Class A vs Class D

[Melon Head]

I have been thinking of building a Class D amplifier for some time now, but have delayed it because I have been quite content with my JLH, F3, Aleph J, and F5 amplifiers.

Which, if any of the class D chips, can rival or surpass (please forgive me Nelson, for I have sinned) an F5 amplifier.

I would appreciate replies from people who have actually built some of the class A amps listed above.

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I found such question (discussion) very interesting, almost philosophic.

This thread was posted in this (Class D) forum, so I guess there'll be quite a lot of class D (or T) supporters coming up with all the positives. If in another forum, things will probably be very different.

So, maybe we need a "comprehensive" zone for neutrally discussing all kinds of technologies (and maybe including the possibilities to blend them all together... ). Even for other fields like loudspeakers or the whole system integration...

I remember seeing a thread about the comparison of chip amps and class D (?) Not sure about any simliar discussions for class A and class D. Maybe we can add class T, H, tubes... etc.

I just started the journey of class T lately ( -- Tripath TA2020, Amp 6, cute little thing), so I'm also very interested in all kinds of opinions, especially in such wide speading views..

I have used, modded and built some SS amps, tube amps (pentodes, tetrodes, triodes, PP, SE... ), now I'm learning class T (or D, maybe later). I don't like the talking style of reviewers or salesman -- ah, that's a BIG difference, this is the MUST HAVE, once in a LIFE time... etc. Also, I'm not embarrassed at all when admitting "I can not hear the difference", or "I don't understand".

I haven't had enough experiences in class D(T) to give a good answer. However by the previous experiences with other types of technologies, I believe there's no reason that class D(T) can not be as good as other circuits.

[TRANSDUCEReng]

the Class D amps are moving and getting much more attention from design engineers .I have just built one based on a demo board utilizing a class D , based on the LX1711 modulator into 4 x 2 MOSFETS.it delivers 110watts into 2 ohm from a tiny 25v single rail supply at 90% efficiency .I made it fully portable using standard 6v 4.5AH gel cells x 4. Imagine having a compact and fully portable 100watts amp with virtually no heat dissaption in your hands...
My 1st impressions of the sound are amazing clarity and resolution compared to to a class A or AB but definitey missing some warmth.some strange experience with this amp....

[lbstyling]

its a difficult one, for sure.

i can confidently say that the connex ta3020v3 (tripath) i borrowed a couple of weeks ago was better than my parasound halo a21 by quite a margin in practically every way.- but its rather hard to state that one technology is better than another, as there are bad and good examples or each.
all im confident of is that the unit is better than any other amp ive had. and i would be comfortable to demo it against a top valve amp, as im sure even if it was beaten -it wouldnt be embarraced.
its good in all areas, but most notably it seams to have a real talent for separating instruments, which happens to be somthing i find most apealing to my ears- and i will admit i strive for this ability in a system.

the sound is altogether different to anything ive had previously- though i dont know why.

[nigelwright7557]

Originally Posted by thanh1973

Which, if any of the class D chips, can rival or surpass (please forgive me Nelson, for I have sinned) an F5 amplifier.

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Have a look at irs2092.
But beware class d is a bit of a black art.
You need to be careful which mosfets you use and pcb layout can be critical.

[Melon Head]

Thanks for the replies so far.
I will check out both ta3020, and irs2092

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Dug this out:

Class D Kits Compare well against traditional linear amps?

[Melon Head]

Thanks for the link.
It looks like the UCD amps could be worth looking at.