Reverb Class A Article

[jkokura]

Got this in an email this morning. Actually a really good article, including a moderate amount of technical depth, about the difference between Class A, Class B, and Class AB amps. Thought I'd pass it along.

https://reverb.com/ca/news/what-is-a-class-a-amp-anyway-the-truth-behind-myths-and-misconceptions

Anyone else impressed with some of the Reverb articles that get released? Every once in a while I'm left impressed.

Jacob

[thesmokingman]

good enough for reverb ... I try not to engage in the debate about class a because it usually involves someone who has an amp that is cathode biased with no negative feedback that doesn't understand that those two things don't guarantee class a operation in a push pull amp. disagreements are had, words exchanged, feelings hurt, cycle continues.

[bsoncini]

good enough for reverb ... I try not to engage in the debate about class a because it usually involves someone who has an amp that is cathode biased with no negative feedback that doesn't understand that those two things don't guarantee class a operation in a push pull amp. disagreements are had, words exchanged, feelings hurt, cycle continues.

It probably gets much worse when it is HiFi geeks. With many more adjectives that mean nothing like airy.

Btw. Nice article. Thanks for sharing.

[Aentons]

No disrespect but I think it's pretty bad and that they should take the article down. I believe that misconceptions should be called out and corrected rather than purposely perpetuated. Take the classic example of Fender Tremolo/Vibrato.... It was perpetuated and explained away through the years like that's just how it is... If only someone would have spoken up...

[lars]

Hey, every piece of gear at some point sounds "the best"...until you really put it to the test in the real world. Then you find out that maybe that amp doesn't have enough punch. Maybe it feeds back in the particular space you need to use it in. Maybe that $800 overdrive sounds exactly like that $25 overdrive when you mix it in a recording.
The endless debates/myths/misconceptions about gear will continue to rage on, despite the massive evidence that no particular design or setup works "the best" for all situations.
The most important class is the "this is what works for me" class.

[jkokura]

No disrespect but I think it's pretty bad and that they should take the article down. I believe that misconceptions should be called out and corrected rather than purposely perpetuated. Take the classic example of Fender Tremolo/Vibrato.... It was perpetuated and explained away through the years like that's just how it is... If only someone would have spoken up...

Could you clarify the misconceptions that you're seeing in the article?

From my perspective, and what I'm aware of, the article is seeking to clarify that 'Class A' to amps doesn't mean what 'Grade A' means to meat, that it is somehow superior to Class A/B, Class B, etc. The article spends some time explaining the essential basics of where the classification differences come from (power section of tube amps) and I thought it went deep enough into the theory but stayed out of the specifics so as to become boring.

Not sure what the kerfuffle is about the article that warrants it being taken down.

Jacob

[gordo]

Yeah, not Grade A...Class A...

[cooder]

I think this is a good technical explanation of the topic, might not be as 'elegant' reading as the Reverb article, just more in depth into the technical terms.
http://www.aikenamps.com/index.php/the-last-word-on-class-a

[thesmokingman]

Randall Smith wrote one too https://mesaboogie.zendesk.com/hc/article_attachments/210513708/Class%20A%20Exposed%20and%20Explained%20by%20Randall%20Smith.pdf

[EBRAddict]

This article briefly covers all the topologies http://circuitcellar.com/cc-blog/amplifier-classes-from-a-to-h/