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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
cheapbob
50 posts
 
I am very impressed with the PS Audio Sprout100 when using my DaytonAudio Bookshelf speakers and a Raspberry Pi as my USB source.
The Bass Boost they built in is adequate, but this amp really needs a sub-woofer for a foundation.
At lower listening levels, like a bedroom, I see that a Class-D amp is a good choice.
But to compare it to the Denon AVR-2805 for SQ, there is no comparison.
oldschool1948's avatar
oldschool1948
502 posts
 
I use a NAD M12/M22 v2 combination and, overall, I'm very happy with the SQ.  I'm a bit new to digital equipment, and since this is my first digital system, I have nothing else to compare it to - other than auditioning components at a dealer. 



nugat
38 posts
 
Amplifiers are analogue devices. Loudspeakers' transducers (drivers) are moved by voltage swings, not zeroes and ones. D in D-class does not mean digital.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

weak1657 posts09-07-2018 11:57pmGeorge I clicked on the GaN link you provided, Alas, it does not account for XLR


This one has balanced.
http://epc-co.com/epc/Portals/0/epc/documents/guides/EPC9106_qsg.pdf

Cheers George
tfats
15 posts
 
I agree...current class D is just fine. I have owned all kinds of brands...mcintosh...rotel...krell...nad...exposure...muse....channel islands...cairn...peachtree. I currently own red dragon pascal-based class d amps and they are great. Plenty of folks find McIntosh TOO lush....almost syrupy. 
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