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Class D amp lifespan?

4444 Views 9 Replies 5 Participants Last post by DreamWarrior, Oct 28, 2019

happycamper820

Discussion Starter · Oct 28, 2019

Can we expect Class D amps to have similar lifespans as Class AB amps? Older tech amps can last decades but just wondering if I should stick to older tech or embrace the newer Class D technologies. I just don't want to get into a replacement cycle like computers, cell phones, etc. every few years.

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Russdawg1

· #2 · Oct 28, 2019

Class D should last longer, if I’m not mistaken.

Little heat, high efficiency.

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happycamper820

Discussion Starter · #3 · Oct 28, 2019

That being the case though technology anything changes so fast these days...you buy it today in six months there is something better and in 2 years it's outdated. I can't decide if I should stick with the hifi companies that have been making amps for as long as I've been alive or try something new that didn't exist 15 years ago. Not sure where technology takes the sound of music over the next 20 years but I'd like to think this will be my last amp purchase.

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bobknavs

· #4 · Oct 28, 2019

I believe that amps suffer the least obsolescence worries of any audio electronics.

As for getting support for amps for years or decades into the future, buying from a company that has been in existence for a long time may not help at all, at least if you're buying from mass-market manufacturers. (IMHO.)

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happycamper820

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 28, 2019

I had an amp w/ a toroidal transformer and it didn't get hot at all. I think my old Denon AVR I'm using now must have an ironcore transformer and although it does now get hot I can feel the warmth coming out from the top vents. This kind of seems like the transition from HDD to SSD.

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DreamWarrior

· #6 · Oct 28, 2019 (Edited)

happycamper820 said:
I had an amp w/ a toroidal transformer and it didn't get hot at all. I think my old Denon AVR I'm using now must have an ironcore transformer and although it does now get hot I can feel the warmth coming out from the top vents. This kind of seems like the transition from HDD to SSD.

Are you saying Class A or A/B transitioning to Class D is like HDD transitioning to SDD? And because of heat, for that matter?

Class D uses PWM to control the power supply in order to effectively increase the amplifier's efficiency -- this allows a Class D amp to use very little idle current while still being able to ramp the rails for a transient. They've gotten much better at handling high frequencies as technology has marched on...heck I remember when the Class D in my car was good for sub-frequencies only and it interfered with my FM reception, lol.

That said, I'm not sure you can place a reliability concern on the amplifier based on its topology alone -- there's more to it than that. So, I won't try to generalize here whether a generic Class D should outlive a generic class A or A/B amplifier.

edit: probably saying "uses PWM to control the power supply" is a very oversimplified (maybe arguably inaccurate) view -- I don't really want to get into the bowels of Class D, though...so.... Suffice it to say, Class D uses PWM to modulate the transistors so their power can be supplied to the speakers more efficiently on-demand as needed by the program content rather than sitting idle and wasting power to heat (like even the most efficient class A/B).

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jdlynch

· #7 · Oct 28, 2019

Will class D amps need to be re-capped as they age like A/B amps do?

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DreamWarrior

· #8 · Oct 28, 2019

jdlynch said:
Will class D amps need to be re-capped as they age like A/B amps do?

Do all Class A/B amps need to be re-capped as they age? Or, only those whose caps age-out? Is this a property of the amp or the capacitors, do you think?