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Has anyone really spent time listening to D Class Amplification?
I'm curious how many people in these forums have actually spent some time listened and evaluated D class amplifiers ? I have heard a few and have yet to hear one that sounds good to me, or natural. To me they sound artificial same issue when comparing analog records to digital music. I'm an analog records and tube guy and there are very few solid state amplifiers I like, but these D class amplifiers lack the emotional connection to the music for me.
Your thoughts
Kevin
40 years high end audio video specialist
2 Answers
- LanceLv 78 years agoFavorite Answer
I've used them myself in car installs and found them to be quite satisfactory, as far as home use the only class D amps I have auditioned where in dealer show rooms....I thought the home units sounded surpassingly warm and natural although it seems they were missing some detail both in the bass line and also in the upper end extremities giving the music a less defined caricature..The sound would probably satisfy most people with a lot of the mid-fi speakers available in a home theater environment. I prefer NAD amps for my critical analog listening and have found them to be quite satisfactory and detailed....if price were no object and I had better speakers and other equipment I might want to go for a Krell amp or Mark Livingston Amp....
- Grumpy MacLv 78 years ago
The advantage of class D seems to be that everything is solid-state so it is more economical. This means the only devices with class D amps I have spotted are the lower end electronics.
A few years ago some more higher-end company made a 2 channel amp using class-D and even the non-music review magazines said they were un-impressed.
Basically - it seems that Class-D amps are to be found in lower-end, Asia built Karoki machines and box systems. It's not intended to compete with Krell, Adcom or some of the other separate amps available.
So No - I have never tried listening to my favorite CD's with my speakers, swapping my DSP-A1/Adcom or THX Monoblocks in/out with a Class D amp. (It would be a fun weekend however.)
If you are serious - go to one of the more ... passionate forums like Audiogon or AVS where the guys who listen to music as a hobby hang out. They probably drive around with a disk-box of favorite CD's to audition gear as a hobby and may have some experiences auditioning class-D amps.
