Hey Folks. This journey includes late 70's ss McIntosh MC2200 (ugh) // Electrocompaniet Ampliwire II ..the starting period of good sounding sand // modded hybrid Moscode 300 with great NOS tubes - less truthful but nice tube magic // Muse 160 with Marigo tuning dot treatment - a bit zippy but worth the try, not the answer /// my sealed Salk monitors like power .. now what? For 3 years I had been on the lookout for a super clean NAD M2, the entry reference M Series, single box dac/pre/power that received consistently amazing press across many reviews. Once found, after taming a horrid ringing box and and silencing everything but the dac, this, by far, is the best amp in my system. Having gone to great lengths to lower the noise floor of my system (see posts,) the M2 drives subs deeply and cleanly, polishes the mid bass up through the mids with tone, dynamics and flesh; then tosses shimmer and sweetness to the top end. No single strength stands out and an abundance of micros are displayed in a calm, collected manner, as in real life. I probably listen 4 plus hours per day easily, finishing my day with top shelf playback of high resolution streaming or carefully selected ripped lossless files. No muss, fuss nor strain...calm. Three of my friends have built NCore D amps in the last few years. All three have or have had high end tube amps along the way and enjoy their NCore in their main systems. I have a euro friend that loves his Devialet Class D after lots of researching, mated with his Vivid Giya loudspeakers. If you are handy, the NCore kits offer tremendous value and sound. We live in exciting times. More peace. Pinthrift
I went from Class D to Luxman A/AB - And most of what you think is wrong
Hi everyone,
As most of you know, I’m a fan of Class D. I have lived with ICEPower 250AS based amps for a couple of years. Before that I lived with a pair of Parasound A21s (for HT) and now I’m listening to a Luxman 507ux.
I have some thoughts after long term listening:
I found the Class D a touch warm, powerful, noise free. Blindfolded I cannot tell them apart from the Parasound A21s which are completely linear, and run a touch warm due to high Class A operation, and VERY similar in power output.
The Luxman 507 beats them both, but no amp stands out as nasty sounding or lacking in the ability to be musical and involving.
What the Luxman 507 does better is in the midrange and ends of the spectrum. It is less dark, sweeter in the midrange, and sounds more powerful, almost "louder" in the sense of having more treble and bass. It IS a better amplifier than I had before. Imaging is about the same.
There was one significant operational difference, which others have confirmed. I don't know why this is true, but the Class D amps needed 2-4 days to warm up. The Luxman needs no time at all. I have no rational, engineering explanation for this. After leaving the ICEPower amps off for a weekend, they sounded pretty low fi. Took 2 days to come back. I can come home after work and turn the Luxman on and it sounds great from the first moment.
Please keep this in mind when evaluating.
Best,
E
As most of you know, I’m a fan of Class D. I have lived with ICEPower 250AS based amps for a couple of years. Before that I lived with a pair of Parasound A21s (for HT) and now I’m listening to a Luxman 507ux.
I have some thoughts after long term listening:
- The tropes of Class D having particularly bad, noticeable Class D qualities are all wrong and have been for years.
- No one has ever heard my Class D amps and gone: "Oh, wow, Class D, that’s why I hate it."
- The Luxman is a better amp than my ICEPower modules, which are already pretty old.
I found the Class D a touch warm, powerful, noise free. Blindfolded I cannot tell them apart from the Parasound A21s which are completely linear, and run a touch warm due to high Class A operation, and VERY similar in power output.
The Luxman 507 beats them both, but no amp stands out as nasty sounding or lacking in the ability to be musical and involving.
What the Luxman 507 does better is in the midrange and ends of the spectrum. It is less dark, sweeter in the midrange, and sounds more powerful, almost "louder" in the sense of having more treble and bass. It IS a better amplifier than I had before. Imaging is about the same.
There was one significant operational difference, which others have confirmed. I don't know why this is true, but the Class D amps needed 2-4 days to warm up. The Luxman needs no time at all. I have no rational, engineering explanation for this. After leaving the ICEPower amps off for a weekend, they sounded pretty low fi. Took 2 days to come back. I can come home after work and turn the Luxman on and it sounds great from the first moment.
Please keep this in mind when evaluating.
Best,
E
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- 297 posts total
- 297 posts total