However, this wasn’t the end of the Class D amplifier, and the development of the more advanced MOSFET transistors eventually enabled a more reliable product to be made. This was followed by the more powerful X-20 in 1966, but the quality of the transistors on these early models made them very unreliable, and a commercial failure. Reeves’ new amplifier concept first found a commercial use in 1964, when Sinclair Radionics’ produced the X-10 amp, a home-build kit system that produced a whopping 2.5 watts. During the 1950s he developed the first Class D amplifier by dispensing with the heavy toroidal transformer (and therefore also meaning that the heat sink and fan used in traditional amplifiers was not needed) by using pairs of transistors as switches rather than as linear amplifiers. He later led a team that produced the first fibre-optic cables.
CLASS D AMP CODE
He also designed the first PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) system, and during WW2 he helped develop electronic counter-measures and radio navigation aids for British Royal Air Force. The originator of the concept was Alec Reeves, a brilliant British scientist whose work included helping set up the first transatlantic phone cable, developing digital delay lines and condenser microphones. He was right though… Fast forward to the present day, and these amplifiers have gradually become commonplace in the bass community, and manufacturers such as Mark Bass, Demeter and Quilter have developed high quality products that match, and sometimes surpass the quality and power of their more traditional predecessors.Īlthough we may think of Class D amplifiers as being something new, they have been around for over sixty years. It’s a Class D amp, and these are the future!” I was sceptical – how this could possibly compete with a big, powerful amplifier.
It was by Yamaha, and I asked him if it was just a headphone amp: “No, it’s a proper amp – it’s just really small. The first time I saw a Class D amplifier was about a decade ago, in a shop managed by one of my former students. To get a decent sound we need to use powerful amplifiers and huge speaker systems….or do we? Tim Fletcher looks into the rise of smaller, more lightweight bass gear. Moments in Bass History… Class D Amplifiers and Smaller Speakers – the Rise of Smaller, More Lightweight Bass Gear.īass amplification is heavy.
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