How do D amps compare?

[ermat1234]

Hi . I am unfamiliar with D amps.
Can anyone advise how they compare with a good A/B amp.
What im hoping they are capable of providing is the power increase i believe may improve my reasonably ineficent home made scan speak MTM's.
Im currently driving them with a nice 200w intergrated but i suspect thay are underpowered. cant help wondering how they would perform with more power. any help appreciated.

[ssanmor]

If you ask in this forum you will receive only one answer: a well designed Class-D amplifier can sound better than a Class A-B with a fraction of the power, weight, cost and size. In some audio aspects it can also be much better, such as output impedance, meaning more control of the speaker.

The times where Class-D was only for subwoofer driving or low quality audio are very far.
Have a look at this very basic tutorial about class-D I wrote some years ago:

Class-D Amplifiers

[jtjy]

Originally Posted by ssanmor

If you ask in this forum you will receive only one answer: a well designed Class-D amplifier can sound better than a Class A-B with a fraction of the power, weight, cost and size. In some audio aspects it can also be much better, such as output impedance, meaning more control of the speaker.

The times where Class-D was only for subwoofer driving or low quality audio are very far.
Have a look at this very basic tutorial about class-D I wrote some years ago:

Class-D Amplifiers

so here comes the golden question. Which class D kit do you think is well designed ?

[ssanmor]

Well, of course I would say ours (www.coldamp.com) are well designed and that is proven by our customers' feedback. But there are some others with very good reputation. Particular selection then comes to a question of suitability of size, power level, price, etc.

[ermat1234]

Thanks for your reply ssanmor. Anyone else out there want to throw there 2 cents worth in on this question?
Considering my application can anyone tell me of there experiences when changing from AB to D amp as i have never heard the D play hifi.
Thanks.

[nigelwright7557]

I have designed class AB and class d amps and to be honest cant tell the difference even blind !

There are numerous vendors on ebay selling class d amps from a few pounds to hundreds of pounds.

[ermat1234]

Thanks Nigel.
Any recomendations out there for a 300w + power amp kit. 2 channel only.

What im considering doing if i go ahead with a D power amp kit is first run it from the pre out of my existing intergrated. if it sounds good i will then find a suitable pre amp.

Anyone have any positive experiences with a valve pre amp and D power amp combination? or any other type of pre amp?

[Robert GS]

Originally Posted by ermat1234

Hi . I am unfamiliar with D amps.
Can anyone advise how they compare with a good A/B amp.
What I'm hoping they are capable of providing is the power increase I believe may improve my reasonably inefficient home made scan speak MTM's.
I'm currently driving them with a nice 200w integrated but i suspect they are underpowered. cant help wondering how they would perform with more power. any help appreciated.

Shouldn't you ask...? What can I do to increase the dynamics of my loudspeakers? ....Maybe get rid of the passive crossover?

Ask yourself if you build with the right drivers for your real requirements?
If you exchange the 200W with a 400W power amplifier you get lossy 3dB more, but is it enough for your taste? Will the drivers withstand the extra power?

Just some thoughts...

Regards,
Robert GS

[marvin55]

I'm currently using a 41Hz Truepath power amp with a linear power supply, and an Aikido valve preamp. The Truepath is rated as a 300w x 2 amp, if the appropriate power supply is used. It can also be bridged if you feel you need even more power.

Despite being my first foray into valve electronics the Aikido was fairly easy to get working properly, and sounds clean with little character of its own.

Overall the sound is excellent: clear, uncoloured, good imaging, strong bass and dynamics. One thing I particularly enjoy about this combination is the lack of listening fatigue.

I have tried a Hifimediy T4 poweramp, another Tripath implementation, with a switchmode power supply. It is quite good but in just about every way inferior to the Truepath. Previously I was using a well respected Modular Electronics class A/B power amp which is not the equal of either Tripath amp.

I encourage you to pursue class D amplification, there seem to be quite a large selection of good to great class D amps out there, but I can only comment on the Tripaths.

[ZFRaudio]

classdaudio.com make solid little performers!