Class D or A/B?

[questioned]

Is there a significant reason to choose one over the other for competition?

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[forbidden 10+ year member]

Competition for SPL or SQ?

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Well yeah it just depends on what ur trying to accomplish.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Class A/B amps are typically full range stereo or multichannel amps that nowadays are used primarily for powering midbasses, midranges, and tweeters. They are not always as linear as Class A but are more efficient. Class D amp are limited in the bandwidth they can "accurately" reproduce. At higher frequencies, nonlinearity of the Class D circuitry becomes audible and sounds really bad. They are typically limited to 500hz and below which makes them suitable for driving subs and nothing else. The plus for the Class D amps are they are very efficient compared to Class A and A/B amps and allow for more power to be delivered to the subs with less draw from the car's electrical system. For an SPL system, Class D amps are almost a requirement, becuase they are the largest amps that can be easily powered for a 30 sec max effort run. For a SQ system, you can go with either type of amp for the subs, but the mids and highs can only be powered by a Class A/B.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Well said helotaxi.

 

[green_slip 10+ year member]

what about class T, like the arc audio cxl 1500. I am thinking about getting that amp for my 15'' mag what do you guys think about class T (which i think the arc is) compared to the other classes?

 

[limitkid7 5,000+ posts]

class T!!!

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Quite a few companies are using class T amps now - Blaupunkt, Avionixx (I think), PG maybe, Lanzar's new optidrives advertise full range class D.

Basically they do the job of an a/b with the efficiency of class D.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

If I understand Class T, it uses a Tripath chip that basically divides the signal between a Class D section and a Class A/B section so you get the efficiency of Class D for low frequencies where A/B efficiency suffers and the fidelity of A/B at higher frequencies were Class D sounds terrible.

 

[green_slip 10+ year member]

sounds to me like class T is the way to go for subs IMO.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

At sub frequencies it is just a class D basically. I would rather have a more powerful amp on my subs that can only play sub freqs than a full range amp that is less powerful and is still a class D down low. Class T are good all purpose amps but there are not the best choice if all you will ever be doing with them is driving subs.

 

[mike_cy 10+ year member]

but A/B amps when brigded have more output ( RMS) than a D amp with the same money....

many of the D amps (lower than $200) i see have an output around 150x1 or 300x1 but if you get an A/B 2chan or multi amp are like 150x2 (rms)

if i wanna run 2 subs 250W rms each what D amp will i have to buy? (500x1 ? but i would want like 800$ )

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

That may be the case in Cyprus, but around here there are many class D's that are 1000 watts or more for under $250. Some of the highly respected 1000 watters you can get for around $400.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

but A/B amps when brigded have more output ( RMS) than a D amp with the same money....
many of the D amps (lower than $200) i see have an output around 150x1 or 300x1 but if you get an A/B 2chan or multi amp are like 150x2 (rms)

if i wanna run 2 subs 250W rms each what D amp will i have to buy? (500x1 ? but i would want like 800$ )

You are talking low power as well. Class D amps are typically higher power and high current amps made to run multiple subs at a low impedance and do so at a high efficiency. If this is not what you need, then a Class A/B will work fine. At lower power, efficiency is not as important. For example, if your 200 watt amp draws 300-350 watts from your charging system at full power, that's not that big a deal, but if your 1000 watt amp is drawing 1500-1850 watts, then you will have charging system issues. You also have to figure out how to get rid of 500-850 watts of heat. Big amps have to be efficient to be practical, but with small amps its just not that critical, so you don't see many small class D amps.

 

[mike_cy 10+ year member]

1000W RMS? or max,peak?

I can spend around 200$ - 280$ a month since i'm doing my military time (*****) if i don't buy food in there //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

what Brand of D amps have an output around 500-800W RMS and is lower than 300$ ....not like lanzar,legacy(don't remember which) that says 600x4 and when you check them they say 75Wx4 MAX

but at 4 ohms since my subs are only 8, 4 ohms (10'' Tremor - http://www.earthquakesound.com black model)