Class D is just Dandy!

Different strokes for different folks, as is always the case. I owned many amps over the years and my newest Class D amps are the best. Saved me from going the tube amp route. Benefits are greatest for those that favor smaller speakers with extended bass, or similar power and current hungry speakers which is the norm today for most affordable high quality speakers. If you run a tube amp with the right speakers to match and are happy probably no need to consider Class D. Otherwise you may be missing out big time! Beside the top top notch performance and sound you save space with both amps and speakers and your power bill and overall TCO is minimized.

If bias was a disqualifier, these forums would be dead quiet.

Noble, thanks for that well thought out clarification.

My ears tell me the latest and greatest Class D sounds great, absolute top notch sounding when done right, top to bottom, can compete and often win with most anything else, at least in its price range.

My technical self tells me that the technology is still not yet fully mature, has not yet peaked, and that it will continue to only get better, at least on paper and in tests. To what extent that matters practically listening to music  right now is another question. Just like the old is CD resolution good enough question.

Practically, it has not mattered enough to stop me from being squarely in the Class D camp for several years now, starting with when I acquired the Bel Canto ref1000m amps in my main system several years back and more recently when I gave the BEl Canto c5i a crack in my second system, thereby avoiding taking an experimental plunge into tube amps and the speakers needed to make those sound best.

I’d take good class D over most class a/b amps in a heartbeat. Class. d uses modern switching technology to compete effectively with good class A but can deliver more sound per $$$ when needed due to its efficiencies and is more practical for most especially when lots of power and current are called for as is often the case with modern smaller less efficient speakers with greater bass extension.. Its that good now and still getting even better as the technology continues to improve.

Class a/b is old compromise technology. Class D may put it to rest totally someday. I had a class G amp once. Yuck. Class D stomps that. Class A is a different story as are tube amps which still provide a truly different way to deliver distinctive results.

class D is not as musical as a class A amps.

You have not heard a good one with a pair of Ohm Walsh speakers perhaps?

The class warfare should really just end. There are very good and very bad amps of all classes. Furthermore one man’s bust may be another’s bounty. That’s how the world tends to roll in general. Deal with specifics not generalized statements that cannot hold true in reality. For example if I designed an amp it would probably suck no matter what Class because I am not an amp designer. Many are very skilled amp designers however and make very good products using their own unique skills to master technology in different ways. Those people are entitled to think their design is best but not at the expense of others. Each buyer will decide for themselves which is "best" for them using all the unique senses God granted them.

Give it up already!

Personally, I’d say Bel Canto Class D amps are one of the best things that ever happened to home audio in my house! They are marvelous sounding modern masterpieces of technology and meet my needs perfectly!

Cheers!

Yes Class D can be dandy indeed.   The evidence is what I am hearing as I type.