Atmasphere made no big logical mistake - his assumption is valid, though the result of the technological evolution is by no means guaranteed. In other words, class D amps might get a little better and then exhaust their potential, or they might keep improving more and more with no end in sight.
Who tried Class D only to return to S/S or Tube
And what were the reason you did a backflip back to S/S or tube.
As there are a few pro Class D threads being hammered at the moment, I thought I'd put this up, to get some perspective.
Cheers George
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guidocorona, if you were any linear amp designer and saw on the r&d bench test a square wave that looked like this. http://www.stereophile.com/images/1212AM1fig02.jpg You would say this amp is broken, do not put it into production yet till we get rid of that ringing. This is what all Class D’s look like, and if they filter the s**t out of it so it doesn’t look half as bad, then you would have an amp that is rolled off at -3db at 5khz (no highs). You been told now by a few, that the technology is not there yet to get that (ringing saw tooth) out of the audio band. Once the technology is there and they put that switching frequency way up higher, then and only then will they be able to filter the s**t out of it away from the audio band and leave a nice clean square wave, and only then will Class D have become of age. Cheers George |
Funny you mentioned that. I was just at a comparison today between one of my previous favourite amps the Arion HS500 monoblock digital amps with Duelund Cast capacitors that I own. Its valve input with digital output. I personally prefer my upgraded Prima Luna Dialogue - but its a close call - at comparisons with others it was about 50-50 which was preferred. Well today I was at a comparison of the Arions with the similarly priced new BHK 250w amp I just purchased. Its valve input - mosfet output. It was a joke - here is what others said: 'We did a back to back comparison with the new BHK amp and the old Aurion 500 D class that Mike was using about 3 years ago. Well it was night and day.I was kind of hoping it was just all hype, then I could crawl back into my hole and forget all about it!! A lot of the guys were commenting on the lack of balance in the Aurion amp, but listening to the BHK was like a live performance and the Aurion was more like listening to the radio with a blanket over it. If I was looking for an amp in this price range, then I would definitely audition this one!' 'The only amp the BHK was compared to was the Arion mono blocks, and as others have mentioned there was no competition. The Arions sounded boring in comparison, in this setup.' 'Yep the Arions had the same work done, (added by me - referring to that the Arions have Dulund Cast capacitors) I thought they were still nice, but the switch back was instantly amazing and by then the late comers were in and virtually all turned or twitched in wow factor' My comments - the Arions were dull by comparison - they lacked life and verve. The BHK was simply sweet liquid life. I hate to say it guys but at the moment digital has a LONG way to go. Thanks Bill |
Firstly, let’s get a major misconception out of the way: class d amps are not digital, they are analogue. And not all class d amps have square wave performance as shown above, though listening to square waves doesn't seem too common...Hard to place any real value in the opinions of those who do not even understand the basics of the technology or misrepresent the performance of high quality, state of the art class d. Secondly, amps are part of a system. They don’t perform or sound the same in all systems. Some may be great in one system and not so great in another. This is true not only for class d but for class a, a/b, etc. Sweeping generalizations based on limited experience or use are worthless. Thirdly, the objective performance of many class d amps is better than nearly anything any tube amp is capable of, and in the case of Hypex ncore, better than nearly any ss amp one can buy. Subjective performance can not be argued as it is a matter of individual taste. There are many many people who have dumped their ss or tube amps in favor of class d. Claiming the technology is "not there yet" is a bit behind the times and ignores the fact that not only is it "there", but it is replacing class a and a/b ss and tubes amps in large numbers. Enjoy whatever works for you. No need to put down what others enjoy. |
+1 Kuribo At the risk of sounding like a broken record - switching amplifiers are simply another major amplifier class to choose from. Consider the list of major amplifier designers who currently offer a switching amplifier along with their traditional designs. As well as the list of powered speaker designers that use switching amplifiers. |
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