Crown XLS402 report

[Feanor]

Nice going, Joe. It might be time for all of us to reevaluate pro audio and DIY options in case of class D amps. I suspect class D has reached a level of maturity where most audio enthsiasts will be quite satisfied with their sound versus any "mid-fi" options the likes of NAD, Adcom, Rotel, Cambridge, Onkyo, and Emotiva costing twice as much or more. Furthermore they might give a good many "high-end" products costing 3-5x a good run for the money. To generalize, my thesis is that class D can sound better for less money, with less weight and less heat than midrange A/B amps.

A year or two ago pundits at TAS evalutated several class D amps against high-end class A-A/B amps from the likes of Pass Labs. They still gave the edge to latter, but let's remember the latter are $5-10k units.

Recently I assembed a Class D Audio SDS-258 amp. I did this as much for something to do in retirement as anything else, but this amp has far exceeded my expectations. (I now longer have my original reservation that the amp might be a tad bright -- burning in plus Magneplanar's tweeter resistors have obviated that impression.)