agree, but There is no such amp capable of producing full class-a power to 1 ohm , those amplifiers are switching to a/b to produce that amt of power, as I'm about to explain to Christian ...
Again , you can only be full class-a to a rated output at a specific impedance, your amp has what is known as its quiescence bias, this determines its total class-a output, repeating the same wrong statement a zillion times wont change that Christian .
So if your Pass or any amplifier for that matter is 200 watts class-a to clipping at 8 ohm , it will only be 100 @4 , 50 @ 2, 25@1 , means it is switching to ab to produce power above those levels. This will mean you are not full class-a to clipping at 4 ohm or 2 , well by your definition. This is why the class-a nomenclature is used on everything from 10 watt -200, as the marketing department play the lines ..
Eventually they will all switch to a/b .....well unless you're using a transformer ...
Regards,
I am just here to learn...the Gryphon website states clearly they are 100% Class A. What does this mean? From their website below:
For ultimate convenience, the Colosseum can be configured to turn on automatically when the preamplifier turns on and to power down following a period with no signal. A software-based user interface permits easy, intuitive access to practical user-controlled features.
Gryphon Audio Designs remains committed to discrete circuitry and 100% Class A bias in the Gryphon Colosseum power amplifier, weighing in at 80 kg.
While the Colosseum takes Gryphon's distinctive styling one step further, our ongoing commitment to uncompromising sound quality is reaffirmed by a wealth of details such as 2 x 160 Watts Pure Class A output power, 48 High-current bipolar output transistors, a 340,000 microFarad power capacitor bank and flat frequency response extending beyond 350 kHz.
True Class A operation has always been a Gryphon benchmark, because there is no substitute for the sheer musical magic of pure Class A. The Colosseum operates in true Class A mode with maximum power instantaneously available at all times, for unrivalled speed, control and accuracy. Once you experience the effortless realism and musicality of pure Class A, there is no turning back.
Class A
True Class A operation has always
been a Gryphon benchmark, simply
because nothing in our experience
can match the sonic glories of pure
Class A.
Unfortunately, true Class A is even
rarer today than when we introduced
the DM100. Rising consumer
awareness has forced some manufacturers
to stop making outrageous
unsubstantiated claims of
Class A power ratings that only
exist in the fevered imagination of
some marketing "expert".
Still, there is a growing number of
so-called "new" Class A topologies
based on automatic biasing which,
simply explained, somehow allow
the amplifier to sense when the bias
should increase to ensure constant
Class A performance!
If such thing were to actually work
as claimed, it would be tantamount
to a re-writing of the laws of
physics. In order for an amplifier to
be able to increase bias and stabilize
thermally to instantaneously
track the dynamics of the input, it
would have to be able to predict
what is going to happen next on the
recording. Auto-biasing can by
nature only respond to something
that has already happened and the
bias will rush up and down in a desperate
attempt to follow the last
note.
Put bluntly, there is no such thing as
a free lunch when it comes to pure
Class A, so we repeat with no
apologies: TRUE PURE CLASS A
means heavy transformers, very
large heatsinks, lots of heat, lots of
electricity, expensive parts and
costly assembly.
While we appreciate and endorse
every effort to conserve energy and
preserve our global resources, our
research into efforts to obtain Class
A performance from class A/B
topologies makes it clear that there
simply is no substitute for the sheer
magic of pure class A.
