Is solid state on the brink of extinction?

Khrys,
Thanks for the info. I had seen something of this natuer before, and I think the info you provided may explain why the EU actually provided some support to this project. Also the electricty usage of big solid state amps is not trivial from a european point of view. I think it is kind of ironic that B& O, a company I do not associate with a timorous image, is actually being kind of circumspect in their promotion of their technology, while eAR has been been hyping it with the most fulsome, and grandiloquent language. One thing is true though, more amps will be using this technology

Rgcards, the B&O store here in Pasadena actually already had the Beolab 5s so I was able to audition them, albeit in a smallish showroom fronted by components heavier on form than function. But I was still very impressed much to my surprise and perhaps even chagrin, much like you. My understanding is that they use 4 different class D ICEmodules per speaker each customized for the particular driver to which it is driving. I think that is the future especially when SPDIF/PCM can be transmitted directly to the digitally optimized self powered speaker (so long Nordost Valhallas, thank you very much) converting to analog at the last available juncture. B&O has had the most experience with really well designed class D amps (since 1999) and isn't it interesting that they chose to apply their technology to self-powered speakers rather than free-standing amps.
I've had a chance to listen to several recent class D amps (Bel Canto, PS Audio, Spectron) and I will again say that I was surprised. There is an impressive price/performance ratio here, one that can only be good for the high end: transistors have goaded tubes into never sounding better; CD players have resurrected turntables, now arguably "ne plus ultra" front ends, and I'm sure the first well-executed class D amps will bring the stratospheric pricing of the status quo more into the line of the earthbound.
For what it's worth, the finest SS amps I have auditioned in my home so far have been the Halcro dm 58s, the Classe CAM 350 monoblocs, mono-bridged BEL 1001 MkVs and the Hovland Radia, the latter being my ultimate choice, mostly for my wife who prefers its sound for her remixes as she VJs for the private club scene here. Not to worry, the JA 100s standby, fired up and ready for when she returns seeking solace from the fray. Guess what her favotite amp is?

Iseekheils, your moniker is so trippy I have to ask what it connotes. Are you seeking Heils for Hitler or lamenting the demise of the eponymous speaker? Or maybe an odd phonetic rendering of Ezekiel? Whatever the case you should definitely mod your HCA-2s, especially with a tube driver input stage. Then again you could always buy something unheard, hyped, and "factory direct". After all "they're your Euros" as my alliterative Scandinavian associates are so kind to remind us "New Worlders".

Hey Khrys, would you be so kind as to post more detailed impressions of the class D and T amps you have heard? I'd love to hear them compared to the top notch SS stuff you have auditioned in your home, e.g. in terms of:
-frequency response at extremes
-midrange
-soundstaging
-dynamics
-subjective appeal/'musicality'
-or anything else

Khrys, I am the happy owner of a pair of "heils, ESS AMT 1 Towers, that I bought in the 70's. For a while I was "seeking" another pair, here and on ebay. But since ESS is still in business, I bought some speakers direct. I will also be purchasing a pair of their AMT's, so I can build a pair of speakers to bi-amp.
The guys at UHF magazine, after reviewing the Kithara, said that if they were going to build a cost no object speaker system, that they would build it around a heil.
I agree, and I'm going to try, within my budget. Hope this answers your query. Long live Oscar!
Sonny (not my real name either)