Class A amps


I've read a few articles on class A amps but still don't have a good understanding of how it affects sound quality. I've even seen amps which can be swithced into class A mode or AB. Does anyone have experience with this type of unit? Does class A have a true audible advantage or can it be detected only by test instruments? If it is audible, in what resepects? Thanks, Rick M.
mili224
A great class A SS amp cannot be bettered, paraphrasing.

That’s true, when you discount the class D amps that best Class A.

Want an example? How about several? Read my review of the Legacy Audio i.V4 Ultra Amplifier, which has bested ALL other classes of amps I have reviewed at Dagogo.com


invalid
Aren’t his top of the line amps the XS series



Yes, but not as pure Class-A as the XA series, but they the XS (a/b amp) have large amount class-B after leaving Class-A with more crossover distortion, where the XA don’t
As he says
"crossover distortion it’s "alleviated" in A/B with some bias but NOT ELIMINATED!!, that only happens in Class-A amps"


If you were using 4-8ohm speakers that were efficient, the the XA’s would be the choice.
But if you had say the Wilson Alexia’s that are 1ohm EPDR in the bass, then the XS would be the better choice, for better current into that 1ohm epdr bass load, and class-B in the bass is fine

We listened to the Gryphon Antillion Evo, a 150w amp but it can give 5000w at 1/2ohm, and on the Alexia’s and it can do the 1 ohm no problem
It’s able to be switched from 20w Class-A bias to 40w or 100w on the fly, and all 8 of us could believe just how much better it was at 100w class-A bias.
But the room did get very hot after 1 hour of listening.
https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/power-amplifiers/antileon-evo-stereo/

Cheers George

A great class A SS amp cannot be bettered, paraphrasing.
That’s true, when you discount the class D amps that best Class A.
I like to see/hear any class-d better the Gryphon Antillion (in 100w class-A) in the above post on the Alexia, I’d put my house on it.

Cheers George
@georgehifi… every single thread around this topic you bring up Wilson Alexias. Every, single, one. You describe the load of the Alexia as a 1 ohm load etc etc, and basically anything but a bi-polar amp, namely a Gryphon, has little to no chance of driving them. Your assertion is based on a discussion you had with John Atkinson on the original Alexia tests where he showed the load just under 2 ohms at 80hz with a -45° phase angle. Challenging load, but not crazy, and it is the load as specified by Wilson. However, you mentioned another test (that you pull your figures from) as the “evil” load you ALWAYS mention. Perhaps you should go back and read that original article where John challenges and disproves this test and states why. You failed to answer that post in the article, yet you continue to drive the narrative. Overall, I could really careless, but others might look to this, not read the article and thus not buy or perhaps overlook the Alexia. Time to pick another whipping post speaker. BTW, my Alexias are driven with Pass XA60.5’s currently, and not until about 90db does the needle even begin to fluctuate showing the amp reaching into the AB realm. The amps cruise along running about 50°c and don’t even blink. The Alexia, at 90db efficiency do require a bit of grunt, but are not the near impossible load you assert.
I think that would be a fun comparison. It would be a shame if you lost your house. Good thing I'm not a betting man.  ;)