Class D Amplifier

[Jim]

Hello,

New to community, I am considering Arendal speakers for my home theater upgrade and trying to choose an amp. I’ve read a lot about class D amps and was wondering if anyone is using one for their Arendal speakers. How does the sound compare to class A/B amps? Monolith has just released an 8 channel class D amp that looks good. I’ve also researched Cherry, and Buckeye amps. The class D amps are smaller, weigh less, less heat, and more efficient, but my main concern is sound quality. If a class A/B will sound better with Arendal speakers I would get a Monolith or Outlaw 7 channel amp.

Thanks for your input

Jim

[Jim]

Has anyone used Buckeye amps with Arendal speakers? I’ve read good things about them and the specs and price look good. The only thing is it takes nine weeks to get one. They are made to order. They offer a thirty day return policy.

[Ralph Spataro]

Never heard about them until now. If the specs look promising then pull the trigger. I also heard of a company called Tonewinner. They make a 7 channel @180Watts all channels driven for $1899 at http://www.SummitHiFi.com Never heard about this one too but a lot of customers said that they hear a difference between switching amps.

[Jim]

I also know about Tonewinner. They make good products for the money, they also make products for other big name companys like Emotiva. I’m considering buying a Tonewinner processor, got good reviews, no extra bell and whistles I do not need, and the price is about a 1/3 the cost of the big names. Tone winner amps are class A/B and the Buckeye amps are class D built with Hypex NCORE . Buckeye amps are built in the USA by a one man outfit and I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews.

[Keith Luken]

I really was interested in Class D amps, but many are just using straight Hypex modules and not even implementing adequate heat sinks. Monolith Class D did at least add additional heat sinks. As much as I don’t want to deal with 95 pound amps the Monolith AB amps are at least ATI designed and built. They are tried and proven. Some say the class D Amos don’t have as much of a noise floor at higher frequencies. Also while SMPS power supplies have come a long way I decided to go with the Monolith 9X which will give me close to 300 watts on the front and 135 watts on surrounds at 4 ohms. The only Class D I was interested in wa the ATI one as it uses a linear power supply but is extremely pricey.

[Ralph Spataro]

Keith, As long as you like the sound that comes out of them its what matters to you. I now own four Crown XLi amps and I absolutely love them they are giving me the sound that I was looking for and the price is genuinely good too from http://www.sweetwater.com they are having a sale on them till January 8th of 2023 no interest. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. Monolith has been listening to their customers and they deliver which is great. You can never go wrong with them. I also own a custom Six channel Emotiva amp that produces 200Watts per channel at 8Ohms for my surrounds.

[Keith Luken]

I agree, sometimes people get hung up on measurements which at times are good guidance, but if you can’t hear what a reviewer is pointing out in a measure to does it matter? The appeal of Class D to me is weight and heat. I do wonder how well the Hypex modules will hold up over time.

[neil-h]

I have to agree with Lukas, do the “buy and try” on amps. Never buy one sight unseen just by what a reviewer said. You may be sorry if you can’t return it. I had this experience (personal opinion only) with a $3k Marantz Model 30 class D amp. just didn’t match up to the hype for what I like and what was expected. Luckily Crutchfield allows returns. This would have been one very expensive lesson had they not. Yes there are good class D and A/B amps out there. I like my A/B’s. Personally it’s all about the sound. Size, weight, heat, class none of that matters if you are not happy with the sound. You may be surprised how different amps can sound, I know I was. What you like or I like may be very different but that is not really a reflection of the amps quality, just preference. Enjoy the process and have fun with it, don’t get disheartened.

[laurence-chan]

I use four Emotiva PA-1 class D mono-block amplifiers for my height channels.  The Emotiva PA-1 has since been discontinued but a very similar built class D amplifier with the same family of IcePower modules is the XTZ Sound “Edge series A2-300”.  I’ve tried my Emotiva PA-1’s driving my fronts and I found it was hard to distinguish from my class AB amps from the past or my Emotiva XPA-7 Gen3.

 

https://www.xtzsound.eu/edgea2300?lng=en#!/EDGE-A2-300/p/405983841

[Lukas]

This video from Audioholics fits right into the discussion.

[kurt-de-keersmaecker]

At the moment I use the Yamaha RX-A2080 receiver to drive my speakers. These amps are currently in my short list:

1. Parasound A23+
2. Musical Fidelity M6Si
3. NAD C298
4. NAD M23
5. ATI AT1820 series
6. Rotel RA-1592 mk2