musiklov3r wrote: > With regard to amplification, Class A is considered to be the premium > analog amplifier design while Class D stands for digital amplification.
It is true that many audiophiles assume that Class A is better than Class B, but this is not high school grading. The term refers to the circuit topology, how it addresses analog signals. Class A amps use a single amp to handle both the postitive and negative portions of the sine wave. All audio is sine waves. This is very inefficient. Class A amps (preamps, etc.) draw large amounts of power when there is no signal, Class B amps split the sine wave into two parts, negative and postitive. They then amplify them separately, with one half doing positive 0 to X and the other half doing negative 0 to -X. The signals are combined for full wave. This means that when there is no signal, the amp does not amplify anything. Many audiophile amps are Class AB, which run as Class A for low signals and switch to Class B for more power. They attempt to get the simple circuit of the Class A without the evil energy waste of a Class A. It is extremely rare to find a Class A amp that puts out more than 20 watts. The marketing departments of companies selling Class A amps like to claim that they are best. But its not clear. Good Class B amps can be better than Class A amps. _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
