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.
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.