Are class D amps okay for highs and mids?

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

I've been noticing more and more companies making class D's for full range speakers but i've always heard that class D is only good for subs because of distortion and or noise issues.

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[nu2spl 10+ year member]

ive heard quite a few setups with class d's for front stage and rear fill,and they sound pretty good to me.i mean you cant go buy junk mids and highs and expect it to sound good so yea if you combine good comp sets with a good full range amp,and know how to install it all,you should be pretty well off.even the best quality stuff sounds like shit if not installed right.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Not all Class D full range amps are created equally well, but the good ones can sound excellent. Distortion is kept to inaudible levels, but noise can be a problem. It's safest to stick to the well known "good" amps if you haven't used a full range Class D amp before.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

I have seen many tests of Class D amps recently. For the most part, on average they don't have more noise or distortion than Class A/B amps. Certainly, this does not mean you will get great results with a garbage Class D amplifier. I think the myth that Class D technology is not good for highs is because earlier Class Ds were seen mostly on subwoofer stage. But the primary reason for that application is that Class D amplifier are very efficient and so naturally are much better than Class A/B amps for subs. SPL crowd quickly took a note of that. In fact, some highly respected people in car audio can have even a reverse view. Eric Stevens (former owner of ID) claimed that cheap Class D technology is fine for highs but not so good for bass, unless the amplifier was designed around some shortcomings (see here)

Alpine and JL are considered some of the better mid to high end amplifier makers and they have completely switched to Class D technology. This has to tell something IMO. Class A/B technology has probably been beaten to death right now, but Class D amplifiers will only keep getting better. There is strong demand for them as cars are getting smaller and more fuel efficient, probably with weaker charging systems, etc.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Zed.

That is all.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Run a PPI phantom class D in the wife's car for mids/highs. Sounds very good and no diff from the A/B I had in there before...

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

The technology has advanced in leaps and bounds from the old days. Look at the specs on the current linups of Class D and they rival any amp in their price range. I have a PPI 900.4 that I can't wait to hook up and see how it performs (come on Spring!).

 

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

The technology has advanced in leaps and bounds from the old days. Look at the specs on the current linups of Class D and they rival any amp in their price range. I have a PPI 900.4 that I can't wait to hook up and see how it performs (come on Spring!).

I've noticed typically that class D's don't have as good of a s/n ratio however even some good class a/b amps have a s/n ratio of 75-80 db. I've been told that the difference is inaudable.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I've noticed typically that class D's don't have as good of a s/n ratio however even some good class a/b amps have a s/n ratio of 75-80 db. I've been told that the difference is inaudable.

Correct. 80 dB is a ratio of 10,000 to 1.

 

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

so basically is it s/n ratio that is the problem for class D amps?

 

[Steveopevo 10+ year member]

Correct. 80 dB is a ratio of 10,000 to 1.

so basically is it s/n ratio that is the problem for class D amps?

 

[tc300 10+ year member]

Anybody used or heard the soundigital SD400.4 ?? Its a class D and can be ran full range. I've almost pulled the trigger on buying it cause of its super small size and it's just plain different! Haha

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Im running a single class D for my whole system...

 

[Ronny 10+ year member]

Anybody used or heard the soundigital SD400.4 ?? Its a class D and can be ran full range. I've almost pulled the trigger on buying it cause of its super small size and it's just plain different! Haha

They are a ton of fun. I've had good luck with the Nano SD line. But, don't expect the greatest SQ out of them, Class D with H-bridge circuitry is only going to get so far with such a small footprint as filtration and noise are taken car of by more circuitry lol. But, TBH, running a pair of them active with my trusty ol' Eclipse EQ, well, my frontstage sounds as good as it did when I was competing in SQ stock classes with be it my OS PPI, Orion, SS, or RF amplifiers. I'm sure only the RTA would have shown me different.

Anyhow, personally, I think you'll LOVE the SD400.4. They are just too cool too! Lol //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

---------- Post added at 02:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 PM ----------

 

Im running a single class D for my whole system...

Let's see here, Zed or MMATS I'd gather?

Edit, I see it, Decidina //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Sounds Zed like //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Anybody used or heard the soundigital SD400.4 ?? Its a class D and can be ran full range. I've almost pulled the trigger on buying it cause of its super small size and it's just plain different! Haha

Wouldnt use them for SQ but they make decent amps...

They are a ton of fun. I've had good luck with the Nano SD line. But, don't expect the greatest SQ out of them, Class D with H-bridge circuitry is only going to get so far with such a small footprint as filtration and noise are taken car of by more circuitry lol. But, TBH, running a pair of them active with my trusty ol' Eclipse EQ, well, my frontstage sounds as good as it did when I was competing in SQ stock classes with be it my OS PPI, Orion, SS, or RF amplifiers. I'm sure only the RTA would have shown me different.
Anyhow, personally, I think you'll LOVE the SD400.4. They are just too cool too! Lol //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

---------- Post added at 02:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:35 PM ----------

 

Let's see here, Zed or MMATS I'd gather?

Edit, I see it, Decidina //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Actually I have both but the ZEDs Im running are old school burn the hell out of your hands AB lol... The MMATS 6 channel is in the CRV