Your Experience with Digital Amps?

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

my digital amp is really powerful. one time, i think i heard a 2.

That's hilarious. Even more hilarious is the fact that the people it was directed at don't even understand it.

SM amps are just a huge class. pretty much a counter example for every conventional piece of wisdom. You don't actually need to transmit just 2 levels for instance. you don't need to transmit square pulses either. don't need PWM. huge class of amplifiers.

Yep. All kinds of ways to go about it. The key is the on/off thing using FETs vs. normal transistors.

 

[trunks9_us 10+ year member]

Zapco makes a digital amp its called dc reference you can tune it thru computer. and drc controller other wise you cant.

FOR THE LAST TIME THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DIGITAL AMP!!!
If you want to call a switchmode amp anything, call it a binary amp. The output devices are on or off not some inbetween state like a normal linear amp. The switching might be controlled by a DSP chip, but that does not make the amp digital, and nothing you say will change that incontrovertible fact.

Class D amps sample the input and switch the output at a fixed rate. Nothing digital about it. I can be done with no DSP at all. Adding a DSP chip still doesn't change the fact that an audio amp is definitionally an analog device.

Class T amps use a DSP chip to vary the switching freq based on the freq being reproduced. The switching freq increases with freq to increase linearity at the cost of efficency. With only lower freqs present, the switching freq is decreased and the efficieny goes up.

Once again shorty, you don't know WTF you're talking about. Until you do, STFU. You can call something a name but that doesn't mean shit for functionality. There is nothing digital about amplification and any name you put on it isn't going to change that.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Zapco makes a digital amp its called dc reference you can tune it thru computer. and drc controller other wise you cant.

digital processor - those have been around for years - they just put one in the (ANALOG) amp.

 

[XHiFiX 10+ year member]

Holy sheeet... give the guy a break. Yes, yes, everyone wants to be right and 1up the next person, but you can't blame someone for being misinformed. Blame that on the makers and their marketing.

But back to the topic, I think digital controls and features are definitely helpful and have that 'cool factor' but not entirely necessary. I just like an amp that AMPLIFIES and doesn't add any processing to the signal. That's the job of a good head unit/x-over.

 

[thch 10+ year member]

I'm considering a digital amp for a few reason... smaller size, lower heat, more efficient, etc.
I'm interested to hear from people that have actually used them - not conjecture please.

I'm NOT going to run competition equip...

Infinity Kappa 6x9 3-way

Infinity Kappa 6.5" 2-way

Infinity Kappa 3" 2-way

Infinity Kappa 10" sub

... and my stock head unit (integrated with other controls in car)

thanks for the input!

as you've noticed, any time class D is refered to as digital, people do go crazy. class D has been around in MANY forms for a VERY long time. (and not just with FETs, FETs are only popular for audio class D amplifiers and a few other apps*).

The design of class D amps is VERY diverse, and the class is huge. half-bridge, full bridge, multi-level, multi-feedback, feedbackless, fixed frequency PWM, PPM/PFM, self-oscillating, and the list of variations goes on and on.

because of the wide variation of class D amplifiers, I can't garuntee that any particular class D amp will perform similarly to any other class D amp. There are some good designs out there though.

* other apps might be things like a triac dimmer circuit, IGBT based inverter, or magamp based regulator.

 

[supraloud84]

my digital amp is really powerful. one time, i think i heard a 2.

ROFLMAO That has got to be the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. I need to get me an amp that will throw the occasional 2 out there, then I could be really loud

 

[Stel 10+ year member]

my digital amp is really powerful. one time, i think i heard a 2.

lol //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[djman37 5,000+ posts]

fun's over

*unsubscribes*

 

[Propimp 10+ year member]

They are NOT digital amps. Thanks for playing. The marketing department can call them whatever they want to, that doesn't mean that they are in fact digital. They are full range Class D switchmode amps. People assume (and marketing departments capitalize on) the "D" in Class D means "digital." It doesn't. It was just the next letter in line after Class A, B, and C. The signal going in and coming out are analog. The signal is at no point run through an A/D converter, processed and then run through a D/A convertor. You can't amplify digitally. It's an anlog function.
Before you start acting all high and mighty, know WTF you're talking about, as it is you don't have a clue.

So why did they jump to class T if they go in order?

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

So why did they jump to class T if they go in order?

T is not a recognized class of amp. It is used to describe a variable freq full range switchmode amp controlled by a Tripath (trademarked name) chip. The T comes from the name of the Tripath chip. Class T is all advertising just like calling any amp digital is just BS advertising.

There are E, F, G, and H that I know of, probably more. G and H are especially cool.

 

[Kriszilla 10+ year member]

That's hilarious. Even more hilarious is the fact that the people it was directed at don't even understand it.

I have a class-Q Quantum amplifier. It plays 0's and 1's at the same time and in all possible combinations at the same time.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[Propimp 10+ year member]

T is not a recognized class of amp. It is used to describe a variable freq full range switchmode amp controlled by a Tripath (trademarked name) chip. The T comes from the name of the Tripath chip. Class T is all advertising just like calling any amp digital is just BS advertising.
There are E, F, G, and H that I know of, probably more. G and H are especially cool.

I see thanks for the info. never heard of e,f,g or h

 

[fatblunt 10+ year member]

you mean digital controlled?

Zapco has them... new reference series.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

you mean digital controlled?Zapco has them... new reference series.

Hi. thanks for bringing back a dumb thread that has been dead for awhile just to repeat something already mentioned....

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Do you mean digital audio, Audiobahn's lower end company.

Audiobahn has company that is LOWER END than itself. Wow, that's very ironic.