Euphonic Audio - Amplifiers

 The EA iAMPs are all "Class D" amplifiers. Class D amplifiers are highly efficient and have a great power to size ratio. EA's Class D amps are so efficient in fact (85%) that the need no cooling fan (a source of noise and weight).

In the early days of the iAMP 800 we put a thermometer on one during a 4 hour bar gig. The amp was pushing a hefty load (2 2x12 cabinets). The iAMP 800 never went past 117degrees Fahrenheit. The question that you're probably asking is, "It Class D is lightweight, efficient AND powerful, why doesn't everybody make one?" There are many answers. Some companies rely heavily on tubes as a source to generate power. Perhaps the most important reason is that for very high quality sound reproduction (a hallmark of EA), Class D is hard to do right.

Other Class D designs suffered from a "brittle" midrange sound. One that worked well for upright bass players but lacked certain fullness in the other frequencies that electric bass players, keyboard, and acoustic guitar players demand.

EA's solution to this was to compromise a bit of weight for much better sound. EA uses a toroidal power transformer as opposed to a "switching" transformer as in other Class D designs. The net difference is that the EA iAMP 800 weights 19 pounds as opposed to 10 pounds but has a full range sound that is second to none.

The bell has rung and it's time for class, amplifier class that is. Here is a description and comparison between Class A, Class B, Class AB and Class D amplifier designs. Amplifiers in classes A, B, and AB operate their output transistors in a 'linear' mode while Class D amplifiers operate their outputs in 'switch' mode.