Hmmm so Class D it is : the future of audio

[Lizard King]

I watch this space with interest. All I find is lots of history of class D, theoretical benefits and measurements by ASR(don't really care about).
What about some comparison of mainstream brands like NAD, Marantz etc. It's either some uber expensive brands, some DIY, some ChiFi.
Why other mainstream brands are not adapting it? Cost of migration/ retooling? Fear of acceptance/ lethargy in abandoning legacy? Or are they not good? What about some reviews by reputable people?
HiFiChoice is having glowing reviews on PM12SE and it's sister models. That's about it. Sean of ZeroFidelity seemed a bit non commital about Model 30..
Anything I'm missing out?
I'm quite open to adapt to D for my next upgrade if it ticks the boxes, mainly about SQ. Don't care about power savings.
I did audition Crown Power Amp for 5 days. Well..... I don't know....

 

[Analogous]

I had close encounters with two “well reviewed” class D amplifiers in the past year.
One was the NAD D3020 and the other was Primare i32 (their first class D I think)
Beautiful aesthetics, top notch construction, ease of use, features. But the SQ was … underwhelming.
I found Class AB tone more involving emotionally with the music and more recently I find the “Tube sound” even more attractive. This is purely my personal preference. The class D amp in my sub does a impressive job though.
Has anyone heard the GANSFET sound? impressions?

 

[Enkay78]

I watch this space with interest. All I find is lots of history of class D, theoretical benefits and measurements by ASR(don't really care about).
What about some comparison of mainstream brands like NAD, Marantz etc. It's either some uber expensive brands, some DIY, some ChiFi.
Why other mainstream brands are not adapting it? Cost of migration/ retooling? Fear of acceptance/ lethargy in abandoning legacy? Or are they not good? What about some reviews by reputable people?
HiFiChoice is having glowing reviews on PM12SE and it's sister models. That's about it. Sean of ZeroFidelity seemed a bit non commital about Model 30..
Anything I'm missing out?
I'm quite open to adapt to D for my next upgrade if it ticks the boxes, mainly about SQ. Don't care about power savings.
I did audition Crown Power Amp for 5 days. Well..... I don't know....

That's true for the past few years.

But from this year onwards, I feel the scenario is changing......

I see more of an inertia of the audiophile industry.....not the audio industry.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

I watch this space with interest. All I find is lots of history of class D, theoretical benefits and measurements by ASR(don't really care about).
What about some comparison of mainstream brands like NAD, Marantz etc. It's either some uber expensive brands, some DIY, some ChiFi.
Why other mainstream brands are not adapting it? Cost of migration/ retooling? Fear of acceptance/ lethargy in abandoning legacy? Or are they not good? What about some reviews by reputable people?
HiFiChoice is having glowing reviews on PM12SE and it's sister models. That's about it. Sean of ZeroFidelity seemed a bit non commital about Model 30..
Anything I'm missing out?
I'm quite open to adapt to D for my next upgrade if it ticks the boxes, mainly about SQ. Don't care about power savings.
I did audition Crown Power Amp for 5 days. Well..... I don't know....

At the risk of being burnt up a stake, I will state that legacy and brand image has a lot of say in our hobby.
This is the only thing going against class D at the moment

Aww dammed. You are right. I got confused with PS audio.

sincere apology for mixing them.

You've just saved yourself from the wrath of a huge parasound fan

 

[Enkay78]

You've just saved yourself from the wrath of a huge parasound fan

Phew........I was just in time

 

[shibashis]

The Parasound Newclassic 200 seems to be the only 'mainstream' offering which is bordering on the very edge of being affordable, perilously close to being termed as 'unattainable'.
I want a class D affordable amp and I want one without the DAC and streaming capabilities and all that, just give me a good old great sounding class D integrated. Let us enjoy the sound and be power efficient at the same time, is that too much to ask really!

 

[Analogous]

good old great sounding class D integrated.

Are there any such? (Great sounding Class D amps)?
Reccomendations, suggestions please…

 

[Enkay78]

The Parasound Newclassic 200 seems to be the only 'mainstream' offering which is bordering on the very edge of being affordable, perilously close to being termed as 'unattainable'.
I want a class D affordable amp and I want one without the DAC and streaming capabilities and all that, just give me a good old great sounding class D integrated. Let us enjoy the sound and be power efficient at the same time, is that too much to ask really!

Exactly……

Or just a power amp WITHOUT ANY FRILLS.

Are there any such? (Great sounding Class D amps)?
Reccomendations, suggestions please…

If you believe in reviewers like Darko -

(Always with a pinch of salt…..but that is how audiophiles are speaking)

 

[prem]

Are there any such? (Great sounding Class D amps)?
Reccomendations, suggestions please…

Amps from SPEC.

 

[Analogous]

Amps from SPEC.

Thanks @prem
First I am hearing of this company. The products look very fine.

SPEC CORPORATION

 

[Enkay78]

Amps from SPEC.

Maybe I am not able to search- there seems to be no info on the chips. If it is hypex/Purifi then good otherwise…..not going by the ‘descriptions’

 

[Lizard King]

Are there any such? (Great sounding Class D amps)?
Reccomendations, suggestions please…

Marantz SA-12SE/PM-12SE SACD Player/Amplifier The Class D Core

The Class D Core Marantz's adoption of the Ncore power amp modules and switchmode PSU now extends across three seasons of its products, the association with technology brand Hypex beginning with the PM-10 [HFN Aug '17]. Bridged pairs of NC500 modules were employed in the high-specification...

www.hifinews.com

This and all Marantz Reference line...
Measures well and. But will someone review them properly with comparisons with similarly priced products

 

[prem]

When you listen to music, hundreds of musical notes of varying frequencies hit you at the same time to provide a musical landscape.

Look at each musical note as an outer shell with an inner. Class D will play the outer shell of each note quite perfectly. Hence you will get great clarity and separation. SET amps will probably be the worst. Class A SS and Class AB will be in between.

But the emotion, body, flow and resonance does not lie in the outer shell. It’s in the inner. Here SET amps will be the best. Class D will probably be the worst and Class A SS and Class AB somewhere in the middle.

IME music lovers prefer better inner because that’s where music lies.

But as always it boils down to what you want. If you are seeking ultimate clarity and separation go with Class D.

SPEC amps are designed by Shirokazu Yazaki. He’s tried to bridge the gap between Class D and SET. Even though he has designed the SPEC amp, at home he uses a SET amp with his Altecs

 

[vinothkumar]

But the emotion, body, flow and resonance does not lie in the outer shell.

+1000


I am unsure about the expensive class D amps (Like MOLA MOLA) but whatever I have tried the Non-Class A/AB amps, all failed in bringing up emotional connect with music when you try to sit back and relax. What I found with class D and G as far as I tried is they sounded super clear and did a fantastic job in bringing up good imaging, soundstage, and depth in the details. Most of the time, I find them sound a bit thin compared to the other classes (This could be only with my experience alone).

 

[Analogous]

Maybe I am not able to search- there seems to be no info on the chips. If it is hypex/Purifi then good otherwise…..not going by the ‘descriptions’

It’s there in the technical tab

Technology : SPEC CORPORATION

Technology

spec-corp.jp

Even though he has designed the SPEC amp, at home he uses a SET amp with his Altecs

I am reminded that actions speak louder than business practices

 

[sidvee]

I have gone through a few Class D amps., and my favorite is the Nuprime st10. It does not sound like a class D at all, more like a Class A/B. There is no thinness or sterility to the sound, it is warmish and fleshed out well in the midrange. I compared it some huge, high priced Class A amps. and came away impressed. I am enamored enough by these amps. that I am planning to get a pair of the mono-blocks soon.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[raghupb]

Maybe I am not able to search- there seems to be no info on the chips. If it is hypex/Purifi then good otherwise…..not going by the ‘descriptions’

Don't get cubby-holed by assuming only nCore or hypex or purifi is good. Others. not so ...
Commercial audio equipment is a decade or two behind its pro-audio counterpart.
Even more so when you add "affordable" tag to it.
Good Class-D has been around for decades. Remember ICE-power?
The tech that went into brands like BeO, etc. They were big at the turn of the century.
Now there are companies like nCore, Pascal Audio, Nord and many others whose designs have found their way into affordable commercial audio.

Now some big name companies in the audio business are using trickle down approach.
Jeff Rowland, Marantz, NAD, Parasound, KEF, NuPrime, PeachTree, etc to name a few are offering products with this tech.
They are either licensing the modules/technology or doing in-house development.

In pro-audio business, the consumer knows what they want and how to control it.
So class-D has been a staple there for a few decades now.
In consumer audio, many consumers are like Bono singing "I still haven't found what I'm looking for ...."
Many of us still snigger at digital or streaming or PEQ or even the humble tone controls

Keep an open mind, there is a class-D out there which will perk your ears.
Maybe it'll break the bank today, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.

PS: An automobile analogy would be: What we see in VW today came into Porsche racing 30 years ago

Cheers,
Raghu

 

[Shinto]

I recently got hold of Esoteric I05 Integrated amplifier.It is a Class D amplifier that uses a linear(analog) power supply.I have not heard any other class D amplifier so cant compare.But it sounds like a well refined class AB amplifier with great control on the speakers.It has a detailed sound but never sounds thin.One has to read the literature to believe it is a class D amplifier(*if all the bad things i have heard about in general on class D amplifiers are true).

I-05 | FEATURES | ESOTERIC:Japan high-end audio manufacturer | エソテリック

Pride and Mission of ESOTERIC - The joy of the highest level of musical elation

www.esoteric.jp

 

[Kannan]

There is no doubt that Class D is now simply the way ahead. It scores ahead on almost all factors, be it power to efficiency, power to size or ultimately the price factor.
Class D has opened the way for compactly and within budget, the implementation of active setups, and that for me is the biggest plus.
I use a flea power Class A in my stereo and full active Class D in my car.

 

[Hiten]

I have been hearing about class D being the future right from 2003 and then the tripath chip hit the market. I guess we are already in the future and almost all TVs, and smaller devices have already adopted it

Audiophile acceptance may be a different proposition.

In early days Class D switching frequency (Dont fully know what it is but something about modulation of music content) was close to audible range of 20khz. And people claimed it affected high frequencies sound quality. later on the switching frequencies were moved further away from audible band. To my tin ears only Tripath sounded good. but had low power output.

Parasound was started by Richard Schram and later joined by John Curl.

Mr. John Curl has designed only few Parasound models.
Regards