Mr Peabody
Well-known member
- Thread Author
- #1
Probably around the time of going into the 80's I remember the big thing, buzz word, if you will was discrete circuitry. It was better than IC's, integrated circuits, in audio gear. Receivers at the time like Harman Kardon at the time cost a premium because they were discrete opposed to the many competitors who used IC's.
It seems now with the push to Class D we are being told IC's, chips, are good. Or at least on par with those built with discrete circuitry.
I wondered about this and watched a tutorial of sorts on Class D. Probably just enough to be dangerous, LOL The guy literally made a Class D amp on a circuit board with a chip, power supply and the appropriate caps to do the low and high filtering. Some of these Class D amps today have some hefty price tags.
I bring this up with a genuine curiosity if chips are better now than those used back when in amps or is it apples and oranges? If IC's were not as good as discrete circuits then wouldn't the same still hold true today? Could the circuit being a chip be a handicap to Class D ever really being able to compete with a equal A/B amp?
I realize the IC's used back when were not used for Class D.
It seems now with the push to Class D we are being told IC's, chips, are good. Or at least on par with those built with discrete circuitry.
I wondered about this and watched a tutorial of sorts on Class D. Probably just enough to be dangerous, LOL The guy literally made a Class D amp on a circuit board with a chip, power supply and the appropriate caps to do the low and high filtering. Some of these Class D amps today have some hefty price tags.
I bring this up with a genuine curiosity if chips are better now than those used back when in amps or is it apples and oranges? If IC's were not as good as discrete circuits then wouldn't the same still hold true today? Could the circuit being a chip be a handicap to Class D ever really being able to compete with a equal A/B amp?
I realize the IC's used back when were not used for Class D.