Time to buy a class D amp?



Will some new class D amplifiers outperforming the current ones appear soon

(the newest ones i know were released a  few years ago)?

Class D amps attract me as I consider them the most ecological ones with obvious non-auditionable benefits.

I have no doubts that they posses the maximum ratio performance/sound quality among the amplifiers of all classes.

At the same time, the sound quality the class D amplifiers that I have auditioned produce, although is quite good,

but not yet ideal (for my taste).


I use PS Audio Stellar S300 amp with PS audio Gain Cell pre/DAC with Thiel CS 3.6 speakers in one of my systems.

The sound is ok (deep bass, clear soundstage) but not perfect (a bit bright and somehow dry, lacking warmness which might be more or less ok for rock but not for jazz music).

I wonder if there are softer sounding class D amps with the same or better details and resolution. Considering two reasonable (as to the budget) choices for test, Red Dragon S500 and Digital Audio Company's

Cherry  2 (or Maraschino monoblocks), did anybody compare these two?



128x128niodari

     Ryan of Red Dragon told me he's going to have an all new and upgraded lineup of amps coming out later this year.  He's definitely not going out of business. Here's a copy of his email response:

"Ryan Tew <ryan@reddragonaudio.com>Mon, Jul 22, 3:17 PMto me
Hi Tim
We are working on an entirely new MkIII generation and hope to have them ready later this year.

Thanks,
Ryan Tew President - Red Dragon Audio
www.RedDragonAudio.com
801.361.7138801.810.8184
On Jul 21, 2019, at 1:07 AM, RED DRAGON AUDIO (Shopify) <mailer@shopify.com> wrote:"

Tim
I have already bought two Class D amps . . . Crown 1502, and couldn't be more pleased. In fact, I may be buying two more to change my speakers from passive to active combos. The sound is more detailed than the two hefty monoblocks I used on my main speakers. The background noise is non-existence, and the power these amps can output, depending on their ohm resistance . . . so these speakers cruise, they are light, take up little space, have so many features, and I thoroughly enjoy their addition to my stereo system.
First off I would never own a Class D amp I don't care how far they've come along they will never equal a Class a the only thing that I can say about them is their lightweight they're cheap but they're all so noisy anybody who has had years of experience in audio file systems well tell you that class D amps are just for beginners
dutchydog,

     Anyone who claims class D amps are noisy has obviously never listened to one, forfeits all credibility and any further claims they make on the subject are best ignored.


Tim 
they're all so noisy anybody who has had years of experience in audio file systems well tell you that class D amps are just for beginners


Noise is what the Class D amps have least of.

I suggest anyone considering a Class D amp to listen for themselves up against similarly priced gear. I've had linear and Class D amps at the same time, I've had a number of audiophiles listen to the Class D amps without knowing it. They never ever noticed.