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Are class D amps getting better?

#102
jazznut said:
Last time I tried out s class D amp it was an Aguilar Hammerhead 350. Not entirely bad, but a bit veiled. Veiled enough so that when I played rapid scales figures & missed notes is wasn't too noticable, & maybe if I kept it it would have worked to my advantage.

Ultimately I didn't keep the Aguilar because it was overpriced (frankly in terms of dollar to watts ratio) & sonically it didn't hold a candle to my Hartke LH-500. BTW, the Hartke is 3 1/2 years old, is in the Samson facility getting fixed for the umpteenthgth time. Thst unit is inherently unreliable & I will never get another Hsrtke-even though it sounds good. Time to get another amp. (My "backup" amp is an Ampeg B2RE, not good in sound, but reliable.)

3 years ago when I tried out thst Aguilar, the general consensus about class D amps was their portability was their redeeming feature, not their sound. Are they getting better? My requirements are a decent watt/dollar ratio, a sound thst approaches that of its non-class D conterparts, and a bass control whose EQ shelving puts the bass where it is needed, & doesn't make the lower midrange boomy when turned up. (Shouldn't have to use external equing.)

Fender is out of the question because of it's lousy customer service. Ampeg portaflexes are reputed as unreliable & bland sonically. Any suggestions, or should I stick with regular amps & simply consign myself to making thst one extra trip to my car when setting up?
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Here's a truly unbiased, blind opinion. Out of sheer curiosity, I googled my newer amps to see what they are because I had no idea and they sounded/worked just like standard amps to me.

Carvin bx 500 and markbass lmt 800. Both Class D just way smaller than my swr sm400. Therefore, my impression is that Class D is every bit as good as a well-regarded 25 year old amp that uses premium electricity.
 
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#103
kjones said:
I think you'd find the B|Amp works really well with a whole range of cabinets. No idea where you live, but you're welcome to meet me somewhere and try out your cab with my amp if you're in the area.

The default sound of the amp is the sound of your bass, made loud. The EQ is very flexible if you're looking for a particular tone. I often play mine through a non-Bergie cabinet, and it works great.
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Thanks so much for the kind and thoughtful offer...
If what is listed below your username is still correct, Google maps says I should arrive in Maryland in roughly 12 hours.

I anticipate being in Toronto next week so I'll probably test drive the unit in stock at Moog Audio.
Otherwise, I'll wait until I get home tonight at 2am and make a typical crazy purchase.

Have a great weekend.
 
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#105
Bunk McNulty said:
For many years I lugged around a MusicMan HD150...
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I was talking with someone about a 2x12 amp that jbl speakers in it. They had the D and K series with alnico, and then the newer E series with ceramic magnets. Well, ceramic weighs 2.5 times more than alnico for a given flux density at the voice coil. So.... he asked whats the difference between an amp with K series and one with E series, and I quipped "About 100 pounds". ;)

Yup, when humping that amp into the back of the car and it feels like your back muscles might pull loose from the bones, its natural to start thinking about compromises and something lighter.
 
#106
Play one, and you will understand. Own one, and you will comprehend the secrets of the universe. :thumbsup:

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#107
Walking said:
I was talking with someone about a 2x12 amp that jbl speakers in it. They had the D and K series with alnico, and then the newer E series with ceramic magnets. Well, ceramic weighs 2.5 times more than alnico for a given flux density at the voice coil. So.... he asked whats the difference between an amp with K series and one with E series, and I quipped "About 100 pounds". ;)

Yup, when humping that amp into the back of the car and it feels like your back muscles might pull loose from the bones, its natural to start thinking about compromises and something lighter.
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Just to be clear: The 900 Streamliner has much more headroom than the old HD150, and gets a great sound without a lot of fussing with EQ. It was not a compromise, it was an improvement.
 
#110
Class D has been around for quite a while, but I think it's more of a specialty area in amp design that has to be approached as such. There are folks who have advanced the state of the art recently (agedhorse for one) and I'm guessing that some of the new automated tools (particularly for M&S) have been invaluable. I would say that class D was already good, but has been evolving more rapidly than in years past - and not a moment too soon for my back and knees.

As an aside, someone mentioned something about class C earlier and I've never seen that used for audio purposes (there would be way too much distortion), I've only seen it used in RF applications. If someone has pulled off a class C audio product it would be interesting to hear how they tackled some of the inherent shortcomings.
 
#111
kjones said:
Class D amps aren't getting better, they're among the best amps made.

I would ask you to look at the following (or better yet, listen to the following):

1. Bergantino B|Amp
2. Reiner Studio 1200
3. The new Darkglass

I have heard the first two live (in fact I hear the first one live every day), and I have listened to the latter online and am judging from what I've heard.

I don't what to tell you if someone doesn't recognize these amps as the full equals or superiors in comparison with amps with other topologies.

I'm not comparing weight, features or anything else. With respect to tone, these amps are first drawer. If you're seriously looking at the best amps currently made, you have to audition these.

Not even mentioning the Magellan, which I've heard good things about but haven't had the opportunity to play through or listen to yet.
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Don't forget the Demeter VTBP-M-800D. Of course, I pimp the B|Amp enough around here so I didn't point out that I consider it one of the most accurate, if not the most accurate amp built. Now the new firmware is on the street, so if clean and accurate isn't your thing, you've got a tasty selection of overdrive, distortion and fuzz built in. Rumours are that a bluetooth dongle and pedal are next on the agenda. Don't kill me, Jim, if I spilled the beans.
 
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#112
Munjibunga said:
Don't forget the Demeter VTBP-M-800D. Of course, I pimp the B|Amp enough around here so I didn't point out that I consider it one of the most accurate, if not the most accurate amp built. Now the new firmware is on the street, so if clean and accurate isn't your thing, you've got a tasty selection of overdrive, distortion and fuzz built in. Rumours are that a bluetooth dongle and pedal are next on the agenda. Don't kill me, Jim, if I spilled the beans.
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Yeah, I definitely should have put that on my list, too.

On the B, I love having the choice: completely clean the majority of the time, but I can dial in some growl when I need to.

On the pedal concept, I know nothink!

On the other hand, if, and note I say if, the next thing to come along is a pedal that switched my saved settings, allowing me to go back and forth with different EQ settings for different basses, or one set up normally and one set up with the overdrive or distortion for a particular song or two, and I can switch it with a pedal? That will be fantastic. Oooops, I mean that would, hypothetically, be fantastic!
 
#114
Bim1959 said:
As far as 7 years stock on parts, I had it explained to my by a rep (from a company who will remain nameless - and at the time the unwritten law was 5 years) that they GUESS how many of those parts they will run thru in that period and keep that many parts on hand. If more parts than they figured crap out and they run out of that particular part before the 5 (7) years is up, well, crap happens and we are SOL. But does it make that their fault? ..
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If it is an unwritten law, then for most companies such as Fender, there is no law, & they will do anything we let them get away with. That explains why I can't buy a part from Fender for a 2 1/2 year old bass. Before consumer protection laws came into existence, it was "buy at your own risk", & in our recent political climate we are headed back in that direction. Knowing how Fender does business, my decision to stay away from Fender amps is a pretty sound one.
 
#115
Walking said:
That's cool. If I was to buy a new one, your list would be my first stop. Right now, I am not gigging with the electric bass, and nothing on the horizon, so I am just gonna sit tight on it for now.

My son got a fiddle and is playing bluegrass, so I got a stand up bass and am working on that these days.
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Not to be argumentative but everyone's ranking or bragging on various Class D amps from their own biased point of view. Every amp someone didn't like there are many others that love them.
For myself I love my Gallien Kruegers. They have plenty of bottom and aren't too trebly.
Put all opinions on your list and try as many as you can.
Good luck! :thumbsup:
 
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