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Do all Class D amps lack soundstage depth?

Hello!
Recently I bought a class D amp for my friend from Audiogon - PS Audio Trio A-100. In general, I liked it sound very much. Compared to the power section of my much cheaper integrated amp (NAD C320BEE), Trio A-100 sounded fresher, more transparent, richer and juicier. NAD was obviously duller and more reserved. Trio A-100 seemed to energize the air with a sort of vibrancy, while NAD seemed more lifeless. (Of course, I am exaggerating the difference between the amps a bit to make it more clear how they differ from each other.) However, Trio A-100 lacked one parameter, which is very essential for me and without which I cannot truly get lost in the music – namely, the soundstage was flat. It wasn’t absolutely flat, no – but NAD did so much better in this department. When NAD was playing, I heard which instruments and singers were farther from me and which were closer to me. When Trio was playing, everything seemed to be on the same line, equidistant from me.

The previous owner of PS Audio Trio A-100 had told to me about its sound before I bought the amp from him, and he frankly admitted that the soundstage was kind of flat. Before this purchase, I nearly bought another Class D amp – namely, Bel Canto S300. Eventually, this amp went to another buyer, but the owner shared with me his impressions about this amp and, among other things, he wrote: “There might be less depth with some recordings”.

So, at least two owners of Class D amps confessed that their amps lacked soundstage depth.

I wonder – are all Class D amps like that? Is the lack of depth something which is intrinsically inherent in Class D?

My second question is – what if I buy TWO Class D amps and use them as monoblocks – will it solve the problem with the flatness of the soundstage?

Any advice based on personal experience will be much appreciated.
ironmine
ndeslions
79 posts
 
Depth depends of the bass most of the time.
Class D amps are know to have tight and fast bass, ry adding a subwoofer or moving your speakers and/or listening position to get more bass and you will get the depth back.
timrhu
2,779 posts
 
I have owned 3 class D amps. The Bel Canto S-300 and eVo2i and the PS Audio Trio C-100. The C-100 and eVo2i are both integrated amps. And to through one more bit of info the eVo series use the Tripath module instead of the ICE module.
As for sound, I much preferred the eVo2i over the either of the ICE based amps. It's been a while so I can't say with any certainty what the problem was but lack of soundstage depth may have been one of the issues.
For soundstage improvement I recently went to a bi-amp set up. Wow, what an improvement.
evank's avatar
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evank
287 posts
 
I am running a Trio A100 with the matching Preamp P200 and I think it depends where you have your speakers. If I pull my speakers out from the wall about 3FT I get better depth ,but that is not convenient for the family so I am stuck with them about 18 inches out. I have had the same problem with other amps so I do not think the PS Audio is to blame. Great amp and preamp very warm and neutral. I do not think this amp gets the high remarks it deserves. And also I believe it is supposed to be better than the hca 2
stltrains
845 posts
 
In my case absolutely not. When i first started using my Nuforce amps the stage was not as large or deep as i have worked to have now. After going through 2 upgrades with my amps and various power cords along with internal damping, emf rf control, isolation and now a power re generator. This has moved my stage to spread across and behind the 20 foot wide room my speakers are in front of.

I really dont believe this question is just for class d amps. If you experiment with different accessories and speaker set up you can increase soundstage with any amp you use.

The key is you have to take the time and effort to find out what is good or bad in the quest of taking your system to a place where you are happy and enjoy the sound it delivers.
Mike
kiwi_1282001
312 posts
 
I really dont believe this question is just for class d amps. If you experiment with different accessories and speaker set up you can increase soundstage with any amp you use.
.

I agree with this comment. I had a class D Jeff Rowland C500 on audition about seven months back my review HERE and i found it to have an impressive soundstage depth. While i ultimately purchased a much better amp see HERE i found that soundstage depth varied according to speaker placement, room treatment and associated products.
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