flea powered Class D

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Bigun

Bigun

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Joined 2009
diyaudio.com/community/threads/tgm8-an-amplifier-based-on-rod-elliot-p3a.245619/
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#1
For reasons of my own I prefer low powered amps and have been playing with Class AB and Class A. Now I'm curious about Class D because it appears to have evolved to an advanced stage. Unfortunately it also appears very DIY unfriendly. I see most people buy ready built modules. These modules offer very large power outputs for their size. And as I started off saying, I don't need high power.

So I am curious - are there technical benefits to low power if using Class D ?
 
#3
For reasons of my own
Click to expand...
Loosely translates to the essence of DIY
Class D appears DIY unfriendly because it uses small form factor surface mount parts. Most people aren't equipped to deal with those builds. And I've yet to hear a DIYer brag about his homemade multilayer PCBs.
I've seen the Sure modules that are rated for 2W/channel. There must be other makes in that low single-digit range. I don't really know of any technical benefits. You mean compared to higher power D, don't you?
 
#5
Class-D is not yet DIY friendly because the amount of electronics knowledge involved is one order of magnitude higher than for linear amplifiers.

If discrete class-D even becomes DIY friendly, then we could say that species evolution has gone one step further 🙂
 
#7
Wow, battery powered low power amp only a few $, now that just makes me suspicious that it won't sound good. Anybody heard one ?

I like low power because I use reasonably sensitive speakers and like to keep my hearing intact for a few more years. For my own Class A (tube) and Class AB (SS) DIY projects I've noticed a number of benefits of designing for lower power - you can more easily justify the simplicity of Class A for starters.

I'm attracted to Class D because technically I see it offering several benefits but I wonder if some of the compromises that are encountered in the design process mean that better sound quality can be achieved if lower power is accepted ?
 
#13
I don't know if there is any technical benefits, but there a plenty of low power class D amps. Both Tripath, T.I. and NXP have several low power chips available.

At the moment I use 4x10 watt 4 ohm to power my main speakers (active cross over with MiniDSP). The speakers are normal to low sensitivity and it's enough for normal listening levels.
 
#14
10W would be more than enough - but they have to be sweet 10W not boominator 10W...

I'd be interested in using low power Class D in a current project - if the benefits of the lower power meant lower price and better sound quality - these are tradeoffs I find with Class A and Class AB but not so far with Class D it would seem - I'll keep reading... I guess in the end I'm comparing low power Class D modules with Chip-Amp modules and maybe that's not a fair comparison in 2011.
 
#15
low power class d are normally cheap. I have read a lot about class d amps, and some low power tripath chips seems to sound better than the high power ones. But I'm not shure it's because of the low power. The feedback loops have also a lot to say.

The NXP8950 I have is definately more sweet than the T.I. amp. The NXP are analog controlled with loop before filter, and the T.I. amp is digitally controlled and loop after filter. Some modules like the TC electronic (LC Audio) ones combine feedback loops.

I think it's difficult to say that it's just one element that gives a certain sound. In class A/AB it's also a fight between mosfet and bipolar transistor, and one set of transistors vs. a bunch of them etc.
 
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