Hi, all
I’ve used class a/b audio power amp for running a front stage... when i read some typical note about Class D, i wonder can class d do just as well? if so what are your recommendations for class d amplifiers that are almost as good and can pass SQ qualifications?
Best regard.
I would say currently it is getting hard to find class A or AB amp that could do better on the test bench than the top rated class D amps that are relatively affordable. On the subjective side, people can say what they want but a) it would be just their own opinions, and b) even when they claimed amp A's SQ is better than amp B, they never seem to do any controlled test that follow the DBT or even SBT protocol so such claims would only mean something to them.
There are more and more "high end" class D amps such as bel Canto, Lyngdorf, Marantz etc., that offer relatively higher power/current output as well. For example, bel Canto amps are typically rated 2X (double down) into 4 ohms. If you look to the pro amp side, there are the Crown audio and QSC amps that are excellent values.
Take a look of the measured THD+N at 5 W output into 4 ohms, to get an idea how class D amps fare:
Starke Sound AD4.320 Review (Multichannel Amplifier) | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
You can see that in the top 10 group, only one, the Benchmark amp is class AB. It does rank top though, but only marginally better than the 2nd, that is class D.
