Class A/B Home THeater Receivers

Hi Bruce,

There are plenty of great Class A/B AVR's with HDMI inputs, as well as all the latest codecs and features (Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, HDCP2.2 for 4K and HDR support, etc.), from manufacturers like Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, as well as more high tiered brands like Arcam, NAD, etc., so there is no need to despair. :)  I sent you a PM with our contact info, and would be happy to help in any way I can.

Take care,

-David

Hi David,

I understand that Bruce prefers a class A/B AVR because that’s what he’s always used and he’s comfortable with this traditional technology. Unfortunately, he seems to have gotten some false information that class D technology has had reliability issues and he generally seems poorly informed on the numerous advantages of class D. To be fair, this is likely due to Bruce having little to no exposure to class D.

My view, based on research and personal experience, is that switching from all class A/B amplification to all class D amplification results in superior performance in all areas that audio enthusiasts care about such as a lower noise floor, lower distortion levels, better bass response, greater dynamic range and generally coming closer to the audio ideal of a ’straight wire with gain’. There’s also other benefits not directly related to sound quality such as smaller size, less weight, affordability, no heat sinks required,less heat emitted, significantly higher efficiency and reduced electricity usage. To further tip the scales, all these benefits are gained with zero costs or negatives that I’ve become aware of during the past 2 yrs I’ve used class D amps.

So, as the owner of an A/V company, I’m interested about your views on class A/B vs class D amps and just have a few questions if you’re willing:

1. Do you recommend class A/B to all your customers?

2. Can you name any important performance measure or quality in which class A/B is superior to class D?

3. Can you name any important performance measure or quality that could be in any way accurately be described as a cost, ’negative’ or sacrifice of switching from class A/B to class D? I honestly cannot.

4. Have you ever compared one of your popular A/V systems using all class A/B amplification to the identical one using all class D amplification? If so, can you share the results?

5. Does your company even carry or sell any class D amps or receivers?

I’m not familiar with your A/V business but I’m fairly sure you have extensive experience in selling and installing many A/V systems. Because of this, I’m sincerely interested in your viewpoint.

Thank you,
Tim

Bruce,

  You stated:

" I actually thought the Class D sounded a little cleaner and more detailed... but then I started researching customer reviews of those AVR, and I was surprised to fin that there are TONS of technical problems, and outright failures, of the Class D amps."

     Tons of technical problems with class D amps?

    First I've heard of this, I hope you're not a believer in 'alternative facts' ala Kellyanne Conway.


Tim

I’ve been using a class D amp to drive large floorstanders loudly for 3 years with nary a hiccup. I’m actually looking to upgrade to monoblocks.. Class D of course.

Sure they can break, but so can class A and A/B. I’ve also never heard of higher rates of failure for class D as a whole. But maybe it was one particular receiver that had these problems..? Not all class D. Just throwing that out there.