Class a/b vs D for sub duty?

[Meeks32]

Hey guys, im in the market for a new/used amp to power my sub. I've always been a fan of the older amps & was looking at some used PPI pc or an Orion "the beast" amp. Im only have a 12" eclipse 8812 right now & may upgrade to a Tc sounds 2000 later on so insane wattage isnt a huge concern to me. I've never heard a class d amp but after reading some stories online, alot of them seem to say they prefer a good a/b amp to a class d. If anyone has any experience with both, I would love to hear some feedback. Size of the amp really isnt a huge concern, but if installing a 1000w a/b amp is going to be a huge drain on my electrical system, then I may have to take a serious look into a more effecient design.

[Jstas]

Class D is very efficient at making big power. You can get tons of juice for a low charging system commitment. So if you want to go BOOM, that's the way to go.

Class A/B is not as efficient but much more controlled. You can get the same amount of power but it will be expensive both elctronically and financially. However, for most SQ subs, you don't need disgusting amounts of power. I'm getting by just fine on about 200 watts RMS. It sounds good and there is enough boom to turn it up every so often. Then again, that is D-class power.

However, I did have about 170 watts RMS A/B class power on a 10 inch sub in a sealed enclosure in the trunk of my Thunderbird and many people were impressed with the impact that little sub made. It was, of course, a Polk Audio sub and a Kenwood amp. I also powered two Kicker Competition (the old ones that were rebuildable) with an old Profile amp that was pushing about 600 watts RMS mono. That drew about 60 amps. The little Kenwood drew about 35 amps. Comparative D-class could probably get away with 35-40 amps on the Profile and 20 amps on the Kenwood.


So if you want SQ, A/B power with a sealed box sub is a better way to go IMO and experience. If you want big BOOM, D-class and ported all day long.

[exalted512]

I would LOVE to get my hands on a couple of TC Sounds 3000s...drool...
-Cody

[MacLeod]

There isnt a difference in power. A QUALITY 500 watt Class D amp will make 500 watts, and a 500 watt Class AB amp will make 500 watts. However, like John said, the Class D will do it with less current draw from your battery because its more effecient.

As far as sound, there is no difference. Class D amps tend to have more distortion but for subs its not an issue as youre not going to hear it.

The way I boil it down is like this: If space is a consideration get a Class D as they will be smaller than an equally powerful AB amp. If money is a concern get an AB as they will be cheaper than an equally powerful D.

Another advantage to running a Class D is that its stable to 2 ohms mono where most AB amps are not. So if you have a pair of 4 ohm SVC subs or a single 4 ohm DVC sub then a Class D would work better.

[killerb]

i used to run a zapco a/b amp on my subs and now run a d class amp. the dampening factor on the zapco was way higher, but i hear no difference. i would go class d on subs. my massive audio amp has tons of power and sounds great. 1500 watts on a stock hyundai electrical system.

[exalted512]

class ab will only be cheaper than a comparable class d if youre doing your power at 4 ohms. But if youre doing it at 2 or 1, then class d is almost always going to be cheaper.
-Cody