Class D Technology

I usually don't have the time to read these much less chime in on these things but I can't resist here.  Those that say D amps are for Cars and Subs don't know what they're talking about (sorry).  I have been in the hobby for 25 years and been a dealer as well.  I have owned many amps throughout the years and have reached audio nirvana with a Red Dragon pair of M1000 monoblocks and a Prima Luna preamp.    I have two other friends that have been dedicated hobbyists for many many  years (one of which was also a dealer for 15 years) who have become believers too.  One owns the AVM MA3.2's and the other owns H2O monoblocks.  Both pair them with tube preamps.  Two others class D amplifiers that I know are incredibly musical....  the Peachtree Nova 150 and 300.  Another friend of mine owns the 150 and he's never been happier.  I heard the 300 at Axpona last year driving a $20,000 pair of Martin Logans and was creating one of the best sounds at the show.  The other brand is Primare.  Only heard it at a show but again a sound that no one could say wasn't incredibly great musical sound that was hard to pull yourself away from.  Class D was for cars and subs only five or ten years ago but they ARE up to par NOW.  Set up properly they will exceed your wildest audiophile dreams.  At the end of the day there is more than one way to skin a cat my friends.  It's what can make hi-end audio so fun and also very frustrating at times.  Happy Listening!

Recently acquired the NAD 12, which uses the NCore technology, along with M22.  Best sound I've ever heard.  Clean, focused, powerful, clear as a bell.  As an aside, I use some powered PMC monitors for recording and read somewhere that they use similar power modules.  That would explain the similar clear and detailed sound I heard through those.

Might not be as much fun for you audiophiles, but I think this may be the technology of the future.

Try to sell everyone, I'm sticking to cars and subs, 
been in this game a long time, I also worked as a stereo salesman, this means nothing, 
been in this game too long, between my brother and I, we have probably had every brand which is worthy under the sun.
a good a/b amp is by a country mile, just better. 
I will keep my ears open for a good class d sound, but so far there are several missing components of the sound they make, and yes, on multiple speakers/sources, preamps, missmash of components, cables, name it , my brother has probably owned it at one time. 

Sure, they are cool running, gobs of power, small footprint, etc etc, but the sound............it is just, not there. There is no sparkle, rapture, goosebumps, whatever silly names which are used. 

If YOU, like them, awesome, enjoy them, I know they are not for me

and as far as the belittling names, sterile, heartless, soulless, etc etc, so not the case in ANY amp I have listened to. 

:)

You mean allowing the listener to feel the musical emotions? Like how the Atma-Sphere amplifiers and pre-amps does in spades :-)


Class D has never given me those intimate feelings during musical playback however for Studio recording, tracking and mixing on large studio speaker it can work, for Large Pro Audio Speakers it works even better. For Audiophile level setups i am not yet sure but i have not heard them all.

I have Class D Quested Amps setup for Home Theater use, powering up my Quested Rear channels all 12 of them with out a hint of strain, and it does a fine job. However my main front LCR Speakers use Active setup Class AB Quested Amps.

I Would like to Hear a Class D amplifier paired with a 300B Tube pre-amp.

So I get the obvious strengths of Class D. Efficiency, power output & running cool which allows for small form factors. I also understand the weaknesses somewhat. 1. Non-linear & lots of distortion that needs to be cleaned up with an output filter.
So my question is, if it weren't for efficiency & power, would there be any reason to own a Class D amp? Do they beat Class A in any other categories that count for sound quality?  

+1 seanheis1

Cheers George