Class D amps sound inferior?

[SteveCS]

Maybe I'm not getting the gist of this statement.
...

He's extracting the urine. Reference to running the whole rig with so much gain and saturation that it runs out of headroom and is clipping so hard against the supply rails that the output becomes, to all intents and purposes, a square wave. Nothing to do with frequency, pitch or harmonic content. And nothing to do with the amp topology - they all do it.

At least I thought is was quite funny.

 

[dponbass]

I did a side by side at a rehearsal, class d amps can sound really good but I prefer non class D-recently a Mesa Walkabout. I use earplugs in a band setting and class d amps to me get lost, non class d amps have more heft and i can hear them better at low volumes. Same cab, same setting, just a lack of presence in the room. On their own, they sound great and the weight is nice but I could never make the jump to class d.

 

[DWBass]

No such thing as a digital amp.

 

[retslock]

I’m loving my Rumble 500 and 4x10 cabinet. It’s the first amp I’ve ever owned where I can plug in and with zero to minimal eq, sound really good with power to burn. I’m never going to push this amp to it’s limits. No need.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Nkay. And where are these Class A bass amps that this person loves so much. From my understanding, all-tube bass amps are Class A/B. Yes, I'm aware there is probably some ridiculously high end boutique Class A bass amps out there, I'm just saying.

Only class A thing I’ve ever owned is the Avalon u5 Di, pretty sure all the other heavy stuff was AB

 

[primusfan1989]

Class D amps are digital and their output signal is also digital which makes for an inferior sound quality

This statement is false, class d amps do not convert the audio signal into a digital one. Its still an analog signal going to the speaker

 

[TreySonagras]

This always gets confusing, so here's my quick reference.

• Class A: analog, must use analog speakers
• Class B: butane-powered (careful around open flame!)
• Class AB: analog wattage with butane ohmage, loads < 2 ohms are extremely flammable
  
• Class C: covid-resistant, mask still recommended indoors
  
• Class D: digital, must use digital speakers; divide wattage by two to get equivalent analog power; inferior sound when used with analog speakers
  
• Class Q: quantum power, infinite wattage but if you run a load under 2 ohms you may produce a singularity (not recommended)

If it's not obvious, this is parody. Please don't believe unverified nonsense on the internet.

Class F uses the flux capacitor.

 

[MVE]

Class F uses the flux capacitor.

They don’t even make those yet, but my friend Marty has one somehow.?.?.?

 

[1958Bassman]

First, "digital" and "uses on-off switching" are two different things. Second, the audio industry brought a lot of the confusion itself by using "digital" as a marketing term, and by providing "explanations" that are easy to understand but factually wrong. Some of those explanations are based on other wrong explanations, and so on down the line.

Like the speakers during the 1980s with 'Digital' on them? Yeah, that didn't confuse anyone.....

 

[MVE]

This statement is false, class d amps do not convert the audio signal into a digital one. Its still an analog signal going to the speaker

To be fair, some do, like the Peavey DSP equipped IPR amps, but that has nothing to do with them being “class D”.
I think some of their early sales literature made this sorta confusing and people latched onto it.

 

[punchdrunk]

I have class D amps, I love em’ and use em’....I’ve had em from all the en Vogue companies; however my old lead sleds hit harder.

 

[dbase]

This always gets confusing, so here's my quick reference.

• Class A: analog, must use analog speakers
• Class B: butane-powered (careful around open flame!)
• Class AB: analog wattage with butane ohmage, loads < 2 ohms are extremely flammable
  
• Class C: covid-resistant, mask still recommended indoors
  
• Class D: digital, must use digital speakers; divide wattage by two to get equivalent analog power; inferior sound when used with analog speakers
  
• Class Q: quantum power, infinite wattage but if you run a load under 2 ohms you may produce a singularity (not recommended)

If it's not obvious, this is parody. Please don't believe unverified nonsense on the internet.

Don't forget the Class MA amplifier... Matter/Anti-matter ... drives almost any speaker as long as you have enough Dilithium crystals.

 

[dave64o]

... And the Warp (Over)drive pedals sound great through them, too!

 

[Samatza]

My first class D was a TC 450RB, it was a bit blurry in the lows but it was an early one.

Since then I’ve had others and they sound great and are very light. Typically though I use IEM and go through FOH, 2x JBL 735’s which are class D and they sound brilliant.

My latest acquisition is a GK MB110 for small gigs and where I need a monitor. 9.5Kg and easy to carry it works for me.

 

[Rib 13]

Don't forget the Class MA amplifier... Matter/Anti-matter ... drives almost any speaker as long as you have enough Dilithium crystals.

Class P is for Priest amplication, of which you get kicked from your band if you cant heal the tank in a raid

 

[TinIndian]

The first tip off that the person in the video doesn't know their rectum from their elbow is the word "digital". Class D does not mean digital.

Thank You! this "digital" statement drives me nuts!

 

[swarfrat]

. If someone wants to drag an SVT around to every gig though, more power to them.

Actually they'll have more power if they use a modern class D amp

 

[fr33sp1r1t]

Is everything not Digital? We live in the Matrix (computer simulation) after all

 

[Jeff Scott]

25-30 watts Class A is a lot, and you can heat a room with them. I can't even imagine.

I know of four 100 watts RMS Class A monoblock solidstate power amps that were built in the late 1980s.

 

[BassBrass]

Class F uses the flux capacitor.

Class IP is Infinite Probability Drive run on advanced Bistromathics. (computations based on the mathematical goings on inside a food serving establishment starting with how many guests will arrive and at what time. There are 4 levels (quanta) more ending with the Final Bill)(Douglas Adams)