2. amps-preamps
  3. 165827-20253

My NAD 3020 D proves your Class D tropes are wrong

I have a desktop integrated, the NAD 3020D which I use with custom near field monitors. It is being fed by Roon via a Squeezebox Touch and coaxial digital.

It is 5 years old and it sounds great. None of the standard myths of bad Class D sound exist here. It may lack the tube like liquid midrange of my Luxman, or the warmth of my prior Parasound but no one in this forum could hear it and go "aha, Class D!!" by itself, except maybe by the absolute lack of noise even when 3’ away from the speakers.

I’m not going to argue that this is the greatest amp ever, or that it is even a standout desktop integrated. All I am saying is that the stories about how bad Class D is compared to linear amps have been outdated for ages.

Great to see new development with GaN based Class D amps, great to see Technics using DSP feed-forward designs to overcome minor limitations in impedance matching and Atmasphere’s work on reducing measurable distortion as well but OMG stop with the "Class D was awful until just now" threads as it ignores about 30 years of steady research and innovation.
erik_squires

Showing 1 response by desktopguy

desktopguy
398 posts
 
I kind of backed into class D amp’ing when I set up my 1st real desktop audio system w/discreet DAC in this home office ~2008 (after years of 2.1 "computer systems" running of a soundcard). There’s no room on this crowded desktop for class A/B or tube amps.

I really lucked out: the class D amp I bought was Wyre4Sound’s ST-500, which I use on its side to save space (got the blessing of Wyred4Sound before doing that). I paired it with a very revealing passive monitor (ATC SCM12 Pro) and the sound was excellent. Have had 2 other high-end 2-way passives here since then (Aerial Acoustics 5B; and vintage KEF 103.2). All sound very good w/the ST-500.

I will eventually upgrade to more current class D technology. I lean toward Nord Acoustics hypex-based stereo amp that allows use of Sparkos op-amps (I’ve used them elsewhere & know how good they sound). But if I trip over a gently used Cherry stereo, maybe that...
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