Class A importance?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jeff0633
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jeff0633

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Hi Guys. Now that I have found out that the Meek 3q is the same preamp as the twinq, I may go that route, but I have also been thinking about a Presonus MP20 dual channel. That unit is class A. Would this be a better option than two 3q's?

What does class A mean, and are the Meeks class A? They will be asking $800 for the twin Q, and it seem strange for a pre to sell for that much and not be class A.

I have heard samples on the MP-20, and they really sound great. I also heard that you can put Burr browns in that unit, and they snap in, no soldering. I am torn between these two options. I had the Maudio DMP3, but to tell you the truth, it never flipped my switch or anything.

Thanks for any help
 
jeff0633 said:
What does class A mean, and are the Meeks class A? They will be asking $800 for the twin Q, and it seem strange for a pre to sell for that much and not be class A.
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Has to do with the design of the amp. It's more of a marketing advantage, since there is nothing wrong with a well-designed class AB amp. I wouldn't worry about it either way.
 
mshilarious said:
Has to do with the design of the amp. It's more of a marketing advantage, since there is nothing wrong with a well-designed class AB amp. I wouldn't worry about it either way.
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Well designed is key.. inherently AB amps will introduce a small amount of distortion each time the signal "crosses over" from neg to pos and viceversa. That's because in AB one transistor, FET or tube of a pair is responsible for positive, and the other for negative. When one "hands over" the signal to the other, you have to be very careful in your design to make sure no nonlinearities are introduced.
An class A design the same transistor, FET or tube is responsible for both positive and negative amplification, so you don't get the crossover distortion.
 
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