Class D amps looking much improved

pearsall001 · April 20

Well the Bokem class D amp is on its way thanks to Clipdat's generous offer. We'll see how it compares to my HALO A21+ amp driving the Maggie 1.7i's. Should be interesting & a lot of fun.

mhardy6647 · April 20

Not to go all ASR on all y'all, but... if (?!) you can get a buddy to help you do a level-matched, A/B (single) blind comparison of the performance of the two amplifiers, it might

be more fair to one amp or the other than knowing which one you're listening to.

ohskigod · April 23

I've dived into Class D recently. I picked up some Crown XLS Drivecore amps for PA work and tried them in 2 channel and was surprised at how well they did. Paired with LSi's in particular they really shine. The 22502 in particular just has so much headroom and effortless muscle to handle the LSi's with ease.

I also built an icepower 300AS1/A1 based amplifier and I absolutely love it. Am I going to abandon A/B? nah......I'll always have one or 2 around.....but none are active in my systems at the moment

Clipdat · May 10

Is anyone else interested in trying the Boxem Audio Class D amp?

motorstereo · May 12

I recently picked up a Fosi v3 for my office rig. That tiny little thing replaced a Mcintosh 4100 pre section going into a Proton d1200 into IMF supercompacts. I'm very impressed with the sound and the fact that it runs a 4ohm load all day and barely even gets warm. So much so that both the Mcintosh and the Proton will be headed for fb marketplace. At around $100 for a 90wpc amp that specs out well it's a no brainer for me to move up to modern class d rather than stay with tired old problematic vintage gear.

Toolfan66 · May 12

billbillw wrote: »

Over here! Happily using a W4S Class D amplifier for 3 years now. Don't see myself ever going back to AB. The dynamics are incredible and it never runs out of steam. I love the beauty of a well designed AB like the stuff that Pass or Parasound put out, but I have come to prefer the compact, cool running nature of the D-amps.
Sound wise, in my opinion, the amplifier itself has one of the smallest effects on the overall signature of the sound from a system (*as long as it is providing ample power and not distorting in a bad way*). If it does that, and it reproduces everything you give it from the preamp, then its doing its job. The preamp, DAC, speakers, etc. have a much great effect on the overall sound (speakers being #1).
I'm sure there are many who would disagree, but that's my position. I've had more than a dozen fairly high end AB amps or integrated amps in my system(s) through the last 20 years including some John Curl Parasound monsters. When I first tried W4S's STI500, it was the first time I've experienced what seemed like unlimited dynamics (or at least within my listening levels). The STI had some weaknesses in its fairly simple preamp section which led me to sell it. After some patience, I picked up an ST500 sold my big LSA integrated, and went to using the ST500 straight from my DAC for a time, until more patience eventually led me to an STP-SE preamp to pair with it, which was my ultimate goal. I don't see myself ever getting rid of that pairing, unless I sell my whole 2-ch system at some point to downsize for some move to a smaller living space.

I love Wyred 4 Sound’s gear, I still own the STP-SE, a pair of SX-1000’s, and the DAC 2. I honestly don’t know why they don’t get talked about more. Well the DAC 2 got a lot of praise for a while, but their PreAmp is awesome as well..
My W4S gear has been stored away the last couple years now, after I purchased Cary’s SLP-05 pre, and a pair of SA-500.01 class AB amps. I can’t bring myself to let go of the W4S gear, even though the Cary gear is the best gear I have ever owned, I don’t want there to be a day where I regret getting rid of it, like I did the Adcom gear I had..

skipshot12 · May 13

I am interested in Atmos-Sphere’s class D amp.

I had tried a very powerful class d amp, years ago, to push my Kappa 9’s and had mixed results.
Although powerful enough they were missing something. Like I couldn’t get into the music I was hearing.

Only issue is I have gen 3 SRS’s.

skipshot12 · May 13

^ The plus side, still have the 9’s.

jdjohn · May 13

I know the Devialet line of hybrid class A/D amps get a lot of praise, but are $$$$. Their look is very unassuming.

skipshot12 · May 13

If Atma-Sphere made that same amp specs in a stereo unit I’d have to give them a try on my SDA’s.

xschop · June 5

SeleniumFalcon wrote: »

The Fosi Audio V3 mono amplifier is an interesting design.

Has anyone tried the new V3 monos yet?

Jazzhead · June 5

Another observation. I don't know if this universally applies to all class D amps, but I am very impressed at how much dynamic performance and balance across the entire frequency spectrum I hear at low volume levels. To my ears class D does this very well relative to other amps I have heard.

Wardsweb · June 5

Several OEM's with great products: Hypex, Pascal and Etal (was Anaview).

xschop · July 25

motorstereo wrote: »

I recently picked up a Fosi v3 for my office rig. That tiny little thing replaced a Mcintosh 4100 pre section going into a Proton d1200 into IMF supercompacts. I'm very impressed with the sound and the fact that it runs a 4ohm load all day and barely even gets warm. So much so that both the Mcintosh and the Proton will be headed for fb marketplace. At around $100 for a 90wpc amp that specs out well it's a no brainer for me to move up to modern class d rather than stay with tired old problematic vintage gear.

I don't miss the Nak PA-5. Can't imagine what heat the PA-7 generated...

tonyb · July 25

Eh, I like class D amps, for certain purposes. I'm still partial to the A/B though. Something about tone, depth, air, that D just can't seem to get right. Least on a bigger scale that is. Smaller scales like desktop or small bookies it's a harder comparison.

Still think a Tube pre and SS A/B amp for bigger speakers brings out the most joy for me that is.

pitdogg2 · July 25

tonyb wrote: »

I still think a Tube pre and SS A/B amp for bigger speakers brings out the most joy for me that is.

I concur!

Viking64 · July 25

It looks like you are listening to The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sleepy Labeef.

motorstereo · July 25

I don't miss the Nak PA-5. Can't imagine what heat the PA-7 generated...

[/quote]

My one and only venture in ss class a mono's. I would only use them during the cold months as they would burn your hand and oh how that power meter would spin. No thanks class a; but I had to try it.

mhardy6647 · July 25

JBL's on the Class D bandwagon.

Now... I am just sayin'.

https://youtu.be/ldKCTZM3ws8?si=POCKlzA5lZTZIaQ2
or, as one might prefer...

https://youtu.be/UGnIBzMkAAk?si=zmYJnVDDmk9hqbFA
(without the Gen Z accoutrements)

Clipdat · July 25

You trying to kill us with cringe??

heiney9 · July 25

I have been a Class A listener for quite some time. I don't see it changing anytime soon.

H9

mhardy6647 · July 26

Well, me too (vis-a-vis Class A).
No JBL loudspeakers here, either, though.
Albeit there are a couple of JBL drivers -- but even they are standing down at the moment.

xschop · July 29

Really diggin' the plumber's tape

SCompRacer · July 30

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I wanna know who braided them wires. I had the wife do some three and four wire braids for me.

mhardy6647 · July 31

SCompRacer wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I wanna know who braided them wires. I had the wife do some three and four wire braids for me.

Belden.
https://www.belden.com/products/cable/audio-cable/speaker-cable/9497

CH46E · August 14

heiney9 wrote: »

I have been a Class A listener for quite some time. I don't see it changing anytime soon.

H9

I've never had a true Class A amp. But by far, I have the best sounding amp ( for me) that I've ever owned . A Krell 3250. I sent a few messages to Krell asking what or how much bias was in Class A. I got the whole (nose in the air) Krell does not disclose specs. I'm pretty sure their response will make sure I never buy another Krell product. I'm also pretty sure the original product spec sheet for advertising mentioned what I was looking for.

I DO WANT A TRUE CLASS A AMP.!! Sorry did not mean to yell! 😂

billbillw · August 15

CH46E wrote: »

heiney9 wrote: »

I have been a Class A listener for quite some time. I don't see it changing anytime soon.

H9

I've never had a true Class A amp. But by far, I have the best sounding amp ( for me) that I've ever owned . A Krell 3250. I sent a few messages to Krell asking what or how much bias was in Class A. I got the whole (nose in the air) Krell does not disclose specs. I'm pretty sure their response will make sure I never buy another Krell product. I'm also pretty sure the original product spec sheet for advertising mentioned what I was looking for.

I DO WANT A TRUE CLASS A AMP.!! Sorry did not mean to yell! 😂

You can tell an A/B amp is heavy biased to A if the heatsinks are too hot to touch

There is usually a way to guess the watts in A based on the transistor arrangement. Years ago, I could have given you a number, but I haven't been diving into circuits as much in the last 15 years.

mhardy6647 · August 15

ME, TOO!
THAT'S WHY I HAVE... UMM... SEVERAL.

SCompRacer · August 18

I demo'd a pair of Wyred SX-500's Class D when I made the change from ESL to Salk SS8's in late 2013. I had also tried the Sanders 300WPC@8 amp which worked great on the ESL panels. Ed the SRT king brought a Krell KSA-250 over Jan 2014? and I've had that since. The sinks run ~ 175F on that and it pulls 10 or 11 amps.

Class D amps looking much improved

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