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Class AB over D worth it.

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Old 08-03-2010, 08:26 PM
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Yes it's a brand new amp with full warranty. The only difference between this amp and another new one is that this one was taken out of the box and put on display on a table. It was sitting on the box it came in and in the box had all the kit that usually comes in the box. Everything else was sealed.
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Old 08-08-2010, 08:11 AM
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My personal experience recently was switching from a 75w/ch class A/B to a 150w/ch class D amp to drive my mids and highs and I must say that the added power into the same speaker gives more control. I am currently running the JL HD 4ch amp. The one feature I like is the damping factor over the A/B. The A/B didn't have any damping factor. I believe this gives more speaker control at upper volume levels. As for sound quality, it does sound better but I attribute that to the higher wattage. It used to distort at about 90% volume and now it's at about 80%.

I'm also running a class D for the sub. It's so efficient. I'm running 1100w between the 2 amps on a 50A master fuse and haven't blown one yet (due to be upgraded shortly however). Both ams run cool compared to the class A/B previously used. After a 1/2 hour of continuous pounding they are just warm to the touch.
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Old 08-08-2010, 07:18 PM
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^Damping factor has nothing to do with it. The added power is what made everything better.
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Old 08-09-2010, 01:39 PM
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What about a D vs. DE digital amps?
Does anyone have any experience with these?
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Old 08-09-2010, 08:34 PM
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Originally Posted by AAAAAAA
^Damping factor has nothing to do with it. The added power is what made everything better.
Hmm. Nothing. Interesting.

A speaker cone tends to oscillate (bounce) for several excursions after the electrical signal has stopped before coming to rest. Wouldn't that be an unwanted sound not produced by the amp and head unit? One would think that at higher wattage that damping is more of a factor than low wattage situations. I am still learning so be gentle.
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Old 08-09-2010, 09:19 PM
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Are there any pros to owning class A/B Amps ?
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Old 08-09-2010, 09:32 PM
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Originally Posted by wvince
Hmm. Nothing. Interesting.

A speaker cone tends to oscillate (bounce) for several excursions after the electrical signal has stopped before coming to rest. Wouldn't that be an unwanted sound not produced by the amp and head unit? One would think that at higher wattage that damping is more of a factor than low wattage situations. I am still learning so be gentle.
DF is essentially an obsolete measurement as virtually all decent modern amps are capable of DF well above what's detectable by humans. As a rule of thumb look for around 200 @ 4ohms, which will deliver approx 50 @ 1ohm..anything over 20 won't be noticed except by golden eared individuals.
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Old 08-09-2010, 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Rob
Are there any pros to owning class A/B Amps ?
I'm sure many will extoll their virtues, but realistically any possible benefit they may have is wasted in a vehicle that is used normally...i.e. listening to music while moving. My personal tests ( I'm a bit of a fanatic about testing manufacturer's claims to myself, and as such I'm always doing ab, abx, and straight side to side comparisons) leaves me with wanting class D all the way for their many benefits and virtually no deficit. Again, these are my findings using my ears...if somebody claims they can hear differences and benefits with the a/b, then by all means I encourage them to do what's right for themselves.
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Old 08-09-2010, 09:54 PM
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What if you are using a high end audiophile headunit such as drz9255, P99RS etc ?
Would you notice more of a SQ difference from class A/B to D ?
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Old 08-09-2010, 10:18 PM
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if you have a higher end unit, both a/b and d will sound better than without one.

the amps are only as good as their source. all they do is amplify, so if the signal is crappy going in, its crappy going out.

class D wins hands down in nearly every way. efficiency, price, power, footprint, and sq in amps is completely debatable and subjective.
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