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Thread: Rotel class d amplifiers |
    
Silver Member Username: Jethro
Lansing,
Mi
Post Number: 145
Registered: Jan-06
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| Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 11:33 pm: |
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what gives? why is rotels new lineup of amplifiers class d? is this the future of amplification? were their class a/b amps not doing well? Is class D amplification done right inferior/superior to a/b amps? Is it just a size/efficiency thing or is their an actual audible/economical difference? Too many questions not enough answers. |
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Silver Member Username: Stefanom
Vienna,
VA
United States
Post Number: 317
Registered: Apr-06
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| Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 - 08:42 am: |
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Class D is more efficient pound for pound. It also puts off less heat. Some people think it sounds thin/clinical/whatever, and don't like it. Some think it is the next coming of the messiah. Try it and see what you think. |
Gold Member Username: Frank_abela
Berkshire
UK
Post Number: 1878
Registered: Sep-04
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| Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 - 11:20 am: |
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Class D is far more efficient than A/B. Whereas class B is about 65% efficient, class D is about 90% efficient. So class D amps run cooler than A/B, which means that no heatsinks (or very small ones) are required in smaller casework with very little ventilation. You can make a small powerful amplifier that can fit in many environmentally inhospitable locations such as inside speakers, walls, ceilings.
Sonically, class D lags behind A or B, but imaginative solutions (such as Tripath's 'class T' which is class D reworked) have wrought some quality from these amps.
Regards,
Frank. |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 5554
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 - 08:40 pm: |
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Still a ways off from Class 'A'.
I can see for miles and miles... |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 5555
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Friday, January 26, 2007 - 08:44 pm: |
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And for Rotel, it's one new line. Not the future. |
Silver Member Username: Thecrypt
Lawrence,
Kansas
Post Number: 119
Registered: Dec-06
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| Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 09:18 am: |
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What he said... |
Gold Member Username: Touche6784
USA
Post Number: 1162
Registered: Nov-04
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| Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 11:44 pm: |
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jesus its only three amps. dont get a hernia over it. |
Silver Member Username: Jethro
Lansing,
Mi
Post Number: 151
Registered: Jan-06
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:28 am: |
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haha.. thanks chris. I almost busted a nut, thanks for the response and saving me a hernia
Didn't realize my OP was so dramatic. Sorry to worry you i suppose.
Deal here is, I'm a fan of rotel electronics as they were and am anxious to "hear" the new class "D" sound.
The dealers readily available to me only have the ss amps in stock and i cannot demo them.
I am also curious as to others who have maybe done a direct comparison and their thoughts of the new products rotel has implemented.
Sorry if I came across like the world is coming to an end...;; :P |
Silver Member Username: Jethro
Lansing,
Mi
Post Number: 152
Registered: Jan-06
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 01:31 am: |
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Nuck; why are class d amplifiers "done right" not the future? Its definitely being done in the present. |
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Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 5607
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 05:15 am: |
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jeff, remember the biggest hype about class 'D'?.
It was going to be a chip driven marvel that anyone could afford, offering the quality of an expensive analog amplifier.
I have yet to hear quality(yet to hear the Rotel, too!), and sure as hell yet to hear quality at a cheap price that should accompany the technology. |
Gold Member Username: Frank_abela
Berkshire
UK
Post Number: 1893
Registered: Sep-04
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 08:44 am: |
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We're doomed, doooooooomed I say... |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 5621
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 04:59 pm: |
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I buy Frank a pint.
Just so's he doesn't go out at the intersection wearing a sandwichboard with his last post. |
Silver Member Username: Thecrypt
Lawrence,
Kansas
Post Number: 123
Registered: Dec-06
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| Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2007 - 06:03 pm: |
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Well I guess class-d wouldn't be my first choice, but maybe in the future. We'll just have to see what the future brings us. |
Gold Member Username: Nuck
Post Number: 5668
Registered: Dec-04
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| Posted on Friday, February 02, 2007 - 09:37 pm: |
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1.21 Jigawatts, that's what. |
Silver Member Username: Jethro
Lansing,
Mi
Post Number: 163
Registered: Jan-06
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| Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 02:16 am: |
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if not class D, something else will come along eventually that will be more efficient and sound great that will become the "standard" (mainstream) of audio that a/b has become for the meantime. A/B your days are numbered!!! |
Gold Member Username: Frank_abela
Berkshire
UK
Post Number: 1908
Registered: Sep-04
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| Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 - 07:38 am: |
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There is no doubt in my mind that class D has potential. I have heard a couple of implementations which have been really quite surprisingly good. The Naim n-Vi is an all-in-one HTIB solution using 5 Tripath (aka class T) amps. As I said earlier, the class T is a reworking of class D. Naim's solution is one of the most musically satisfying. It's not as good as Naim's own class B amps (even the most basic Nait5i), but in comparison to other similarly priced solutions (e.g. Arcam DV137/AVR350), it is at least in the same ballpark and, some would say, even better musically. In terms of clarity, transient response etc., it competes strongly, and this from a one-box solution!
I've also heard the Chapter Audio class D implementations, and although they have left me cold, they are no doubt very capable and compete strongly in their price range against conventional competition. There was no area where they could be faulted, merely not my taste. That said, Chapter have had a couple of implementations and there's no doubt in my mind that the latest are most definitely leagues ahead of their first implementation.
I think the designers are learning how to make the technology work to best effect. Give that the amps are so efficient, require very little warm-up time and the fact that we can't keep burning our resources forever, class D has got to be considered as a serious prospect for the future...
Regards,
Frank. |
