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The Truth about Modern Class D

All my amps right now are Class D. ICEpower in the living room, and NAD D 3020 in the bedroom.

I’ve had several audiophiles come to my home and not one has ever said "Oh, that sounds like Class D."

Having said this, if I could afford them AND had the room, I’d be tempted to switch for a pair of Ayre monoblocks or Conrad Johnson Premiere 12s and very little else.

I’m not religious about Class D. They sound great for me, low power, easy to hide, but if a lot of cash and the need to upgrade ever hits me, I could be persuaded.

The point: Good modern Class D amps just sound like really good amplifiers, with the usual speaker/source matching issues.

You don’t have to go that route, but it’s time we shrugged off the myths and descriptions of Class D that come right out of the 1980’s.
erik_squires

Showing 1 response by ejr1953

ejr1953
922 posts
 
Let me begin by saying I am by no means an "expert" on class D power amps, but here are my impressions.

I first auditioned a class D amp around 10 years ago, driving a pair of larger, floor standing B&W speakers, and thought the result was somewhat harsh for acoustic music, but "exciting" for rock and roll.

Fast forward to last Fall and I had the pleasure of auditioning a Mytek Brooklyn amp driving a pair of bookshelf sized KEFs and thought the result was very good!  I also auditioned one of the PS Audio Stellar DAC/amp combinations and that also didn't have that harsh sound of the class D amps of yesteryear.  In both cases, these amps sounded "fast" and "clean".  One thing both owners said to me was that it took much longer than normal for these amps to break in and sound their best.

If I were in the market for a new amplifier, I'd give class D some serious consideration.
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