Competitive class D amp suggestions


I have been Class D fun since a few years ago when i bought my first class D amp. I like the concept, in general, and all the attractive features of this class of amplifiers. I tried 4 different ones, currently i  stayed with one of them that i consider to be the best among all four amps. I do enjoy and like it. At the same time,  my 5 watts SET amplifier (with more than 100 times higher distortion according to the specs) gives more natural and (surprisingly) notably cleaner sound (THD of the class D amp is 0.001). The soundstage  of the class D amp is not so bad but that of the tube one is still better.   

I remain attracted by class D amps though. 

Any fresh suggestions on reasonably priced class D amps (i mean excluding  non-reasonably priced class D amps, e.g., Merrill amplifiers)?

Any comments on non-reasonably priced class D amps are also welcome (so far i was not able to audition many class D amps and am curious if there are some which could really compete with Class A). 

128x128niodari

I decided to swap PCs between my transport and my Voyager. The Voyager had a boutique PC from Tek Line Cables (15 yo, then $500, no longer in business), I also have one on my preamp/dac outboard PS. 

The new PC was better top to bottom with more defined bass umph. Looks like I need 3 more PCs; transport, dac/pre and CorePower PLC

@ghdprentice 

Your AR 160 Ref stereo is not just the best AR I have heard, it may be the best amp I have heard. The monos must be threw the roof.

So cool of your dealer to let you hold on to them.

What I heard at your house was superb and definitely had the “organic” sound of tubes. Although I would not say that it was “tubey” at all. 
My Class D AGD Audions do not approach or attempt to recreate that tube organic sound. They produce a more “clear window” into the music. I would say a more neutral take rather than organic. However, I don’t necessarily miss what your tubes do. It is very satisfying.

 

@niodari 

 

I only just discovered this thread last night, and I see you've purchased an amp. Even so, I'd like to suggest a Class D amp no one has mentioned. Nuprime announced its Evolution STA dual-mono amp in January. I had already been researching the various new Class D and GANfet amps, and knew the only way I could hear this or that amp, was to go ahead and buy an amp in order to listen to it in my system. Because the Evo STA was the newest of the bunch, I decided to take a chance and buy one. 

The EVO STA needed a solid 250 hours of burn in before I was satisfied that there were no more obvious changes to its sound. This amp has a warm tube-like character to it yet simultaneously is very revealing and clear. I love how it sounds in my system.

I have no idea how it compares to the various other above mentioned amps, but I sure do love its sound. I think it's worth considering if you haven't finished your search. The MSRP is $4995. However, if you check with your dealer, he/she may have 'confidential' pricing. 

Michael

 

@mresseguie, thanks for sharing your experience with Nuprime Evo monoblocks. My earlier idea on these amps was that they are more accurate than ST-10 amp but also more analytical. Based on your comments, apparently, this might not quite be the case. The ST-10 gives a tube flavor, nice sound stage but the distortion is a bit notable. If the Evo amp inherited the former features but eliminated the distortion without being analytical, they should be very good amps (I think this was a key consideration in the design of new @atmasphere class D amps).  It could be interesting a direct comparison of these two Nuprime amps.  

@tweak1, @rc22 Thanks for the suggestions. In fact, I also read in the manual that a better power cable is recommended. I replaced the supplied PC of the Voyager GaN 350  with Audience Forte f3 PC. perhaps, there is some improvement in power and in base (I have to return the other cable and audition the amp again to be completely sure).  But the most important thing that needs improvement remains a little dryness and lifeless in sound. Hopefully, this can be improved with break-in.

So far, my analytical thinking tells me that this is a very good amp. Pre-consciously, i am not still too attracted to the amp, all is good, but something (the soul) is still missing. May be i need to spend more time with the amp and this might be changed. For the final verdict, I will wait until it is fully broken in and then will try it in my main system (with better cables, transport, dac, acoustics, etc). This weekend I used it more than i usually do, it should already have close to 15 hours (in some amps, i was observing an improvement already after 10 hours). As to the other interconnect cables, honestly, i don't understand how a transport  interconnect cable may influence on the performance of the amp (it may improve how the transport sounds of course). I have never tried spring pods but will bear this possibility in mind.

Later this week i may try the amp's balanced inputs with W4S STP 2 preamp.