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Are Class D Amps scaring the hell out of the BIG Boys ?

I'm lovin' my Peachtree Audio Nova 125. It mellowed out after only a few hours use & I don't hear the cold sterility many people attribute to class D amps. The headphone section sound very good too. I do have to turn the volume knob up quite a bit from when it's driving speakers though. I haven't really heard much else in the class D category to compare it to but to me it seems like an example of an integrated amp done right, regardless of its class designation.
 
Frank Sol said:
and from what I've read... have NOT received good reviews. so is an exception to my OP :D

BTW-- I bought a Krell KSA150 for a song/dance in February... It is being overhauled. It will be overkill but I can hardly wait to compare it to my class D amp
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Your overhauled KSA150 will be beautiful. Trust me. And I have the reviews of the ML amp you point out and yes, with exception on the deep bass, the reviews are not that good, despite ML's best effort.
 
I will point out that high power class D amps are not cheap or light. The amp sections of my JL Audio subs are massive and heavy, and the power chord is BEEFIER than the chord I had for my Bryston amp. Granted, the amps do deliver 2500 watts each, so it should be no surprise that for high class D power, like any high power design, it will have to be heavy and power hungry.
 
The panasonic sa-xr57 sounds great with spdif or toslink connections especially with speakers that have dual binding posts - you can really harness the power of all 6 of the HT amps in this receiver
 
To me class D is the answer to a question I am not asking. I have enough room for a conventional amp and the power draw is not impoverishing me. If you don't need to stick it in a car or on the back of a subwoofer, who needs it?
 
BenWaB3 said:
I'm lovin' my Peachtree Audio Nova 125. It mellowed out after only a few hours use & I don't hear the cold sterility many people attribute to class D amps. The headphone section sound very good too. I do have to turn the volume knob up quite a bit from when it's driving speakers though. I haven't really heard much else in the class D category to compare it to but to me it seems like an example of an integrated amp done right, regardless of its class designation.
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Been reading the Stereophile reviews. Sounds like companies are figuring out how to make very good sounding "D" amps.
 
RichPA said:
I've been using class D amps (Bel Canto, Channel Islands) in the context of a pretty high-end system for several years now, and they've beaten Hafler, Forte, and Bryston (recent version) amps in this setup. Not all Class D amps are created equal, of course, but some of them are serious contenders.
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True , but none of those amplifiers were serious contenders , I'm still waiting for a serious class-d contender, the really good ones have linear PSU , making them at least look real ...:)


For the record tried the Bel Canto ........ Not happening !!!
 
a.wayne said:
True , but none of those amplifiers were serious contenders , I'm still waiting for a serious class-d contender, the really good ones have linear PSU , making them at least look real ...:)


For the record tried the Bel Canto ........ Not happening !!!
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And the NAD M2 ? Or the 500W W4S monos ? No, I havent heard them either - I can only go by the aforementioned reccomendations - but they are high on my audition list, as is a Decware tube amp that puts out a massive 8W of SET 'powah'. End of the day, choice is good. :thmbsp:
 
59volvo said:
The panasonic sa-xr57 sounds great with spdif or toslink connections especially with speakers that have dual binding posts - you can really harness the power of all 6 of the HT amps in this receiver
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That's great news to me. My searches lead me to the SC61 which has an MSRP north of $1000 as the cheapest 4 ohm stable amp out there. Running around the various modern audio forums [only in times of need :)] I discovered the SC 1222-K which is basically the same amp w/o the Elite badge and 12v triggers. It sits near or at the top of their non-Elite line up so it can be found online for @ half the price. I don't need the 12v triggers or the stinking badges so I have one on the way. Soon I'll be running the SC-1222-K w/ 4 Martin Logan Motion 12s, and a Motion C center.
 
a.wayne said:
True , but none of those amplifiers were serious contenders , I'm still waiting for a serious class-d contender, the really good ones have linear PSU , making them at least look real ...:)


For the record tried the Bel Canto ........ Not happening !!!
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There're are many who disagree with you. For good reason.

cubdog
 
I have had my class d amp for almost 2 years and I love it! It came in a kit form that I had to run wires and hook up speaker post and rca's. To me it sounds great and is super quiet. It's 60 into 8 and 120 into 4 and to me it's one of the best purchases I have made in 30 years
 
fiddlefye said:
I don't have much exposure to Class D amps, but did spend some time listening to what is supposedly a highly regarded 300 w/ch unit in a shop awhile back. My first impression was actually very good, but after awhile it started to grate on me without my quite being able to put my finger on what that was. Please note that I did not know it was Class D until after I made a comment about this. The proprietor of the shop said that he had felt exactly the same way about it. Maybe there is "free lunch", but maybe not. I'd have to hear a few more well-regarded examples of the ilk to have an informed opinion.
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I agree about Class D beginning to grate after awhile. I lived with and still own an Onkyo A-9555 and while it has it's charms and was affordable I always felt something was not right. The notes never sounded as full or as developed as they did with other amps. After a few months I knew I needed a new int. amp. After some shopping I chose the Krell S-300i int. amp. I am still enjoying the Krell after several years when the Class D began to irritate after several months.
 
I am SO glad I can't hear that on my A-9555! I've got that Diana Krall "Live in Paris" CD going now. Full, rich sound, bordering on lush is the way I would describe it. Her piano sounds just as real as any of my other amps, and her voice, well ... quite enjoyable, to say the least.

Yeah, the highs may be slightly rolled off but I've never enjoyed CDs as much as with this amp. The A-9555 is the only amp I have that I can listen to CDs for hours on end without fatigue (Yamaha CDC-775 player).

I will say this though, it took several trials of speaker pairings before I found the "one" (Paradigm 9se Mk 2's). And I've never thought RCA cables made much of a difference but with this amp it sure seemed to benefit once I went higher quality.

Put me down as a totally satisfied owner of Class D!
 
ranch 22b , you make a good point about having the right "one" pair of speakers mated with a good class D amp. IMO - more so than with many a/b amps
 
Yeah, I actually bought the A-9555 thinking it would go nicely with my "stacked" Original Large Advents but was I ever wrong about that - the bass was very disappointing.
 
I just ran across a post from an A-9555 owner over at Audiogon: "... the A-9555 works very well with ported Canadian speakers." I guess I got lucky in that I had some Paradigms sitting around just looking for an amp!
 
I've had the Panasonic XR55 Digital since it came out over 8 years ago. I don't understand why digital avr's never caught on. Small, excellent sonics for an avr, powerful, cool running and totally reliable. Multiple internal amps even allow bi-amping in 2 channel mode.

sa-xr55s-1l4m-460.jpg
 
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