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A great article on Class D/switching amps

The latest edition of The Absolute Sound has, in my opinion, the best overall perspective and evaluation of the eight most regarded class D switching amps on the market today.

The article contains an explanation of the technology, an interview with a couple of the most important designers, the individual reviews and finally a round table discussion regarding these amps.

I believe any of you GON members who might be considering auditioning a class D switching amp would want to review this piece regarding their different sonic signatures.

I had the pleasure of listening to the Kharma MP150 which the panel picked as being on top of the "heap" compared to Audio Research 300.2,Channel Island Audio D-200, Nuforce Reference 9 Special Edition, Red Dragon Audio Leviathan Signature, Jeff Roland Design Group 201, Cary Audio Design A 306,and finally the Spectron Musician III.

Each amp had at least two different reviewers with different systems evaluate them and then compare their experiences. This was a well done piece and if you read it I believe you find it both educational and helpful to understand what these amps are all about.
teajay

Showing 7 responses by macrojack

macrojack
1,303 posts
 
I've alternated between Class D and low powered tube amps for about 3 years now and I intervened with a Pass Aleph 30. The Rowland 201 was very good but the amp I use currently is the best that I have ever heard. It is the Red Wine Audio Signature 30. It puts forth 30 watts per channel of Tripath power and operates off battery power. You get no noise and a very stiff current. Somehow, the designer, Vinnie Rossi manages to make this amplifier mimic the sound and character of a very good single ended triode. And somehow it missed out on the TAS article. I don't read TAS so I wouldn't know if he advertises with them. Does he?
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
That's right, Tvad. The Sig 30 provides a very convincing argument for switching to high efficiency speakers. I've seen numerous testimonials now saying it may be the best SS amp available. And at $1400 for a single input integrated, it has to be the best overall value on the amplifier market.
Consider Reference 3a or Zu Druid as good speaker choices.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Bobgates -
Let me respond to each of your comments separately.

I would agree that Class D technology is still evolving. Those things which are not still evolving have been abandoned.
To some reviewers, Class D will seem cold and sterile because it lacks the distortion components that they interpret as warmth.
As for the used market, please note that Class D is not so new. I bought my first pair of Rowland 201 about a year after they became available and that was 3 years ago. The fact that something is for sale on the used market doesn't "goes to show" anything other than the fact that people bought them new and decided to try something else. In fact, it might well mean that they liked Class D so much that they upgraded within the genre.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Tvad - I'm speculating here but I always assumed that Class D indicated "Digital", and Class T was just a made up designation for Tri-Path which Vinnie uses in his Red Wine amps.
Tbg - You raise an interesting and valid point. Categorical dismissal of all Class D products is a bit shortsighted. Certainly they will vary in sound just as we vary in taste.
There is something for everyone and all any of us needs to do is find our own favorite. There is no Absolute Sound. That's Absolute Foolishness.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Krell Dan has good reason to dis Class D. In fact, now that you bring it up, I can see that the entire TAS family is threatened by a superior product at a realistic price.
The Red Wine Audio Signature 30 is far more musical than any Krell amplifier at any price regardless of what Dan has to say on the subject.
Any comment issued by Krell against a competing product or technology should be considered tainted by self-interest. Clearly he has a great deal at stake when his megabuck monoliths stand to be obsoleted by something easily affordable and more musically adroit.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Down here where I live, the question of whether or not a Class D design is superior to $40,000 Class A amps is utterly academic. My RWA Signature 30 is the best sounding amplifier I can afford and it outperforms anything I'm aware of at less than 3 times its price.
The mere fact that we are discussing subtle areas of comparison between the newcomer, dirt cheap digital amps and the finest, most expensive conventional designs speaks very well of the future of Class D.
In photography, we might find a parallel. I'm told by some hobbyists that film provides a certain character that digital doesn't quite convey but that digital has a clarity and precision that film was never able to capture.
macrojack
1,303 posts
 
Copy that, Coffeey. Why should a pair of speakers or an amplifier or a turntable cost as much to produce as a luxury car? Or twice as much? The prices of modern high end equipment are downright scandalous. We audiophiles seem to be goose stepping along in mass hypnosis nodding our heads in agreement about what a bargain a $600 power cord represents.
I think the reason behind the endless proliferation of new high end manufacturers relative to the nearly static growth in the number of audio buyers can be explained by the preposterous margins enjoyed when a sale is occassionally made. I never really fed this beast in any big way in the past but I'm going to try to starve it from now on by seeking products which do very well for little money. Class D seems to provide that option.
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