Amplifier heresy

Ah, well, yes, I am sure that there are examples of ones that are more expensive. But it isn’t necessarily the case, AFAICS

I don’t see how the weight comes in to play. I’ve removed it from your comment, and I don’ think it says anything different:

Well mass does dampen vibrations and microphonics. Remember, on the 500 series, otherwise light, non transformer mounting components use the floating and very heavy brass plate. I suspect if Naim came out with a class D amp, it would still be a heavy bugger.

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No one wants to spend lots of money on something that doesn’t weigh a lot. I once decided not to buy a watch for that reason. It was Titanium :joy:

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To me, sound quality is not the only factor when it comes to amp selection. An amp may sound great but if very few parts or components are used in the construction of the amp which contributes to the light weight of it, to me that amp is poor value although sound quality may be stellar.

Just to illustrate my point - say if both amps as shown below are similarly priced and sound the same, I’ll pick the one at the bottom.

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I guess a car analogy will not work here. All the flash cars don’t weigh a lot :wink:

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With a bike, that’s exactly the reason one might want to spend lots of money.

Roger

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In terms of sound, Class D is less adjustable by component selection and small changes to the circuit.

Older Class D (i.e. low chopper frequency) has inherent limitations in terms of dynamic performance such as the effective slew rate for small signals after integration, particularly when large signal at lower frequency are also present and this can rob the signal of some what might in musical terms e thought of as ‘inner dynamic detail’ in the signal. In my experience, this is vaguely similar to the effect of some types of capacitor when used in the DC blocking and virtual earth positions in less good Class AB designs.

Newer, better quality Class D (also known as Class T) uses a faster chopper speed. If done well, this can make the amplifier more responsive and it makes the integration better; but it also makes the design and practical implementation of the driver and power stages a lot more difficult, a lot more critical and a lot more expensive! It even has implications for the design of the feedback system in the amp, also making that a lot more critical and rather more expensive.

Just as with Class AB, Class D can be implemented in a number of different ways, and they all have drawbacks in terms of the competing needs for continuous signal accuracy, dynamic responsiveness, dynamic stability, low intermodulation, and resolution of small signal components among larger signals. At the moment it doesn’t seem that Class D can deliver the balance that Naim require, however this could change with future developments in design and components.

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I’ve no idea if that’s serious or a joke! I don’t understand thick heavy watches with faces as big as someone’s wrist (latter unless they’re poorly sighted). I’ve got a titanium watch…!

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I owned a Devialet Pro 200 , at the time it was $10k US. It was an excellent amp. Great features and sound. Devialet uses a Class A preamp to drive the Class D output.

Past tense. Why the change, and not up the Devialet range?

Unless you have to drag one up the back stairs to a gig!
Class D have taken over in high power rigs, 5kW Bass amp anyone? almost unheard of before class D :0)

:blush: I actually ended up buying it about a year later. It was a Seiko chronograph. The point is, it looked good but didn’t feel like the money. I eventually saw sense. I’ve worked with a couple of guys in the last few years who wore Rolex Submariners at work :nauseated_face:

I got very sick and sold off everything

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