Hi honda6,
Welcome to the exciting world of good class D amplifiers. I used the qualifier "good" class D since, unfortunately, not all class D amps perform as well as described in the review. There are now a lot of reasonably priced class D amps available and, if the 1st class D amp one auditions is one of the few 'clunkers' on the market, it can lead to the false assumption that all class D amps perform as poorly. Just like the more traditional solid state and tube amps that have ever been made, the performance level varies from poor to excellent.
I'm glad to learn there's yet another good class D amp on the market that seems to share very similar performance characteristics to the many others already available: low distortion, dead quiet background noise level, high levels of detail, a wide and accurate frequency response and powerful dynamics. They also share the same physical and operational characteristics: small size, low weight, low heat and high efficiency.
I currently own 3 different brands of good class D amps, 2 stereo units and a pair of mono-blocks. They all perform just like the Absolute Sound magazine has described the ideal amp: like a 'straight wire with gain'.
I think the best word to describe the overall sound of good class D amps is neutral. Nothing is added or subtracted from the inputted signal. In your posted review, however, he described the sound variously as "slightly rich". "organic" and "a nice tube-like sound". I have absolutely no doubt he really heard these qualities because I hear the exact same qualities when listening to my good quality class D amps.
How can I continue to claim the predominate overall sound quality of good class D amps is neutrality when I and thousands of other users are hearing things like warmth, richness and a tube-like sound? Because what we're all hearing and describing are not the qualities of the amp, we're actually hearing and describing the qualities of the music being faithfully reproduced. Good class D amps just faithfully amplify the inputted signal and enable one to easily discern the qualities of the music, the recording and even changes of ancillary equipment, power chords and cabling.
The Kanto Yaro2 looks like a great little product.
Thanks for sharing the review,
Tim
Welcome to the exciting world of good class D amplifiers. I used the qualifier "good" class D since, unfortunately, not all class D amps perform as well as described in the review. There are now a lot of reasonably priced class D amps available and, if the 1st class D amp one auditions is one of the few 'clunkers' on the market, it can lead to the false assumption that all class D amps perform as poorly. Just like the more traditional solid state and tube amps that have ever been made, the performance level varies from poor to excellent.
I'm glad to learn there's yet another good class D amp on the market that seems to share very similar performance characteristics to the many others already available: low distortion, dead quiet background noise level, high levels of detail, a wide and accurate frequency response and powerful dynamics. They also share the same physical and operational characteristics: small size, low weight, low heat and high efficiency.
I currently own 3 different brands of good class D amps, 2 stereo units and a pair of mono-blocks. They all perform just like the Absolute Sound magazine has described the ideal amp: like a 'straight wire with gain'.
I think the best word to describe the overall sound of good class D amps is neutral. Nothing is added or subtracted from the inputted signal. In your posted review, however, he described the sound variously as "slightly rich". "organic" and "a nice tube-like sound". I have absolutely no doubt he really heard these qualities because I hear the exact same qualities when listening to my good quality class D amps.
How can I continue to claim the predominate overall sound quality of good class D amps is neutrality when I and thousands of other users are hearing things like warmth, richness and a tube-like sound? Because what we're all hearing and describing are not the qualities of the amp, we're actually hearing and describing the qualities of the music being faithfully reproduced. Good class D amps just faithfully amplify the inputted signal and enable one to easily discern the qualities of the music, the recording and even changes of ancillary equipment, power chords and cabling.
The Kanto Yaro2 looks like a great little product.
Thanks for sharing the review,
Tim