@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook Yeah, good one. I'll put you down as "not curious." I'm going to set aside that joke as just a joke, because actually a comment about the general approach would genuinely help in evaluating the claims being made — specifically, that a GaN implementation can achieve tube-like tonality and presence. (AGD did not accomplish that, IMO.) Without some account of how, we're left with promises and 'go listen.' That's not nothing, but it puts a lot of weight on auditions that most of us can't easily arrange. Designers here have shown real willingness to discuss their approach without giving away trade secrets — Ralph included, in other threads. So the question wasn't unprecedented, just curious.
Expanding the Class D Conversation: How Would You Characterize Their Differences?
Expanding the Class D Conversation: How Would You Characterize Their Differences?
I'm currently trialing the NAD M23 (1st gen. Eigentakt-based), and I find it intriguing enough to want to understand it better — which means understanding the broader sonic landscape of class D. So I'm crowd-sourcing.
In a recent exchange, the estimable Ralph Karsten (Atma-Sphere Music Systems) made two comments that stopped me cold. For those who missed it, here's what he said:
"IME, class D amps vary in sound more than tube amps, which is to say, quite a lot."
"IMO there is a bigger difference between various class D amps than you hear between various tube amps. IOW just because you heard one class D amp says nothing about how the next one might sound."
Link: https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2885828
As I think through this more carefully, these are genuinely important claims. My own experience with tube amps confirms that they produce audibly distinct characters across topologies and designs. If Ralph is right and class D exceeds that range, then generalizing from one class D experience to another is even more hazardous than I assumed.
One specific question for Audiogon members:
If you have a Class D amp or have compared class D amplifiers, how would you describe their character(s)?
Here are some criteria I use:
- Frequency balance — Is the tonal response even across bass, mids, and treble, or does it favor certain regions?
- High-frequency texture — Are the highs extended and smooth, or edgy, grainy, and fatiguing?
- Bass definition — Is the low end tight and articulate, or loose and bloated?
- Midrange character — Does the midrange feel present and natural, or recessed and thin?
- Transient speed — Does the amp respond quickly to dynamic attacks, or does it sound sluggish and rounded?
- Dynamic range — Does it scale convincingly from quiet passages to loud ones, or compress the difference?
- Soundstage width and depth — Does it create a convincing three-dimensional image, or sound flat and narrow?
- Image specificity — Are instruments and voices placed precisely, or do they blur and wander?
- Background noise floor — Is the silence between notes actually silent, or is there grain, haze, or hash?
- Long-term listenability — After an extended session, do you want to keep listening, or has something been quietly fatiguing you?
If you can include relevant system context — room, speakers, preamp — please do. Those variables will help me interpret what the amp itself is contributing.
I'm less interested in rankings than in understanding what Ralph mentioned, namely the [vast] range of sonic signatures class D is capable of. Eigentakt, Hypex, Pascal, Purifi, GaN-based, etc. — all fair game.
Price is no constraint here — I'm interested in the full range of what's out there.
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@hilde45 You're the only person Ive run across that is saying the AGD sound isnt "Tube like". The comparisons that have always been made between AGD and Ralph's versions by people that have tried both is that AGD of the 2 is the one thats "Tube Like" and that Ralphs has more Grunt and Growl to it like Solid State. Not sure where you are doing your research. Maybe try YOUTUBE and the regular reviewers on there. You started talking about the SIT-3....that amp has been out for like a decade already and you werent even aware there was a #4 and #5 Sit amps out there. Yet you have like 6000 posts. Maybe less time typing and more time doing your homework.
I dont audition amps. If Im interested (Curious) I BUY one and if I dont like it I dump it. As long as you get a 20% Discount off MSRP you usually wont get stuck with a huge loss unless you're buying a Boutique brand that people arent familiar with. |
How many was that, exactly? Now you’ve met someone, so more data for you. So...my assessment of the AGD -- which I praised quite highly, so stay calm -- came from about 10 days of intensive audition of the Audion III monoblocks and running a careful, documented comparison against my XA-25 — and before that, against a Hypex-based NAD M23 — in my own system. Not from YouTube. Direct experience and systematic listening ought to count for something, even against a broad consensus. Systems vary enormously, and my ears in my room are the most relevant data I have. This is a forum, too, so keep some perspective. As for methodology: buying and flipping if disappointed works for some people, and that’s fine. But not everyone has the budget or appetite for that kind of churn, and careful research before purchasing isn’t a character flaw — it’s a different approach with its own value. My documentation of these comparisons has been useful to others here, or so I’ve been told. If you tried the number of amps I’ve had, you’d be out a lot of coin. Maybe you have it to spend. Good for you. On the SIT-3: my posts reflect genuine first-hand listening experience. The amp is still available used, figures prominently in the review literature, and remains a live reference point for people considering purchases in this range. That makes it worth discussing regardless of how long it’s been on the market. As for post count: the number of posts I have says nothing about the validity of any particular claim. Pointing to one gap in product knowledge and implying it casts doubt on everything else I’ve written is a hasty generalization. Questions and documented comparisons aren’t signs of inadequate homework — they’re how a certain kind of careful consumer operates. If that approach doesn’t suit you, my posts are easy enough to skip. |
@riaa_award_collectors_on_facebook Wait-wut? There are secret ingredients?? How do you know there are 11? Way above my pay grade
I've heard the exact opposite. Take a look at our customer feedback page and you'll see what I mean. |
- 355 posts total