I’ll repeat what I’ve said several times on this forum. I had a Jeff Rowland Class D Continuum S2 Integrated amp and to my ears it was musical and did all of the "audiophile" things very well. I rate it above every amp I’ve every had in my system; except the Class AB Jeff Rowland 625 S2. To be fair I have the 625 S2 with a Jeff Rowland Corus preamp and together they are in a totally different price category. In my system the 625 S2/Corus is just more musical and I submit highlights the shortcomings of Class D. At least in direct comparison with products made by the same manufacture.
Class D Technology
So I get the obvious strengths of Class D. Efficiency, power output & running cool which allows for small form factors. I also understand the weaknesses somewhat. 1. Non-linear & lots of distortion that needs to be cleaned up with an output filter.
So my question is, if it weren't for efficiency & power, would there be any reason to own a Class D amp? Do they beat Class A in any other categories that count for sound quality?
So my question is, if it weren't for efficiency & power, would there be any reason to own a Class D amp? Do they beat Class A in any other categories that count for sound quality?
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There have been many positive reviews of the NC1200-based amps but for another perspective, read near the end of the linked review of the Mola Mola Kaluga.This review perfectly describes my experience with ICE Power. In learning about Class D, it appears that after the linear signal is destroyed and turned into a saw tooth wave form, the output filter? tries to put the signal back together...doing an incredible job considering the complexity of this task...but ultimately is unable to restore micro details to recreate the original signal...which people such as myself notice very quickly, while others either don’t notice or enjoy the new coloration. Perhaps my understanding of Class D that I mention above is incorrect and someone can correct me. |
Hi Richard, actually what the performance comparison between CS2 and the M625S2+Corus combo highlights is that the latter com bo was designed to a price point Three times higher than Continuum S2, and that it contains circuit sophistications not possible to meet CS2’s pricepoint. Were you to compare the performance of the class A/B M625 S2 to the class D M925 monos flagship, which costsover three times as much as M625 S2, you might be tempted to draw an equally unwarranted conclusion that class D is inherently superior to class A/B... Which of course would be a fallacy as well. |
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