that are more thorough, test out different brands and only represent a few that are value for money. They also have the knowledge about setting up equipment properly and know about important aspects like seismic isolation, cabling and mains quality. I like to think we fit into the second category.

Anyhow, back on topic. The performance of class D varies enormously, there is good and bad. Even a manufacturer using the same class D modules will sound different depending on the implementation used. So just because a brand uses a Hypex NC something module, for example, doesn’t mean they will all sound the same.

And, as I have said before, just because an amp employs GaN it doesn’t mean that it will automatically sound better than other class D amplifiers that cost a lot less.
toetapaudio
474 posts
 
It’s important to listen to different class D amps before commenting. As I have said before just because a design uses GaN it doesn’t make it automatically superior to other class D designs. Implementation is key, manufacturers can use the same class D module and the SQ will be quite different depending on how they are implemented. This will also determine the price of the product. From tests disclosed to us from a very reliable source, the current GaN amps are not currently THE best sounding class D amps, although still very good. They also tend to be much more expensive. Perhaps this might change in the future.
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