Class D - A Fork in the Road


So it seems these newer Class D amps are splitting into two paths. Now I'm not asking which is better, the Purifi Eigentakt, or the GAN models. I am asking is if you can describe the sound of each compared to the other. I understand which one is better is subjective, and opinion based, but a general description would be helpful to make my choice closer to what I want to hear. Thanks.

koestner

Well that can of course be true when comparing say a 300B tube amp and a decent SS amp. Those harmonic distortions give the amps their signature sound, but in the case of these 2 types of Class D (GaNFET and Purifi Eigentakt) where each of the amps are designed to have the lowest possible distortion percents, including harmonics, I would think they would sound somewhat similar.

in the case of these 2 types of Class D (GaNFET and Purifi Eigentakt) where each of the amps are designed to have the lowest possible distortion percents, including harmonics, I would think they would sound somewhat similar.

@koestner I'm sure they will- of course more similar than not. You'd have to compare them to know what the difference is about. 

Ralph, yes that's why I started this thread. I was hoping someone had compared both types and had an opinion. However the only answers I got back were 1. They're very similar, and 2. You have to do this yourself. That's probably the only 2 true answers there are. I'm not sure which way to go now as I can't purchase both and send one back. I'm not the kind of guy to buy something knowing that one of them is being returned. I just don't think it's fair to the company. Also I don't think I could make a proper judgement in just a 2 week trial. Perhaps I should change my research to features and looks.

Yes @atmasphere that is a perfect example of where you misunderstood. I was saying that comparing GANFET'S to regular silicon D amps such as those from China and the lower tier Western silicon based D's is disingenuous. They should be compared to the top tier silicon based D amps. But they never are. There. Was that spelled out better? 

@ericrhodes1 Yes, and I agree with your first statement. Some GaNFET amps are compared to top tier class D amps; that seems to happen a fair amount. 

 Also I don't think I could make a proper judgement in just a 2 week trial.

@koestner A lot of the customer feedback we have suggests our class D amps take about 450-500 hours to break in properly. That would be very hard to do in a two week period. When people are auditioning our amps I point this bit out.