Need Temporary Class-D Amp. Suggestions?

dewdude

High on resolution.
Subscriber
So...while I've kept up with what a Class-D/Class-T amp is and the theory...that's as far as it goes. I know I heard the name Tripath pushed around a lot; welcome to the extent of my knowledge.

My trusty Motorola tube amps have been acting up over the last two years and they're at a point where they're blowing tubes left and right...so I've had to take them out of comission while I decide what I'm going to do. This leaves me with nothing in my office/radio-shack/avoiding-people-area. Here's my audio chain:

SMSL M8 DAC -> Little Bear P5 -> Sansui SE-8 -> Yaqin MS-12B

Right now I'm using a Denon AVR-591...my vintage Denon has been in need of a relay you can't get.

I highly suspect with the amount of DSP this Denon has it's probably digitizing my analog input (even in bypass mode)...which is not what I want. I have some faith that class Ds probably aren't doing any processing other than whats required for processing...which I assume is some kind of super-high-rate PWM type conversion. Close enough for me I guess. I do a lot of listening to high-resolution PCM and DSD on my setup.

If anyone can make some suggestions of something around $100 I'd appreciate it. I'm probably going to just order it from Prime so it gets here ASAP.

*edit: I just did some thinking and with the life plans I've got..I'll probably be using this thing for a while since I should probably put off dropping loads of money in to my tube amps when I might not be able to use them in about a year and a half*
 
Last edited:
This one looks pretty good: https://www.parts-express.com/smsl-sa-98e-tda7498e--stereo-amplifier-2-x-160w--230-214. Appears you're familiar with SMSL. A lot of other options at Parts Express, and they stand behind the stuff they sell.

If you're willing to wait a little while, check out the Volt+ D: https://www.allo.com/sparky/volt-plus-d-amp.html.

I think I saw someone raving about this one. I may have to sleep on this for a few nights. I can limp along on this Denon. Plus Sunday delivery from Amazon has never worked out well for me.
 
Back
Top Bottom