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Time to buy a class D amp?


Will some new class D amplifiers outperforming the current ones appear soon

(the newest ones i know were released a  few years ago)?

Class D amps attract me as I consider them the most ecological ones with obvious non-auditionable benefits.

I have no doubts that they posses the maximum ratio performance/sound quality among the amplifiers of all classes.

At the same time, the sound quality the class D amplifiers that I have auditioned produce, although is quite good,

but not yet ideal (for my taste).


I use PS Audio Stellar S300 amp with PS audio Gain Cell pre/DAC with Thiel CS 3.6 speakers in one of my systems.

The sound is ok (deep bass, clear soundstage) but not perfect (a bit bright and somehow dry, lacking warmness which might be more or less ok for rock but not for jazz music).

I wonder if there are softer sounding class D amps with the same or better details and resolution. Considering two reasonable (as to the budget) choices for test, Red Dragon S500 and Digital Audio Company's

Cherry  2 (or Maraschino monoblocks), did anybody compare these two?



128x128niodari
turnbowm
353 posts
 
Has anyone had AM/FM reception problems when using Class D amplifiers?
mr_m
1,900 posts
 
No.
frostdotcom
39 posts
 
atmosphere is right on this one.  class d is just like any other amp.  the sound is in the details of the designer.  noise your dog can hear?  old crt monitors exibit a whine at 36000hz.  you cant hear it.  Ive heard terrible class d amps and wonderful class d amps.  issues are up to the amps design and all variants can sound great if designed well.

noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 
Hello turnbowm,

     While it is true that class D amps in general emit radio frequency (RF) energy that can interfere with AM/FM frequency reception, class D amp designers are very well aware of this issue and typically make containing, controlling and attenuating these RF emissions a top priority in their designs.  
     If all class D amps were to be tested and ranked by RF emissions, however, I suspect the results would vary significantly between amps and that they'd also likely be directly related to the skill level of each amp's designer and the new retail price of each amp. 
     OTOH, I've purchased and used many stereo and monoblock class D amps in my system ranging in price between $630 and $2,200 and have never had AM/FM reception problems in my rooms with any of them.

Tim
thieliste's avatar
thieliste
822 posts
 
Best class D i can think of is without a doubt Bel Canto Black ACI 600.Most likely the best single chassis class D integrated amp out there, probably better than more expensive separates.
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