Are Class D Amplifiers really "digital"?

[firedog]

On 9/13/2020 at 7:11 AM, Rexp said:

Yes but the signal is off or on which is a definition of a digital signal. Analog signals are continuous. 

This is really another pointless audiophile debate that gets us nowhere.

But I agree with Paul M.: a PWM signal can be played back directly by analog equipment and produce sound. Poor quality sound, but sound. Therefore it is analog.

[firedog]

3 hours ago, 57gold said:

Michal of Mytek waxes enthusiastically about GaN transistors and their capability to operate at much higher speed.  Since read that these are used in Merrill Audio's and Technics' new SOTA amp offerings.  Are amps incorporating these units the missing link in achieving "analog like" digital amps?  

 

Have not heard any of these and understand that Mytek will introduce high priced mono blocks with this technology.  Have seen some evidence of boutique builders with plans to introduce amps with mid fi pricing with GaN transistors.

I suggest you go back and find the article/interview about the new Purifi amps with Bruno Putzeys and partners. They explain why they don't think GAN is an advantage.

 

[firedog]

1 hour ago, 57gold said:

Thanks Firedog -  Read the article, comprehension was low on my part.  Understood that the positive aspects of GaN is offset by some negatives...so they didn't want to use them in their Purifi product.  

Their basic position seems to be that GAN also has disadvantages and they feel they can get superior results at a lower price point without it. At the very least, they are claiming it isn't the panacea that audiophiles assume it to be b/c of the high switching rate - that there are other factors involved in the end result.

Personally, seems to me like around $2-$3K can get you a very well made dual mono/stereo Purifi amp with a nice case. Not audiophile bling, but certainly quite respectable. If you are OK with Class D, that's probably all you need for today's state of the art.

 

I assume at some point they will make more models of the amp module if it is successful. Those wanting really high power can get an NCore 1200 based amp.

[firedog]

53 minutes ago, 57gold said:

 

Thanks, thought I read that somewhere. 

 

Some one like Nord or Apollon or... will make a nice sounding, reasonably priced higher powered Purifi based amp when the new units are available. 

At some of the other sites, it seems the Apollon and the March Audio are considered the better built/layout of the "reasonably priced" models.

[firedog]

10 hours ago, 57gold said:

 

Wow, I though I was the only one who held the opinion that 6moons reviews made absolutely no sense.  

 

Random babble for many paragraphs and sometimes, though rarely, a few words about how the gear being reviewed sounds in comparison to other similarly priced gear.  And even then, usually overwhelmed by one or more tangents about some tweak or cable or obscure recording...have given up reading their reviews out of frustration; when I get to the end of a review, I wonder why I bothered.

 

Believe the first review I read was one on the McCormack DNA-500, which was actually very informative and accurate.  I still have my DNA-500 and it rocks. It was written by Chip Stern, an outlier, who has a history of audio reviews and seems to understand how to describe the musical character of audio gear.

 

 

 I find it funny/ironic that they call themselves the site for audiophiles who "like to read".... Apparently they have a minimum length for reviews, and in addition to length, the text must be obtuse.

 

That said, I think they do provide some useful info: they review products from small producers from all over the world that many other sites don't or won't. They also compare the sounds of products, so if you get to know the reviewers and have some idea of what the products sound like you can figure out which ones go on your audition list or don't go on your audition list.