jl w6v2 high output box no good or setup wrong?

[dipitydoo 10+ year member]

Yes, class D amplifiers have their big efficiency advantage at low to moderate power levels. Once higher to maximum output levels are reached, their efficiency levels are similar to a class A/B.

i would respectfully disagree. when you are listening to music and not test tones, evening at high volumes, the difference in efficiency is dramatic.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

i would respectfully disagree. when you are listening to music and not test tones, evening at high volumes, the difference in efficiency is dramatic.

Generally speaking, the difference in efficiency is about 10%. Not very dramatic imo, but yes I realize most people believe class D's are way more efficient at any point.

 

[WheresTheButta 10+ year member]

This is obviously just an approximate, but it's a nice visual and I think this sums it up and validates both sides.

The typical class D amplifier exhibits better efficiency when playing very dynamic music. This is because it's more efficient at low to mid output, but at high output the class A/B is roughly equivalent.

It's almost a moot point because the A/B amplifier's inefficiency at low output is almost unimportant because the overall amp draw is so low at those levels.

 

[dipitydoo 10+ year member]

perhaps the low to mid output thing is not being looked at properly. for arguments sake, we'll leave out test tones and bass tracks. with the dynamic nature of music, even at very high volume levels, the AVERAGE output from the amp will never reach close to max. i believe 1/3 to 1/2 power is pretty typical for music at high levels. this is the reason that so many people have bought into class d amps. in the real world, even at high output levels, with music, the efficiency benefits are substantial, because class a/b amps will never come close to reaching their optimum efficiency. spl competitions, test tones, bass tracks, this might be a different story.

i like your graph, but i don't believe the efficiency numbers at full power are going to be the same between class d and class a/b amps. there's typically going to be 10 - 20 percentage difference, and as power level drops, its all downhill for the class a/b amp.