First off, Bang and Olufsen, to my knowledge, has never made anything that was considered close to audiophile quality.
Secondly, I can't imagine using Class D for anything but subwoofers. No need for lighweight home theater amps. Especially if there's a huge savings in parts cost, and then you gouge because of a novelty product.
Lastly, there are very few in the world who can design class D amps properly and Bang and Olfusen isn't one of them.
Just because you don't like a company or consider they products quality doesn't mean they do not put out some quality products. In this case, B&O has designed the core module to a Class D amp and others are using that part to build their amps around. Many amps that would be consider "audiophile" (using this term loosely, because expensive amps do not equal audiophile) are using this module (or something similar) in their amps. Rotel being on of the more well known names, so they must be doing something right.
I do not know why some people consider Class D amps the bastard child. They are as good as your traditional class A/B amp, they just do it differently and more efficiently. A lot of waste goes into the the class A/B amp. I would not write off and amp just because it is a class D, there are some good class D amps out there. Now I will agree that the cost of the ICE class D amps are high, but I believe once they have come into their own, we will see a price drop.
I do not think class D amps are hype at all, they rightfully belong next to their class A/B counter parts. Not that it matters much as similarly specs amps are going to sound the same, people just tend to believe that they hear a difference. You just need to make sure you amp can drive your speakers easily. There is a guy that has tested thousands of people that were unable to identify between two amps in a blind test and he has a huge chunk of change up for anyone who can prove this theory wrong. Which is why I will be buying Emotiva amps instead of spending 4x or more on something from Bryston, Krell or Mark Levenson.
I have also been tossing around picking up some of the Outlaw 2200 class D amps as they can be stacked atop one another. Though, my next move are speakers, where you should spend the majority of your money.
Good points, zargon. Class D has a lot of potential, and might even eclipse linear amps at some point, but it's going to take some work. As the Audioholics post says, the B&O modules are actually quite well done. But if manufacturers stick to the reference design and don't improve on it, how are advances we all want to see in Class D performance going to happen?
BTW, I'm also with you on the Emotiva bit -- their offerings are looking pretty good to me, too!
I think we just need to give it time, class D amps have only recently (in amp time frame) grabbed a big enough foothold to get some notice. They are great amps and like you said, have a lot of potential, but it will take time for more companies to join the party. We also will most likely see the advances in uber high end gear, which it will take a while to trickle down to the more reasonably priced gear.
Their offerings are defiantly solid and a really good bang for your buck. The UPA-7 is on sale right now for $599 and would be a good starter amp, giving you the power offerings in receivers over $1,000. I am kind of sad they have discontinued their class D offering, the MPS-2, that thing is a beast, as I was consider getting it.
I don't know much about amplifier technology, but anything that reduces the weight of the amplifier is good in my book. Back in my DJ/sound reinforcement days, it took 2 to 3 guys to move my amp racks (amps weighed about 40lbs - 70lbs each) Now with class D amps, they weigh next to nothing and give a ton of power. Class D gets my vote.
The X-Fi3 keeps with the company's commitment to audio fidelity, thanks to the apt-X codec, which supposedly offers audio quality similar to a wired connection when streaming. On that front, the device also handles FLAC files.
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First off, Bang and Olufsen, to my knowledge, has never made anything that was considered close to audiophile quality.
Secondly, I can't imagine using Class D for anything but subwoofers. No need for lighweight home theater amps. Especially if there's a huge savings in parts cost, and then you gouge because of a novelty product.
Lastly, there are very few in the world who can design class D amps properly and Bang and Olfusen isn't one of them.
You're right, just hype !
Just because you don't like a company or consider they products quality doesn't mean they do not put out some quality products. In this case, B&O has designed the core module to a Class D amp and others are using that part to build their amps around. Many amps that would be consider "audiophile" (using this term loosely, because expensive amps do not equal audiophile) are using this module (or something similar) in their amps. Rotel being on of the more well known names, so they must be doing something right.
I do not know why some people consider Class D amps the bastard child. They are as good as your traditional class A/B amp, they just do it differently and more efficiently. A lot of waste goes into the the class A/B amp. I would not write off and amp just because it is a class D, there are some good class D amps out there. Now I will agree that the cost of the ICE class D amps are high, but I believe once they have come into their own, we will see a price drop.
I do not think class D amps are hype at all, they rightfully belong next to their class A/B counter parts. Not that it matters much as similarly specs amps are going to sound the same, people just tend to believe that they hear a difference. You just need to make sure you amp can drive your speakers easily. There is a guy that has tested thousands of people that were unable to identify between two amps in a blind test and he has a huge chunk of change up for anyone who can prove this theory wrong. Which is why I will be buying Emotiva amps instead of spending 4x or more on something from Bryston, Krell or Mark Levenson.
I have also been tossing around picking up some of the Outlaw 2200 class D amps as they can be stacked atop one another. Though, my next move are speakers, where you should spend the majority of your money.
Good points, zargon. Class D has a lot of potential, and might even eclipse linear amps at some point, but it's going to take some work. As the Audioholics post says, the B&O modules are actually quite well done. But if manufacturers stick to the reference design and don't improve on it, how are advances we all want to see in Class D performance going to happen?
BTW, I'm also with you on the Emotiva bit -- their offerings are looking pretty good to me, too!
I think we just need to give it time, class D amps have only recently (in amp time frame) grabbed a big enough foothold to get some notice. They are great amps and like you said, have a lot of potential, but it will take time for more companies to join the party. We also will most likely see the advances in uber high end gear, which it will take a while to trickle down to the more reasonably priced gear.
Their offerings are defiantly solid and a really good bang for your buck. The UPA-7 is on sale right now for $599 and would be a good starter amp, giving you the power offerings in receivers over $1,000. I am kind of sad they have discontinued their class D offering, the MPS-2, that thing is a beast, as I was consider getting it.
I don't know much about amplifier technology, but anything that reduces the weight of the amplifier is good in my book.
Back in my DJ/sound reinforcement days, it took 2 to 3 guys to move my amp racks (amps weighed about 40lbs - 70lbs each)
Now with class D amps, they weigh next to nothing and give a ton of power. Class D gets my vote.