Digital, Low Mass, ClassD, Less expensive, Let it happen!

@stevecham 

Everybody though big class AB amps would just own the whole world in the 60's and 70's. And there are plenty of them to be sure. And if you try really hard and employ enough tricks you can get a class AB amp to sound as good as a simple class A amp, but even high bias class AB amps make more low level distortion than a good old fashioned class A amp. And class D has really only proven itself as good as a typical class AB amp. 

teo_audio said it all for me. I don't listen with my conscious mind, it's too easily deceived; I listen with my "subconscious inner mind" that hears into the depths of the music, it can discern which reproduction is the best.

As an example; way back when people listened to the radio for music, it sounded good because they were listening to fine tube amps; especially on floor models; music lovers knew the newer SS radios didn't sound as good, but almost overnight, that's all that was available.

I put SS and Class D in the same category, although to be honest, I've never heard Class D.

In regard to interconnects, way back when people discovered they mattered, I bought good shielded wire in bulk and made my own. This was wire that was used for TV stations, so you know it was the highest of quality.

Word got around about my high quality interconnects, and what a difference they made. I only made them for my friends and whoever they sent my way; no, I was not interested in a new business, just doing favors for other audiophiles.

One day I went to place an order, and discovered that wire was no longer available for the public, you had to be commercial in order to purchase it. No wire, no more interconnects.

Hi Mikey!

Not really sure what Pass amps have to do with the general behavior of amps in general. Care to explain that? It's a widely accepted reality that if you want the lowest distortion at low power levels, you want class A. A well designed class AB amp gets you close, but when the output devices transition out of their bias region there's always a rise in distortion, and for most AB amps that a fraction of a watt. Distortion then tapers a little, flattens, then rises near clipping.

Class D amps do nothing of the sort. Because their constantly switching they generate the most distortion at low power levels. Go look at the measurements. And beyond that, the distortion is almost entirely higher order garbage. 

It's widely observed and understood that dynamics and high order distortion are virtually indistinguishable to the human ear. Amplifiers that are making .02% distortion at half a watt aren't intrinsically bad unless that distortion is high order. The ear is going to perceive that as a false sense of dynamics. It's unavoidable. That's the kind of distortion class D amps make at those low power levels and the measurements make it obvious. 

Let's contrast that with any single ended amp. Instead of this distortion peak at half a watt it's way out near the power limit. At half a watt it's as low as it gets and it's 2nd order. It stays low even order across the power band. It only gets ugly, odd, and higher order at clipping. And sonically that makes sense to do since dynamics should be pronounced at high volume. I can't think of any reason why you'd want exaggerated dynamics at low power levels. It's like using a loudness control.