I have two integrateds, one a Peachtree Grand X-1 (class D) and an Audio Research VSi55 running KT120 tubes. Through first Proac D2, then Wilson Benesch Arcs, now BMC PureVOX speakers, I can't tell the two apart other than that the Peachtree is more powerful and will play louder. At volume-matched levels, I cannot distinguish between the two. The only time they sound different is if I engage the tube buffer (running two upgraded Cifte 12AU7) on the Peachtree, then it's actually a little warmer than the Audio Research. But with the tube buffer off, it's apples vs apples. It's my opinion that the ARC VSi55 puts out more than acceptable sound quality, ergo Class D has officially arrived, at least in my house.
The Hifi Trajectory Of Class D Amplifiers
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I bought my first digital SLR camera back in 2005. Film SLR cameras were still king back then. Longtime film camera hobbyists and pros thumbed their noses at digital. Ten years later, film cameras have been surpassed by digital cameras and are nearly extinct. Millions of people use cameras. The market was already in place for anyone that would advance the technology of digital photography.
With Class D amps, you don't have a marketplace the size of the camera marketplace. There doesn't seem to be enough economic incentive to spend the necessary research dollars to advance the technology to get the same sort of improvement trajectory that digital photography has enjoyed.
Anyone care to speculate how long it will take for Class D amps to consistently rival the best tube, Class A and Class A/B across the board....and do it without resorting to the stratospheric prices that current non-Class D amps are priced at.
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I bought my first digital SLR camera back in 2005. Film SLR cameras were still king back then. Longtime film camera hobbyists and pros thumbed their noses at digital. Ten years later, film cameras have been surpassed by digital cameras and are nearly extinct. Millions of people use cameras. The market was already in place for anyone that would advance the technology of digital photography.
With Class D amps, you don't have a marketplace the size of the camera marketplace. There doesn't seem to be enough economic incentive to spend the necessary research dollars to advance the technology to get the same sort of improvement trajectory that digital photography has enjoyed.
Anyone care to speculate how long it will take for Class D amps to consistently rival the best tube, Class A and Class A/B across the board....and do it without resorting to the stratospheric prices that current non-Class D amps are priced at.
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