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Should I steer clear of class D amps

I’m finally upgrading my amp. I currently have an Onkyo TXNR 636 which has served very well but it’s now the weakest component in my system.

I’ve a budget of up to £1200-£1300 and been looking at the NAD C3050.

I was initially drawn to the NAD C3050 when I saw the VU meters but these are not deal breakers if I can get a much better amp without them, but I really do like them. I spoke with a dealer and he mentioned all NAD amplifiers are now class D and that’s now where I’m stuck procrastinating my purchase. My understanding was class D never really took off, despite the power efficiency due to the HF noise caused by the PWM. Times change things improve but I can’t find much about how they have mitigated this, in fact an article in EETimes refers to how the tests performed for THD etc are quite irrelevant in a digital amp and quoted figures may be very different in real life. In essence, the way of testing makes them look better than they are. This may be true but do they sound good? We all know vinyl is technically an inferior medium but I certainly prefer it’s sound.

I am listening to classic/ heavy rock and a mixture of lossless streaming from a NAS into a Cambridge Audio CNX V2 and vinyl off a Technics 1500C with a Pro-Ject DS phono stage all into monitor audio bronze 5s. 
 

I need a new amp. I need slapping out of my indecision but it’s not an insignificant amount of £££ and I want to get it right. Should I stick with AB ? My electric bill can’t withstand class A or valve regardless of sound quality. 

Also what’s the thoughts on NAD in general, I’m my youth they were good amps, but then so were Pioneer. 
 

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Showing 1 response by ddafoe

ddafoe
238 posts
 

I've been using a Pass X250.8 and recently XA30.8 over the last likely 8 years or so at this point.  I really liked both amps.

Recently I wanted to try a Class D GaNFET amp and tried the Atma-Sphere Class D monos.  I've had them for about a year and ended up selling my XA30.8 for them.  They have a very 'Pass Like' sound, midrange centric, natural tone, a hint of warmth, no fatigue, great imaging, etc...   I was amazed how similar they sounded to my Pass amp.   I think they do some things better and I also liked a few things better with my Pass amp, but in the end I found them similar and when you throw in they do not even get warm, weight like 14 pounds, I was happy to keep them.     

If you have not heard the latest Class D offerings, it is worth a listen at least.   You still may not like them, but after owning two others over the last 10 years (one for likely a week or two as I couldn't stand it), things have definitely changed.   I would love to hear the new Hypex Nilai and the latest EIGENTAKT modules.

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