what is a digital amplifier

[CarlosV 10+ year member]

title describes it

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[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

a myth

 

[kross 10+ year member]

Another (mis)name for Class D amplifier.

 

[CarlosV 10+ year member]

ok suppossely on what i read on specs the freccuency response is lower but this is just me

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

amps are analog. most of the time time when they say digital, they mean class d, but theres nothing digital about em

 

[CarlosV 10+ year member]

also another concer, what is the diference between class a-b and class d

 

[alxmlr789 10+ year member]

also another concer, what is the diference between class a-b and class d

a/b draws a hell of a lot more power..

Thats all i know.

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

class ab is less efficient than class d. usually class d is for lower freqs only since it has high distortion at high frequencies, but lately, some companies have been able to make class d amps suitable for full range.

 

[thch 10+ year member]

class D is a form of switching amplifier, and work on averaging some pulsed output. a switch is a lossless device as it is either shorted (no voltage across device) or open (no current through device). thus, amplifiers that ONLY make use of the on or off state will be more efficient.

but the amp's output is analog. so averaging is done using a passive filter. basically, the speaker has no possibilty of moving in and out 100,000 times per second, so the rapid switching is ignored. but if the switching devices are on longer then they are off, there will be a higher then 0 average output, and the speaker can respond to this.

The filtering creates delays, and has resistance, both have adverse effects on "negative feedback". as such, some class D amplifiers have poor damping factors compated to class AB amps. bandwidth is usually better then quoted, but becomes distorted at higher frequencies. modern class D amplifiers are overcoming both the damping ratio and bandwidth issues, allowing for full range sound.

in terms of "digital", some class D amplifiers are moreso then others. for instance, the output is very similar to a 1 bit DAC, and the PWM generator is a lot like a 1 bit ADC, but the lack of a clock degrades this interpretation. some class D amps use a clocked PWM, making this analog to digital to analog discription more accurate.

 

[2002XLT 5,000+ posts]

i know on the mrd m1000 i was using the digital aspect was complete. There were no dials, knobs, nothing to "tune." instead you used buttons and a digital readout to tune it. Much different and more difficult to me to use.

 

[mjf 10+ year member]

i know on the mrd m1000 i was using the digital aspect was complete. There were no dials, knobs, nothing to "tune." instead you used buttons and a digital readout to tune it. Much different and more difficult to me to use.

plenty of amps have these. kickers sx i believe?

controls and whatnot are digitally controlled.

 

[Jdm94Coupe 10+ year member]

yepp i think when u disconnect ur battery you have to redo all the settings on a digital amp..... dont quote me but im pretty sure

 

[lippstuh 10+ year member]

what about the kicker sx amp line? digital or analog?

 

[AAAAAAA 10+ year member]

Class D does not mean Ditigal, they are seperate. Digital means that the amplifier will have an unboard DAC, meaning it should have a digital input. However some claimed digital amps have analogue inputs only wich means it converts the analogue back to digital and then uses it's own DAC to put it back to analogue.

 

[skisloski 10+ year member]

how about alpine pdx amplifiers, arent they fully digital?