2. amps-preamps
  3. 147124-123701

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
miveraaudio
111 posts
 
If anyone wants to try a cheap class D amp that will give $2000+ class A/B amps a run for the money for only $150 try this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/texas-instruments/TPA3255EVM/296-46782-ND/7219409
miveraaudio
111 posts
 
This forum reminds me of this video:

https://twitter.com/CPAcanada/status/913044155957432320
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
211 posts
 
@bsimpson  
If you are a trained musician, however, you're likely hooked by the tube amps and could never go back.

I know in my case that's a huge part of it.  The tube sound is my comfort food having grown up playing guitar through Fender Twins and MesaBoogies, it's what my ear is drawn to now.  It's not right or wrong, it's 100% preference.  That tubey goodness simply nurtures my soul.
miveraaudio
111 posts
 
When I listen to tubes all I pickup on is the loss of resolution, high noise floor, and often buzzing sounds coming from the speakers. I guess I’m just more into the sound of music than the sound of electronics. a lot of musicians who have been around loud sounds for decades can't hear good enough to pick up on that. Too much hearing damage. 
agear
1,353 posts
 
S&V: Generally speaking, what are the key benefits of Class D versus the traditional Class AB and Class A designs that have long been favored by audiophiles? 
BP: Efficiency and therefore the ability to construct amps that are powerful for their size. Only that. Modern Class D amps, in particular mine—ahem—sound good not because they’re Class D, but in spite of it. I can’t repeat that often enough. Left to its own devices, a switching power stage tries to do just about anything except amplify audio. You choose Class D to save energy but it’s all elbow grease after that. People don’t realize how much more challenging Class D is compared to Class AB. It’s truly an order of magnitude.
More to discover