What class of amplifier has the most high definition sound ?
For those experienced audiophiles, wich know all kinds of amps, may say what class of amp is better defined in therms of PURE SOUND? Of course the sistems are compatibles for comparisons.
The question was about the *class* of amplifier. And -- if cost i no object and all other variables held constant, class-A, no question. But it has many downsides, mostly size, heat and cost int he real world. For small signals anyone who doesn't design class-A is crazy. For big power amplifiers there are many trade-offs. Note there are also sliding scales. Class D, an entirely different type of "class" has huge potential but still needs refinement. Modern GaN is already helping. But among A, AB, C it is clearly A. That said i always design high bias AB for bog amps.
Ditto that. But there aren’t any speakers "THAT I LIKE" yet without any colorations that they can drive with ease (without bandaid fix autoformers), top to bottom, so "TO ME" your ****** if you do and ****** if you don’t.
The only way is to make a hidiousely big OTL Class-A with a bazillion tubes, so they could drive hard to drive speakers speakers that are designed to be flat, low coloration, low distortion and without horns to make them efficient.
Though I haven't yet heard one (soon to be rectified), I am curious if the answer turns out to be a direct-drive tube amp driving an ESL loudspeaker. No amp output transformer, no ESL step-up transformer---sounds very promising, right? An OTL driving an ESL gets half the way there, but that designs (generally) somewhat high output impedance brings its own potential penalty.
Practically, high efficiency good quality Class D amps are capable of delivering the most high definition sound with the widest variety of speakers.
Otherwise, at the other end of the spectrum, low efficiency Class A amps can do the job very well also but you typically need larger, higher efficiency, easy load to drive, and typically more costly speakers to get the deed done.
How loud one need go is another key factor. A lot of detail listening is done practically at modest volume, which is a lesser challenge for most amps.
When I joined the single ended tube amp cult (the meetings surprisingly require elaborate disguises and often feature meaningless chanting) it was sort of an experiment as I became curious about all the fuss and mythology about these amps, so to speak. The tonal palette revealed in the amp I wound up with, a Dennis Had hand made little 12wpc gem called an Inspire Firebottle HO (high output), was a surprising and simply a game changer. I'd been using a classic push pull tube amp for some years prior to the Had amp, have owned countless nice SS amps, use tubed guitar amps for over 50 years, and still...blown away by the Had. Paired it with relatively efficient (alleged 91db Silverline Preludes, 93db Sonist Recital 3s) and although preferring the Preludes over the Sonists tonally I was compelled by curiosity (again) to try Klipsch Heresy IIIs with the 8ohm nominal 99db efficiency. Added a tube preamp, and am happily enjoying the rig on another level entirely...tied to efficient speakers, el tubo a mundo, and enveloped in a self indulgent smugness about the whole thing.
You can't really say amp without including the speakers in the loop. And you can't really say speakers without saying room. For me, only using one cap in my crossover, my answer is going to be different than the person using complicated drivers and crossovers.
Generally speaking, class A will have the lowest distortion and thus the 'PUREST SOUND'.
Generally speaking, because execution can play a pretty big role in the results.
BTW, the **kinds** of distortion can be more important than the amount; 0.005% THD won't do you much good if its all higher ordered harmonics (which is often the case with THD figures this low) since the ear uses higher ordered harmonics to sense sound pressure. For this reason the ear has to be extremely sensitive to higher ordered harmonics and so is more sensitive then the best test equipment!
Recently, class D has begun to show promise as an amplifier technology that can lack the higher ordered harmonics. When amps don't make higher ordered harmonics, they can sound very relaxed with great detail, such that you can listen to them all day. This BTW is the foundation of the tubes/transistor debate...
So if one is being pragmatic, there really isn't a one-word answer to your question.
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