Should I steer clear of class D amps

@ghdprentice +1, very good answer.

A few years ago, I moved from some nice sounding class A amps to Bruno Putzeys' Class D NC1200 monoblocks that were all the rage at the time.  Unfortunately, as mentioned by @ghdprentice, "everyone realized they just didn’t sound that good", including me.  In essence, they just did not sound natural to me wrt high frequencies, decay, and spatial ambience of the venue and between musicians.  Those amps made me think of individual musicians each playing in their own isolated sound booth. 

I have nothing against class D, but have not heard any examples perform at the same level as the better class A and AB amps I have owned.  However, I do like them powering my subs.

You clearly know what you like - "I currently have an Onkyo TXNR 636 which has served very well."  Therefore, take your time, go listen to some amplifiers, and then pick what sounds good to you, not what others say you should like, or what has the coolest-looking VU meters.

I have owned a Rogue and a Carey Integrated. Both class D and both were sterile and uninvolving. After that, I stay away from class D amps.

FWIW currently using a Luxman 505UX Mark2.

Just my experience.

Regards,

John

I've been using a Pass X250.8 and recently XA30.8 over the last likely 8 years or so at this point.  I really liked both amps.

Recently I wanted to try a Class D GaNFET amp and tried the Atma-Sphere Class D monos.  I've had them for about a year and ended up selling my XA30.8 for them.  They have a very 'Pass Like' sound, midrange centric, natural tone, a hint of warmth, no fatigue, great imaging, etc...   I was amazed how similar they sounded to my Pass amp.   I think they do some things better and I also liked a few things better with my Pass amp, but in the end I found them similar and when you throw in they do not even get warm, weight like 14 pounds, I was happy to keep them.     

If you have not heard the latest Class D offerings, it is worth a listen at least.   You still may not like them, but after owning two others over the last 10 years (one for likely a week or two as I couldn't stand it), things have definitely changed.   I would love to hear the new Hypex Nilai and the latest EIGENTAKT modules.

Do not fear Class D, they are not like the days of yore when D sounded harsh and bright. Some really good stuff out there and as @ghdprentice did you need to hear them in your system. I love the look of the 3050LE but I am yet to hear one.

From posters above it sounds kind of like if it is too good to be true, then Class D may fall in that category.