Class D is affordable and sounds as good or better the SS/Valve why buy anything else ?


I have spent a fair amount of my hard earned money on big ticket brand new SS and VT/Valve amplifiers over the years without hesitation, with state of the art 2019 class D amplifiers becoming cheaper and sounding better, i wouldn't join in again.

For older technology amplifiers SS VT/Valve to compete with State of the art class D, Their prices are going up and up.

One example is Pilium Audio from Greece or Bulgaria their Divine Line the prices are all over £100,000 for their pre amps and power amps, I know the UK importer he said they sound OK,

Another example FM Acoustics again up to and over £100,000 for pre and power amps. i have owned FM Acoustics pre and power again their OK,

I am not saying they do not sound good, i am saying why spend this much when state of the art class D probably sounds as good now and can only improve with the GaN capacitors and is nearly up to 100 times cheaper.

Is there still a market for multi thousand £$s SS or VT/Valve amplifiers ?

When class D finally overtakes SS VT/Valves what will people do with their multi thousand £$ amplifiers, keep them knowing there is something better ? Or will we see the market flood with exotic used amplifiers ?

Digital technology is rapidly growing pace and becoming cheaper, with GaN capacitors being introduced the sound is going to get better and better and will slowly or quickly become even more affordable.

If you had 50,000 to spend on an Amplifier, would you buy a high ticket SS amplifier and hope for the best ?

Would you stay safe and go with high ticket valve amp, class D can never match good valves right ?

Or would you sit tight and see how the GaN capacitors can further improve the performance of state of the art class D ?

Please feel free to join in, everybody is welcome, i think its a very delicate/touchy discussion for some people with big bucks invested in older type amplifiers.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xtownshend-audio
Yes as I said before, buy a $55000 Soulution, and you can achieve a similar result to a $1000 Icepower 1200AS based amp. With a substantial gain of weight and heat.

The small amount of gain required in preamps don’t require class d technology. Opamps the size of a couple grains of rice can already achieve enough gain for preamp use.

The small amount of gain required in preamps don’t require class d technology. Opamps the size of a couple grains of rice can already achieve enough gain for preamp use.

Class D is a trade off to gain efficiency, which isn’t needed in lower power situations. Only a moron would buy a Class D hifi preamp.

The first watt is what counts most and that is where Class D cant compete with solid state Class A. 

Adding lots of feedback, crossover distortion, switching noise, output filtering, transistor distortion (even trace amounts) destroys the first watt. 
Big Amen to your comment.....

”DSP is the modern way of voicing to speakers, taste and room acoustics. It’s also free when it comes standard with the gear. and it has no limits in flexibility.”

My background is in innovation and the change that has already come will be hard for many to embrace and believe...... for a season. 

@Seanheis1:

Sounds like you’re still living in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. Check out the calendar. It's 2019 now.  Today’s best class D like the Icepower 1200AS have several times less distortion in the 1st watt than even the Pass 1st watt class A amps. Feel free to compare in the data sheet:

https://icepower.dk/download/5748/

@grannyring

Only for a generation that comprises of less than 0.1% of the market, and shrinking daily. Although they feel their opinion matters more than the other 99.9%.
March 2016 The Absolute Sound compared the Audio Alchemy DPA-1 and DDP-1 to the Soulution very very favorably. Both were designed by Peter Madrick