Class T/D is here to stay!

Well first of all I have to say that I own an ARC 300.2 for 1.5 year.

I disagree a lot about what have been said in TAS about class D.

I know ARC tubes a lot and I heard most of them. I had an VT100 MKII for 3 years and after that a VT200 MKII for 3 years, when I finally moved to the 300.2.

The hole deal about the 300.2 is that I coudn´t find any amp that matched his performace under 10k. The 300.2 makes 80% of the job in the mid and highs that a good tube amp does (VT200 for example) and kill tubes in the bass. If you look in A/B class w/ similar power, you will have to pay more than 20K to get better.

What did you forget to say is that the technology maybe can´t beat at this point the mega U$$$$ A/B amps (that you own). If you look in the real world ( most of people does not have 20k> to spend in a power amp) class D came to stay and will kill A/B designs under that value in my opinion.

Chris was the only one who got it.

Also you have to undestand that the Class D amps are very very sensitivy about cabling matching and energy threatment (because they are very neutral, hi-precision, so everything you plug in them makes a lot of difference). Any of you tried to plug one of them in a PSAudio power plant? A P300 can run a 300.2!

I was amazed that most of you at TAS conclued about the technology only after listen to some of them and not paying atention in maching them with the right, gear, acessories and cable.

One thing that called my attention too was D´Agostino total refuse of the technology. Well I had the oportunity to try one of his latest big power amps against the 300.2, a Krell FPB 700cx. There was 5 guys at that time in my home to do the test ( most of them own systems varing to 30k to 100k), and everybody agreed that despide of the deep bass of the krell the ARC just won in every aspect. Well..... diferent from MR.Agostino I don´t care the way the response curve goes out in the other side, I care how his amp sound and how the ARC sound. Now after 2 years, 3 of the guys jumped to the ARC 300.2 and none went to the Krells.

I could not find any of the short comings Mr. garcia founded in the 300.2. Like a silence in the highs above some point and something like jitter. Maybe someone can explain him that digital amps are not really digital, they are switch designs. Other guy sad the ARC 210 reference is better, of course it cost 5x more, if they produce the same sound ARC would not be able to sell even a piece of the 210T. For me, under 10k 300.2 is the best amp ARC does , you get a lot of mids and highs of their tube amps and a tide bass of A/B amps you can´t get with tubes.

People who has mega U$ gear tend to belive that the best there is under what they belive to be good is the down size of the designs that they like. Well w/ 2 year old class D is already woring people making 20k amps.

I did not heard others class D amps like you did. I can´t tell if someday the technology will beat ultra hi end gear. The true is that with 2 years old it´s already has it´s space in hi-end. Like Chris I belive class D is here to stay and it´s already a very very nice opition for people that can´t spend over 100k in a stereo system.

So: Learn to live with them.

PS. TAS forgot about Mark Levinson (all line under the 33H is digital).