Audio power amplification hit an asymptote some years back and we're now on the flat part of the quality curve. We long ago passed the point of distortion reduction to inaudible levels. The same thing occurred with frequency response deviations due to reactive loudspeaker loads interacting with amplifier output impedance. The next hurdle was size, weight, and heat, and the advent of mature Class-D designs has taken us much closer to perfection from both performance and efficiency points of view. Although Class-D amps have been around for quite a while, the technology reached the point where the amps had performance levels competitive with traditional Class-A/AB amps only about 10 to 15 years ago.
A renaissance occurred, and as is often true, it seemed to happen all in one place-northern Europe, which has been a traditional home for audio innovation. One name that keeps popping up is Bruno Putzeys who has been an integral part of Hypex, Purifi, and Kii, and originated the first practical self-oscillating Class-D amplifiers, which kick-started the rapid evolution of the genre. The various companies selling these products have been competing to see how flat, quiet, and linear they can make their amps. After having several of the top brands pass through here whose performance exceeded that of my test gear, I have been of two minds regarding further development: Does it really matter once we have comfortably exceeded any questions of audibility? On the other hand, isn't it desirable to have absolutely the best performance that can be engineered into a product if it can be done without compromising practicality (e.g., cost, size, reliability, and efficiency)?
The Hypex NCX500 is the latest missile launched in the Power Amplifier Performance War.
"What's the Motivation?"
This story is from the May 2023 edition of audioXpress.
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This story is from the May 2023 edition of audioXpress.
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