I’m not quite sure what “All else being equal” means here… If sound quality of the Class D is as good as (equal to) my amp, including headroom, and cost equal (complicated by my amp having been secondhand when I purchased, but happy if a replacement is secondhand), then I would prefer class D because it would use far less electricity.
“All else being equal” was referring to your previous answer… But here, to make it extra easy for you… Do you think/guess, based on your personal preferences, that you prefer the sound of Class A over Class D?
My previous answer didn’t indicate a personal preference for class A over any other class other than the individual amps I have heard, and I think my answer addressed “all else being equal”. To answer your latest question, other than possibly unknowingly in lo-fi products, I don’t think I have ever heard any class D amps, and certainly I haven’t heard any serious hifi class D amps that might on paper seem like possible contenders for my system, so I have absolutely nothing on which to say whether I’d prefer class A or class D, either in the same price bracket which is the only thing meaningful, or limitless. In other words I have no thought as to which I would prefer, and to guess is totally ridiculous! Likewise I cannot say whether I prefer all class A over all class AB at the same price point, and don’t really have an expectation. Although received wisdom over decades has suggested that class A has the potential to sound better than class A/B, it inevitably depends on the implementation of both, and the abilities of both is limited by cost and design/manufacture ability. The same goes for class D, for which received wisdom - which has been based on the early days of the technology - suggests is the least good sound quality approach of the three.
To put it another way, I have an open mind as to possibilities. I also understand that new technologies take time to develop to their best, so it is wrong to base judgements on early implementations.
Class d has been around for almost 70 years, this is hardly Naim riding the cutting edge of technology
Interesting I didn’t know it was that long ago - though class A has about 40 years on that. I don’t know when class A/B was first developed.
Thought so…
I too am baffled, the need for a Super Nova and Super Nait have long been discussed, after being a Naim customer for 30 plus years I do think on an engineering term they know exactly what they are doing
I think that those of us who have been after a Supernova were hoping for a one box based around the 222/250, not an existing Nova with a beefed up wattage. I’m sure that Naim know what (or who) they are doing with the PE but it is clearly the doubling in price to £8600 that is attracting the flak. If Naim had released a Supernova at £8600 I would be whooping and would have already booked a listen at Billy Vee!
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Although if you are spending £8600, if you ignore the ‘stacking police’ aspects of it, there is little real world difference between a larger one-box implementation of the 222/250 and just stacking the 2 units as they are now - same footprint, just a bit taller…
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That is why this product seem so odd.
I am looking for a decent integrated - but in the end I rejected even the Aavik 280 because there still were some nanoparticles of class D sound left in there despite all their efforts with Tesla Coils etc.
I just want a big analog box. But I dont mind SMPS:s, I’ve heard some good ones like Lejonklou and so on.
Not sure what you mean there. Can you clarify? Because the D in class D is not “digital”. It’s s common misconception, but class D is based on frequency time slicing, not operating on digital signal. it operates on an analogue signal.
Some class D amps combine this with a DAC, but that’s a design choice implementation separate from Class D itself.
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I wish we could get off the labels and talk about sound and things like whether an extra 3db of amplification is necessary versus the previous “Naim Watts”. I’m keeping an open mind. Clearly pulse width modulation powered by switch mode power supplies are quite different from quasi complementary class ab/b amplification.
There is a utilitarian tool to find out how much power is needed on the Crown Audio web site under Support - System Design Tools.
In the PE the power supply is linear.
Is it available yet? Anyone bought it?
My comment still remains in regards to a colossal difference in amplifier design and second, whether it’s necessary for just a little more decibel output from a manufacturer who already offered devices that drove speakers nicely and from going back to its founder, who never made maximum power the primary concern.
I found it hard to tell what was powering the amplifier from the available photo. Will have to look again. Linear supplies are not necessary for class D and there are arguments that switch mode is actually preferred.
So, the topic still remains interesting and one where would appreciate some input about this implementation from Naim or yourself or others here…
In the Uniti series, I’d personally much prefer options rather than more powerful amps that on the surface seem trivial. Options to choose whether DAC or phono or both, for example. And option to add later.
But it s a simplistic tool that doesn’t tell all: notably it does not factor in dynamic range of the music you listen to and peak levels that music reaches relative to average
And of course it is only talking about power to produce the desired sound level, and nothing else about controlling possibly difficult speaker loads.
Linear is not “necessary” for class A or A/B either, though it might be easier to design a well-performing linear PS, but of course on fora like this there is popular dismissal of SMPSs just as there is Class D, despite not hearing whether any specific product may have over some limitations people may have heard in the past, or read about.
What is required for exemplary audio, regardless of amp class, is sufficient current for the amplifier working at whatever may be the chosen output level, with effectively instantaneous peak current for the highest of peaks as frequently and for whatever duration they may be in the music. That with a stable voltage with no noise passed to the amp output nor affecting amp performance, whether generated by the PS or mains borne.
Aside from that, the only reason I can think for why an SMPS might be preferable for a class D amp is to maximise electrical efficiency - but that is equally true for a class A/B amp.
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The extra power isn’t there to deliver a few db extra volume. Power requirements aren’t linear, they are logarithmic, so every time the impedance halves the power requirement doubles. Similarly the larger the room and the further you sit from the source significantly increases the number of watts required. So when you have a large room with difficult speakers, playing dynamic music with 20 to 30db swings you quickly end up needing much more than the standard Nova can deliver. So the extra power, given the target market and speakers (large Focals) makes sense.
Agree but this tool give a good idea about the minimum power required. Could be useful to people having no idea how to match different speakers to amplifiers.