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.
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Showing 5 responses by cleeds

three_easy_payments
Nobody should be on a mission to convert anyone to anything here. We shouldn't be attacking people for enjoying some amps more than others.
I agree, and would add only that it's unfortunate that some need to be reminded of this. Beware the audio guru.
miveraaudio
I don't think anyone's posting about class D here to convert the luddites.
Logical fallacy of the excluded middle. That someone is skeptical - or event resistant - to the idea of Class D doesn't make them a Luddite.
miveraaudio
When you trash new technology that you haven't even tried that makes you a luddite.
I think that trashing something one hasn't tried is silly, but it doesn't inherently make you a Luddite:
Lud·dite
  1. (derogatory) a person opposed to new technology or ways of working.
Please note that the term is derogatory. So if you are seeking an intelligent conversation here, it probably isn't a good word to apply to skeptics.

miveraaudio
... unless you have experience with this technology, you are not in a position to judge whether or not today’s class D  is mature.
As Ralph noted, he does have experience in this technology. Regardless, everyone here is free to express his opinion.
It takes a lot of arrogance to assume that a company as large as B&O, with that many top engineers, over a 13 year span doesn’t know what they’re doing.
It takes more than a bit of arrogance to state this when no one here has made that claim.