D amps

Thank you hgeifman https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2736328

@hgeifman   they lacked the subtly, feeling, resolution, sparkle, air and imaging of my MusicalFidelity class AB amps that replaced them.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Hypex. I’ve been curious about it for a while. People say Purifi sounds better, but I doubt it will be a complete overhaul that fixes all these undesirable aspects. You might want to try the Topping LA90 and/or B100 that just came out. What impresses me most is the frequency-independent THD, something I haven’t seen from any other amplifier, regardless of what class they’re built from.

I absolutely love my AGD Production Gran Vivace GANFET monoblock amps on my Fyne F-703 speakers. I can't imagine that they wouldn't excel on B&W 802s...

My brother tried the Topping amps and they were absolutely horrible. They retailed for around $ 1500.00 and he sent them back for a refund. Granted they were not fully broken in (about 50 hours). Also connections were funky and the build quality didnt inspire confidence. 

I think you will find that the Fyne speakers and B & Ws present very different loads to amplifiers. I dont think this is the best comparison.

I've tried a few of the Class D modules. The earlier Ucd, Hypex Ncore, the older Purifi 1ET400 pretty recently. The only audio brand/designer type I've tried was an Elac Alchemy DPA-2 a few years ago. Actually the Elac was the first "real" class D I tried. It had a warmer tone, black background, & wasn't too bad. It opened my eyes to that Class D was heading in the right direction. 

It was like a $1700 amp that I got for about a grand. There were no reviews about it & I took a chance. It was decent but the top end was lacking vs a  good AB. No extension or sparkle. But it had other qualities that were better than similarly priced AB amps. I didn't use it very long though. 

All the other Class D modules were ok. They have some good qualities. I think they are perfect for home theater. For music, if being real picky, they can be a little 2 dimensional. Lack reverb, decay. Somewhat hard edges to the notes. For the money though I still think they are good. Ultra quiet, transparent as all get out, speed, & the Purifi had great bass. I'd match them with simple circuit no feedback tube preamps for some color. Never kept any of the amps long term. 3 months tops probably. I listen for hours everyday though. 

I honestly bought & tried them just to see if/how they were improving. I haven't tried the new Hypex NcX or the new beastly Purifi's but bought the Hypex Nilai DIY500 a few months ago. Best Class D I've tried yet. Took about 2 weeks before I really started enjoying it. I think it sounds best when I keep it on 24/7. I say it's the best I've had but I haven't tried any class D from popular designers or builders.  The Nilai for the money is great imo. It's not 2 dimensional. It's smoother sounding..less hard edges. Has decay to plucks & cymbals. It just sounds like a proper amplifier to me. Doesn't have the sweetest top end compared to more expensive amps I've had but it's better than any class D I've tried. I like it. 

I've actually been using it daily for the last few months in a streaming system with an Icon Audio LA4 MKiii upgraded tube preamp. I soldered some ODAM caps throughout & use NOS tubes. Beautiful vocals with the Nilai.Black space & depth between instruments. I feel that the Nilai is stupid good for the money.

When I try a Class D amp I have no bias though. I don't go into it thinking it already sucks or try to critically find everything wrong with it. If there is something amiss with the sound I let it come naturally. Most people whom buy amps in these price ranges probably wouldn't even know it's class D if you didn't tell them. 

I heard the new Orchard amp at the Florida show. It sounded like a great amp to me. The Nilai was cheaper & available at the time. The Alpha Audio reviews were pretty positive on the Nilai as well. 

I think Class D will just continue to get better. Especially when more brilliant designers keep working with them. I'd really like to try a few of the ones already out there. Going with a well known & respected class AB amp is still a safer bet though. I guess that depends on your budget. I also think we have people that will never accept or welcome class D. No matter how many other people say they love it.