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Are mono amplifiers superior to stereo amplifiers ?
- Thread starter RaymondFromThePyrénéés
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Sokel
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No virgins at this industry
Seriously now, separating audibility from engineering is the honest thing to do, so...
Seems purify amps have somehow found a way to negate superposition. Otherwise it's not even an engineering vs audibility principle.No virgins at this industry
Seriously now, separating audibility from engineering is the honest thing to do, so...
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Summary (IMHO) yes mono amps are superior 
, but rarely needed in your practical situation so it might not not matter in practical use
, but rarely needed in your practical situation so it might not not matter in practical use I've recommended balanced connections, especially for beginners.
This is because it can avoid or reduce many noise problems.
Unless someone is willing to provide support forever, which I don't want to do.
Those problems waste the beginner's time and the time of the person supporting them.
If a question is posted to ASR, it wastes the time of ASR members as well.
There were many similar posts.
Remote support for beginners is extremely laborious.
Manufacturer support staff and technicians may be tied up with phone calls, emails, and chats.
Even if their device is not at fault, manufacturers will find it difficult to abandon users.
This cost will be reflected in the product price, making everyone unhappy.
Ultimately, you'll end up suggesting Toslink, USB isolators, or balanced connections.
Unbalanced connections can sometimes be free of audible noise.
This is the case with carefully designed systems, or simply luck.
In home Hi-Fi systems up until around the 1980s, noise problems with unbalanced connections were probably rare, weren't they?
There were no strong indoor RF sources like mobile phones or Wi-Fi, no connections to televisions, cable TV equipment, or computers, and very few audio devices used EMC filters or switching power supplies.
In today's environment, there seems to be no reason to take on the challenge of unbalanced connections at an additional cost.
Except for connections to passive speakers, all analog audio connections should be balanced.
In the real world, unbalanced connections have no technical advantages. They are a flawed connection method.
In many cases, they cause problems and worsen productivity.
RCA connectors are particularly bad. When disconnecting, the ground is disconnected first, and when connecting, the ground is connected afterward.
Furthermore, since there are no established standards, each company designs them haphazardly.
Even if a problem arises with a particular combination of products, the manufacturers will try to shift the blame onto each other.
Unbalanced interconnects should be prohibited by law.
They should also be added to RoHS. In a sense, aren't they as harmful as lead?
Let's stick to balanced connections.
Only consider unbalanced connections if that's impossible.
That concludes the long lament from a Balanced Connection Party member.
This is because it can avoid or reduce many noise problems.
Unless someone is willing to provide support forever, which I don't want to do.
Those problems waste the beginner's time and the time of the person supporting them.
If a question is posted to ASR, it wastes the time of ASR members as well.
There were many similar posts.
Remote support for beginners is extremely laborious.
Manufacturer support staff and technicians may be tied up with phone calls, emails, and chats.
Even if their device is not at fault, manufacturers will find it difficult to abandon users.
This cost will be reflected in the product price, making everyone unhappy.
Ultimately, you'll end up suggesting Toslink, USB isolators, or balanced connections.
Unbalanced connections can sometimes be free of audible noise.
This is the case with carefully designed systems, or simply luck.
In home Hi-Fi systems up until around the 1980s, noise problems with unbalanced connections were probably rare, weren't they?
There were no strong indoor RF sources like mobile phones or Wi-Fi, no connections to televisions, cable TV equipment, or computers, and very few audio devices used EMC filters or switching power supplies.
In today's environment, there seems to be no reason to take on the challenge of unbalanced connections at an additional cost.
Except for connections to passive speakers, all analog audio connections should be balanced.
In the real world, unbalanced connections have no technical advantages. They are a flawed connection method.
In many cases, they cause problems and worsen productivity.
RCA connectors are particularly bad. When disconnecting, the ground is disconnected first, and when connecting, the ground is connected afterward.
Furthermore, since there are no established standards, each company designs them haphazardly.
Even if a problem arises with a particular combination of products, the manufacturers will try to shift the blame onto each other.
Unbalanced interconnects should be prohibited by law.
They should also be added to RoHS. In a sense, aren't they as harmful as lead?
Let's stick to balanced connections.
Only consider unbalanced connections if that's impossible.
That concludes the long lament from a Balanced Connection Party member.
Why are those WiiM for sale used? Problems? Or people just upgrading? I don't see a huge quantity on eBay here in USA. I love love LOVE my WiiM amp because when I select it from my iPhone or MacBook it just turns on and WORKS every time. OMG so refreshing.
I don't think people are "getting tired of the Class D sound" I think salespeople have an agenda. I also do not think there is a "Class D" sound any more than a "Class AB" or "Class G" or "Class H" sound, nor is there an "analog tape" versus "digital" sound. Within each thing there are numerous implementations and the results will vary with the skill of the designers and the budget available. I don't feel like my WiiM amp sounds like anything at all.
By the way not all WiiM do AirPlay, if that is important/convenient for you.
Where are you in the Pyrénéés? We went to Lourdes from Spain OMG it was lovely on the way, I want to go back and hike! Run! Both!
OP
RaymondFromThePyrénéés
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Dear Head Unit. Yes, I think that you are right about what you say.
I live close to Foix, in case you travel by some day, you are welcome.
I live close to Foix, in case you travel by some day, you are welcome.
Indeed! There are far better margins on non-class D, but it relies on "an aura of specialness" to keep the margins high.
steve59
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Has anyone addressed the actual speakers being powered? I've had speakers that can drain high powered amps quickly and reduce dynamics or harden the sound at xover points. I brought home a class d int sometime around 2015 and it was audibly grainy compared to the Anthem 225i I bought instead. ffw several years and I'm demoing amps with a pair of persona 7f's and while there was 1 int that stood out as being more dynamic and musical, the Pathos Logos MK2 when the shop owner connected several other brands including a budget class D int from Lumin I really couldn't tell any of the others apart. The little in house demo was happening really fast and wasn't dbt, but I have specific que's I listen for in specific songs to help me evaluate consistency.
steve59
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I had a pair of KEF R105/3's for 25 years and tried probably a dozen amps on. While those speakers had an easy 93.5 db sensitivity they had a really complex xover and really didn't come into their own until I bi-amped them horizontally with a 250 wpc B&K 4420 on bass and Krell kav300 il on top. We all prioritize things differently and something I focus on my wife couldn't care less about as long as there's a good bass line so I totally understand the argument. Most folk think I'm nuts to being sensitive to the smallest detail. For the majority of us off the shelf budget avr's will get it done, but if you are stricken with the disease, and I often wish I hadn't been, those little things start to become everything.
The world has moved on since 2015.... Any assumptions or listening tests based on class-D amps from then are now inapplicable.
Even chip-based class-D are surprisingly good now, and Hypex, Purifi etc are even better and virtually load-independent - they would laugh at crossovers!
Even chip-based class-D are surprisingly good now, and Hypex, Purifi etc are even better and virtually load-independent - they would laugh at crossovers!
You can find all sorts of kit that is not Class-D that plays badly with all sorts of speakers if we go down that road.
If your speakers are at 2ohm at the crossover point, there's not going to be that much current drawn from any amp - the heavy current load on any amp is at bass frequencies.
Suffice to say, if you try Hypex/Purifi for yourself rather than listen to 'net propaganda, you may be pleased! And the chip-based amps are ridiculously good value.
If your speakers are at 2ohm at the crossover point, there's not going to be that much current drawn from any amp - the heavy current load on any amp is at bass frequencies.
Suffice to say, if you try Hypex/Purifi for yourself rather than listen to 'net propaganda, you may be pleased! And the chip-based amps are ridiculously good value.
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