Wyred 4 Sound.....Anyone?????

" We can look back into audio history and see "ratings" of amplifiers being mislead by manufacturers. While I am not saying this is the case with Class D, I do fail to understand an amp with two and a half times the rated power failing to have "enough power" compared to a much "smaller" class A amp?"

Read article by one of the Spectron designer, Simon Thacher(http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/manufacture/0708/index.html) and you will understand that manufacurers as the rule and customers ALWAYS want power spec in rms i.e. continius.

Its good for bench test but music is not the test tone and as Spectron emphesize - the real power, power that matter is the peak power, its duration and absense of distortion during these periods. Thus as a rule, even small class A amp will outpower big class D amp, as former need huge power supply (big transformer etc) while non Spectron type class D have small swithing power supplies.

Ckoffend and others,

We often take LOUDNESS (in dB) over the power in Watts.
The effect of larger loudness in tube amps per given number of watts isn't only due to the soft clipping, but due to the smaller frequency range especially in the lower-end domain <60Hz where directly-coupled solid states give larger credit. The presence of an output transformer in tube amps(except OTL) dictates this limitation... Even OTLs would drop the power when the speaker impedance drops(in most lower frequency cases)

I totally agree with Bobgates. I have been using the SX1000 monos in my system for the last six months and up until I installed the Wyred 4 Sound PC's the amps sounded dry and non-involving. The detail and dynamics were there, but there was no life to the music. After installing the new power cords the amps have transformed into an integral part of my system making my speakers totally disappear. The soundstage has come to life and has an impressive 3D effect. I am extremely please

So Unsound and Dob, are you saying that the Class D amp manufacturers typically provide ratings on their peak maximum power output or on a continuous output?

I know and understand that most power amps are running at an average of 1/8th of their rated output and that the draw (amperage) of the amp reported at such an output should be indicative of the amp draw the owner is likely to see during "normal" listening.

I am not sure if class D amp mfgs. base their power ratings on peak why they would do that? It sort of reminds me of the boom boxes at Best Buy and Walmart that claim to have over 1,000 watts of peak maximum power output!

When I see a Class A amp rated at 300 WPC, I know this is a load it can put out continously. I also know that its peak output is much, much higher than this, yet it is not the peak that is reported as such reporting (as history has shown) is very misleading and resulted in some grandios rating/performance statements by lots of companies (aka 1980s).

Since I am contemplating taking the leap (a second time) and trying some (one or possibly more) class D amps, I am trying to get a better handle on this and what my needs may be. I know my speakers don't need anywhere near 500 watts of class A power (ie. @ 8 ohms), but at the same time, I have no clue as to the "amount" of power they need from class D amps. I know my amps can perform very well with 100-150 watts from a good tube amp. So if I like 100-150 watts from a tube amp, 100-300 watts from a class A amp, how many watts do I need from a class D amp?

I am not talking about sound pressure levels as my goal. By most people's standards, I am listening to music at a notably lower "loudness" than most. I am talking about control, musicality, transients, etc. . .

CK,

Watts/power alone is solely about how loud it can/should go and not useful to determine much else.

Other characteristics of amps and how they interact with speakers, like damping, current delivery, transient response, and other aspects design and execution have more to do with control, musicality transients and such. Specs in these areas might help set relative expectations but do not tell the whole story either. Only your ears when listening can.

Often the build quality of the power supply and transformers are good indicators of what might be expected.

Class D switching amps are considerably more efficient in delivering power than Class A or A/B. As a result, the power supply circuitry is considerable smaller, lighter, and compact. Also less heat is created in teh process so heat sinks are smaller, etc.

My understanding though is quality of the power supply is still a major factor in resulting Class D performance and power supply quality varies widely from model to model, vendor to vendor, despite the more compact package.

So just like most other gear, not all Class D amps, even all Icepower module based Class D amps, are created equal.

Same true in regards to Icepower amp input circuitry and how designed to work well or not with higher output impedance tube pre-amps. There are differences from model to model, vendor to vendor. Wyred is quite good in this regard as I understand it.