That is helpful to know. So then how would you choose a D class replacement for the AB amp that was proven as adequate? Primarily interested in HT and that is where the most of the amp tool takes place.I feel that a source of confusion derives from a lack of experience of bench testing power amplifiers.
There are definitely corner cases for certain film tracks and electronic music with difficult crest factors or frequencies which are uncommon in normally recorded music. But none of them are actually similar to a pure sine wave full power test across a wide range of frequencies.
I've run sine wave full power and soak tests on power amplifiers and absolutely nothing in music comes close to the heat generated!
For example, my requirement would be to run the bed channels large (LFE+main for additional sub support), and in addition to send the LFE channel to all the bed speakers (sans center) so I can use them as additional supporting subwoofers? It is difficult to say how much toll this takes for the amps, but it certainly makes them real busy.
Currently my amps (see the signature) are adequate for that, but they are regrettably near the end of their useful life. Looks like going 2x up in wattage for the D class might not be enough?
EDIT: just to visualise the current setup:
Last edited: