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The Truth about Modern Class D

All my amps right now are Class D. ICEpower in the living room, and NAD D 3020 in the bedroom.

I’ve had several audiophiles come to my home and not one has ever said "Oh, that sounds like Class D."

Having said this, if I could afford them AND had the room, I’d be tempted to switch for a pair of Ayre monoblocks or Conrad Johnson Premiere 12s and very little else.

I’m not religious about Class D. They sound great for me, low power, easy to hide, but if a lot of cash and the need to upgrade ever hits me, I could be persuaded.

The point: Good modern Class D amps just sound like really good amplifiers, with the usual speaker/source matching issues.

You don’t have to go that route, but it’s time we shrugged off the myths and descriptions of Class D that come right out of the 1980’s.
erik_squires

Showing 3 responses by grannyring

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
@ricevs says.....

“The "truth" about class D is that it is all over the place.......just like all the other classes.”

Perfectly stated as the universe of Class D or any class of amps is far too big for over generalizations to apply. Experience has shown me that tube amp sound is all over the board as well as Class A/B etc...
The power supply employed in a Class D design can all by itself dramatically change the sound. So many other aspects can change the sound of a Class D amp such as design, build and parts quality differences.

We should also throw in pure digital powered dacs as they offer tremendous sound quality with the added option of room correction and SOTA volume control. We have so many great choices today.  


grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
@atmasphere  

I was talking about units such as the Lyngdorf 2170.....

“The TDAI-2170 is 100% digital, without sound-deteriorating digital-to-analog conversions. The digital signal drives the speakers directly, with no translation and no middleman.” 

It takes a digital signal and amplifies it without a conventional dac.  The signal remains completely digital right to very point where the signal is fed to the outputs....only at this point does the signal convert to analog. This unit is not a Class D amp. 


grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Loved your “Lumpy” description above as that eally rings true in my experience. Well said. I am only commenting on bass and not the overall sound of Class D vs conventional SS amps.
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