2. amps-preamps
  3. 1244811660

Do all Class D amps lack soundstage depth?

Hello!
Recently I bought a class D amp for my friend from Audiogon - PS Audio Trio A-100. In general, I liked it sound very much. Compared to the power section of my much cheaper integrated amp (NAD C320BEE), Trio A-100 sounded fresher, more transparent, richer and juicier. NAD was obviously duller and more reserved. Trio A-100 seemed to energize the air with a sort of vibrancy, while NAD seemed more lifeless. (Of course, I am exaggerating the difference between the amps a bit to make it more clear how they differ from each other.) However, Trio A-100 lacked one parameter, which is very essential for me and without which I cannot truly get lost in the music – namely, the soundstage was flat. It wasn’t absolutely flat, no – but NAD did so much better in this department. When NAD was playing, I heard which instruments and singers were farther from me and which were closer to me. When Trio was playing, everything seemed to be on the same line, equidistant from me.

The previous owner of PS Audio Trio A-100 had told to me about its sound before I bought the amp from him, and he frankly admitted that the soundstage was kind of flat. Before this purchase, I nearly bought another Class D amp – namely, Bel Canto S300. Eventually, this amp went to another buyer, but the owner shared with me his impressions about this amp and, among other things, he wrote: “There might be less depth with some recordings”.

So, at least two owners of Class D amps confessed that their amps lacked soundstage depth.

I wonder – are all Class D amps like that? Is the lack of depth something which is intrinsically inherent in Class D?

My second question is – what if I buy TWO Class D amps and use them as monoblocks – will it solve the problem with the flatness of the soundstage?

Any advice based on personal experience will be much appreciated.
ironmine

Showing 5 responses by muralman1

muralman1
1,527 posts
 
Tan43 and Nick778 are right. I have found, with my gear, almost all cables sound bad, as well as almost all CD players. This is a fact. I have not heard the amps named here, but I think I can assume my findings would apply to class D amps in general. My super charged Audio Note DAC works wonders, mining CDs for all they are worth. The amps lets it all through untouched.

And now a word from Audiogon's dealers.....
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
The ICE 500A module, given an expert's power supply has the sweetest highs.
That all depends on just what you feed it. I found that all oversampling players,
including SACD players have a flat sound stage, unnatural highs, and just are
devoid of life. They give class D a bad rap.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
What goes between the amp and the speakers are the speaker cables, and that is a whole other story.

My preamp was designed, because there were virtually no preamps good enough. You would have had to dig real deep in your pockets.

Class D will spotlight any defect in the chain, and amplify that to annoyance as if to meat punishment.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
My preamp, the class A Fire by the same builder as my amps, is of utmost importance in my system's success. With the power part taken care of, and the cabling simplified to an onlooker's idea of absurdity, I only needed to perfect my source. I spent only $1600 on an Audio Note DAC kit. After putting it together, I sent it to the builder of my amps and preamp. He supercharged that DAC. If you don't think an Audio Note can rock, they can, you just have to think outside their box.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
I really don't think that amps have anything to do with sound stage width. That is a speaker's attribute, like mine, and their placement.
More to discover