digital vers analog

[woody357]

I wanted to know if someone could explain the difference in sound between a digital and an analog amp.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I wanted to know if someone could explain the difference in sound between a digital and an analog amp.

Ideally, none. BTW, there are very few true digital amps.

 

[RickenBoogie]

You mean class D amps?- they're not digital. Or, are you speaking of modelling?

 

[woody357]

Ok I was looking at the LM800, and the add said it had a digital power amp. I've heard that it voiced different than the LM III, but some people say it's the same just more power, and low end that's why I ask the question.

 

[MAMMOTHvolume]

I wanted to know if someone could explain the difference in sound between a digital and an analog amp.

digital is terrible and ruins everything, only analog is real.

 

[bovine mind]

the difference is whatever you want to believe.

 

[bongomania]

digital is terrible and ruins everything, only analog is real.

^^^^ Either witty sarcasm, or witless buffoonery. Hard to know which.

The true answer is that what Markbass calls a "digital" power section isn't really digital. It's a misnomer that several amp companies have persisted in using. Really the proper name is "class D" amplification, so a valid question would be "what's the difference in sound between a class D power amp and a traditional class A/B power amp?" The answer to that is not very clear-cut, however. Everyone hears these things a bit differently, and not all amps of one type sound the same as each other.

Your best bet really is to search for threads about the specific amps you are interested in, and the tone people describe for those specific amps, rather than trying to figure out a general difference in sound between the classes.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

digital is terrible and ruins everything, only analog is real.

They said the same thing about CDs and TV. It's a theory accepted by true Luddites, but not those who understand the technology of not only digital but also analog.

 

[fdeck]

The word "digital" was adopted by makers of Class-D gear because it sounds modern and cool. Home audio makers did the same thing when CD's first came out. All of a sudden, conventional amplifiers and speakers were labeled "digital ready."

Most Class-D amps presently on the market are purely analog circuits. They work by rapidly switching the output devices between two states in such a way that the output when filtered is proportional to the input signal.

 

[bobcruz]

I can rapidly switch the wall switch for my dining room light on and off--does that make it "digital?"

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I can rapidly switch the wall switch for my dining room light on and off--does that make it "digital?"

It does it you flip it with a finger. If you use your nose that makes it nasal.

 

[bobcruz]

Touche!