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Pro Audio amplifiers - Solid State?

EWizard

EWizard

Super Member
I have always been under the impression that an amplifier is either:
1) Solid State
2) Tube
3) Chip Amp (digital)

Aren't pretty much all modern receivers and amplifiers Solid State?
And, aren't all Pro Audio (Crown/QCS) amplifers Solid State?
 
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You left out hybrid amplifiers. They usually have a tube input/driver stage with a SS output stage.
 
The question was sparkeb by somebody trying to tell me that Denon amplifiers were "digital".
I was not aware of any digital amplifiers other than the chip amps you see nowadays.
 
EWizard said:
I have always been under the impression that an amplifier is either:
1) Solid State
2) Tube
3) Chip Amp (digital)

Aren't pretty much all modern receivers and amplifiers Solid State?
And, aren't all Pro Audio (Crown/QCS) amplifers Solid State?
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe all chip amps are solid state. I've never seen a tube version of a chip amp. Also, chip amps can be either digital or analog. Perhaps your divisions should be:

1. Solid State
2. Tube

-or-

1. Analog
2. Digital

And, many many years ago, all pro amps were tubes.
 
EWizard said:
The question was sparkeb by somebody trying to tell me that Denon amplifiers were "digital".
I was not aware of any digital amplifiers other than the chip amps you see nowadays.
Click to expand...

Digital amps are a misnomer for Class-D amps, which are a type of circuit. You can implement it with solid state at a pragmatic cost. It would be prohibitively expensive to implement this topology with tubes. Chip amps like the TA-2020 are a type of class D, but so are other more sophisticated ones like B&O ICE modules, and others. Not all chip amps are class D, some are class AB such as the old Sanyo modules.
 
In any case a Chip Amp is still just a Solid State "Chip" device?
The bulk of the circuit is just part of the chip and requires little other componentry sometimes aside from the Power Supply components.

Of the SS amps there are Analog and Switching circuits basically but all are still SS unless a Hybrid of some kind.
 
I'm going to have to get to work on building a pulse width modulated vacuum tube amp just to screw up the categories ;-)
 
johnr66 said:
I'm going to have to get to work on building a pulse width modulated vacuum tube amp just to screw up the categories ;-)
Click to expand...

There is no reason why it would not work. Early digital computers used tubes. They can be switched on and off (for computer purposes, it's just a voltage level change approaching a square wave). So the switching part, which is the defining characteristic of class D, can be done. I'd love to see someone try, because it would be a behemoth. :thmbsp:
 
Here is a JVC AV receiver that uses digital amplification. This one and the Panasonic digitals were sold between 2005-2009. They were cool running, small, powerful but light weight. For some reason they never caught on and production ceased.

21462.JPG
 
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