WAM Census 2021 Results - Amplifiers

uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
Wammer
Apr 16, 2006
8,563
4,632
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NN38TA Northampton
AKA
David
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
 I must of missed this poll but class A sounds a lot better then A-B class so would of thought this should of had its own category 
That is a matter of conjecture (sounding better) as there are a lot of amps out there that sound as good IMO.  Of course a number of AB amps are heavily biased to class A and this is never going to get captured in a survey.    However, in the interests of knowing amp choice at a later date the author could perhaps do an amp survey to cover the finer detail, such as type of amp used (to split class A and B) and to also ask the power output of the amps used.  

So perhaps the answer is to drill down by amp type by power ratings, as the end choice of an amp can be dictated by an enthusiast's speaker choice ,, if you do not like the sound of a Krell and were driving Gale 401s then the lack of class A amps that deliver the power necessary into a sub 4 ohm load is a tad limited.  Also in some setups (active and those using subs) may have a mixture of amp types 

 
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DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
Wammer Plus
Jul 23, 2019
10,315
9,583
198
Village near Nottingham.
AKA
Dom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Well, one of the many advantages of older age is that you have longer to have experienced many things, inc Class D amps! My first experience was 15+ years ago with a Bel Canto Evo 2i. I was amongst the first in the UK to buy a Tact iintegrated amps. So, nothing new in Class D so no reason that it would only appeal to 'youngsters" 😀

Class D has certainly come on a ways and is now a credible alternative; not necessarily better or worse, merely different.
I hadn't meant it in any derogatory way but when the majority are saying that LPs sound better than digital then I really had expected more responders to be 'more traditional' in their amps choices.  

@lostwin it would be really interesting to see the correlation to some of these themes eg Class D amps vs streamers and age vs vinyl is best etc.

 

DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
Wammer Plus
Jul 23, 2019
10,315
9,583
198
Village near Nottingham.
AKA
Dom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
It's only about 17%, I would have thought A/AB (50%) would have been higher, and valves (26%) lower. 26% use Value power amps, I do find that very surprising. 
I had expected more to own valves given their often superior musicality.

 

DomT

Food and coffee and rock n roll
Wammer Plus
Jul 23, 2019
10,315
9,583
198
Village near Nottingham.
AKA
Dom
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Do you have one?
Have previously owned A/B integrated, A/B pre/power, hybrid integrated, valve integrated, valve pre/power, and A/B and class D active monitors.  

Currently own and ARC valve preamp, s/s integrated, and s/s power amps. 

 

StingRay

Legend Wammer
Wammer
Apr 27, 2016
13,040
8,521
163
Suffolk coast, UK
AKA
Ray
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Have previously owned A/B integrated, A/B pre/power, hybrid integrated, valve integrated, valve pre/power, and A/B and class D active monitors.  

Currently own and ARC valve preamp, s/s integrated, and s/s power amps. 
I see, I was not sure what your amp was. 

If we add in actives then valves would fall by about 2% and I’m guessing A/AB would be up to around 53%, D maybe go up. 

 

uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
Wammer
Apr 16, 2006
8,563
4,632
158
NN38TA Northampton
AKA
David
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I was surprised that so many people have class D given the age profile of this forum.
If this was a genuine remark (and not a wind up) I am kinda sad .. we have all the outcry at racial discrimination, gender discrimination, but nothing but a whisper about age discrimination.

Now Dom .. I am 70 years old and I being a hifi enthusiast have tried valves, class A, class AB and class D ,,, and I drive a petrol car (because with the mileage I do now there is no business case to change to an electric or hybrid one) and I do not drive a steam powered one and fortunately do not need a mobility scooter as yet.

In my 70 years on this earth I have found that those resistant to change come in every age group .. I am never surprised to see a modern choice made by many (including oldies).

I am actually surprised that many of us oldies have not moved over to class D especially those downsizing house and room size and wanting to make their system more compact.   As for this grumpy old git the only way he is downsizing house is if the lounge is of a similar size to the one I have now because I have no intention of going through the pain of trying to find something that sounds as good in kit that takes up a tiny footprint.

Ok grumpy old git rant over ... just stop having preconceived perceptions about what oldies are like  :clout:

 
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lostwin

Tinker Bod
Wammer Plus
Nov 26, 2018
2,469
2,473
183
Folkestone, Kent
AKA
Richard
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
@lostwin it would be really interesting to see the correlation to some of these themes eg Class D amps vs streamers and age vs vinyl is best etc.
The challenge with running the data set against age is that we only have a much smaller pool of responses in the younger groups - very small if you consider those in their 40’s are more likely to be later 40’s.

I have tried to present the most credible correlations across the questions , but let me know if there is something specific you would like me to present.

 
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MartinC

Wammer
Wammer
Jul 29, 2005
9,828
6,148
158
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I see, I was not sure what your amp was. 

If we add in actives then valves would fall by about 2% and I’m guessing A/AB would be up to around 53%, D maybe go up. 
There are definitely a few members here with active speakers that use class D amps. I'm one and I can think of others.

Class D amps are also increasingly the dominant type used in active subwoofers actually. I have a class D power amp for passive speakers as well as owning active speakers and a subwoofer that use class D amps. 

The challenge with running the data set against age is that we only have a much smaller pool of responses in the younger groups - very small if you consider those in their 40’s are more likely to be later 40’s.
I'm still clinging on to being closer to 40 than 50. Just!

(You're abviously right about not trying to break the data down too much with the limited sample size though.)

 

StingRay

Legend Wammer
Wammer
Apr 27, 2016
13,040
8,521
163
Suffolk coast, UK
AKA
Ray
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
There are definitely a few members here with active speakers that use class D amps. I'm one and I can think of others.

Class D amps are also increasingly the dominant type used in active subwoofers actually. I have a class D power amp for passive speakers as well as owning active speakers and a subwoofer that use class D amps. 

I'm still clinging on to being closer to 40 than 50. Just!

(You're abviously right about not trying to break the data down too much with the limited sample size though.)
Yes I’m sure there quite a few using class D actives but this survey only has a small proportion of members of which only around 9% seem to use actives with amps inside the speakers. So it’s hard to know what the proportion will be. 
 

Im surprised actives are so popular, around 17% use fully active speakers. Actives are not new technology, they have been around for a long time, used in studios etc but they are becoming more available in domestic HiFi, with the likes of Kef doing a version of their popular LS50 speaker. Some use studio monitors as well. 

 
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It Cost How Much!?!

Twisted
Wammer
Oct 27, 2008
17,429
2,414
173
Hartford, Cheshire
AKA
Bob
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Not a fan of Class D amps, tried a few and souless with weird midrange and flat sounding, lacking dynamics.  Unless they improve dramatically, I will stick to class A transistor and valves.

The last class D I had (£3k amp) was ousted from my second system by a Bow Wazoo XL.

 

callen24returns

Newbie
Wammer
Oct 11, 2021
212
171
63
Leicester
AKA
Chris
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Not a fan of Class D amps, tried a few and souless with weird midrange and flat sounding, lacking dynamics.  Unless they improve dramatically, I will stick to class A transistor and valves.

The last class D I had (£3k amp) was ousted from my second system by a Bow Wazoo XL.
I felt the same, having borrowed someone’s  hypex for a month, and then anthem M1 for a fortnight.  “Soulless, ..flat sounding” is how I felt to. But my Nord isn’t like that, to my ears. I think the partnering equipment , like always can bring out different qualities. Having heard those hypex that I borrowed in the owners home, they were part of one of the best balanced system I have heard.

 
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MartinC

Wammer
Wammer
Jul 29, 2005
9,828
6,148
158
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Yes I’m sure there quite a few using class D actives but this survey only has a small proportion of members of which only around 9% seem to use actives with amps inside the speakers. So it’s hard to know what the proportion will be
Absolutely. Your post I quoted questioned if any Class D actives were being used at all though 🙂.

 

StingRay

Legend Wammer
Wammer
Apr 27, 2016
13,040
8,521
163
Suffolk coast, UK
AKA
Ray
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
Absolutely. Your post I quoted questioned if any Class D actives were being used at all though 🙂.
Well no, that was not what I meant at all, just with such a small sample it is very difficult to guess the numbers. Looks like actives with amps inside, account for around 20 members. I did say "D maybe go up" so I was not suggesting they were none, for them to go up you would need 4 or more, out of 20, to increase from 17%. 

Hopefully if done again there will more information. 

 
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callen24returns

Newbie
Wammer
Oct 11, 2021
212
171
63
Leicester
AKA
Chris
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
There different factors with choices, class A sound lovely but as my amp is playing 12 hours a day, class D is much more affordable, because of lower power consumption

 

uzzy

Grumpy Old Git
Wammer
Apr 16, 2006
8,563
4,632
158
NN38TA Northampton
AKA
David
HiFi Trade?
  1. No
I hadn't meant it in any derogatory way but when the majority are saying that LPs sound better than digital then I really had expected more responders to be 'more traditional' in their amps choices.  

@lostwin it would be really interesting to see the correlation to some of these themes eg Class D amps vs streamers and age vs vinyl is best etc.
I realise that ... in fact I was making the point when you hear accusations of all sorts where people on hearing a particular phrase or where someone says something they think is jocular but the offended person just reads the wrong thing into it.

As a summation my lad is 25 and collects all his music on vinyl .. he thinks it sounds better and who am I to argue with him.  People will think I brain washed him but my vinyl pay when he was growing up was less than it is now (he revived me lol) 

 

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