Class D is just Dandy!


I thought it was time we had a pro- Class D thread. There's plenty of threads about comparisons, or detractors of Class D.

That's fine, you don't have to like Class D amps, and if you don't please go participate on one of those threads.

For those of us who are very happy and excited about having musical, capable amps that we can afford to keep on 24/7 and don't require large spaces to put them in, this thread is for you.

Please share your experiences with class D amps!
erik_squires
I always liked your handle, islandmandan.  Maybe the noise you are hearing is the tropical breeze blowing though the palm trees.  Please don't spoil it for me if you are on Long or Staten Island.
George
Happy to see a thread "celebrating" this technology.  I have a Taranis Class D power amp from Merrill Audio.   Apart from the sheer power this thing supplies, I'm very impressed with the quality of bass from Totem Forests when driven by it. I think outstanding bass quality might well be a hallmark of Class D design.  The Totems' bass is impressive to begin with - especially considering their driver size, but the Taranis takes them to another level.  Bass is deeper and fuller than with either the solid state integrated I was using (Hegel H-200) or my EL-34/78WPC tube mono blocks.  The Taranis makes using a subwoofer with the Forests truly unnecessary for most (most) recorded material.  I also like the fact Merrill has produced a balanced design.  Having recently brought a Schiit Freya pre-amp into the system, I can now run balanced outputs from CDP & DAC into the Freya and from Freya into the Taranis.  Balanced, to my ear, is associated with a less fatiguing and cleaner sound.  The Taranis certainly allows long listening sessions; I don't experience listener fatigue using it.  Add to that cool running and no reliability issues, so far.  I did attempt a review of it here on A'gon. shortly after buying it.  Thanks very much to Audiogon member D. Patterson for getting me started thinking about Class D (he's been something of an audio mentor - intentionally or not!).  Thanks also to Guidocorona for pointing me towards the Taranis and Merrill Audio.  
I have a Class D Ampeg bass amp. It's tiny for 350 watts. Thought I'd toss that one in there, and I'm hoping it counts.
Gents,
I had a pal construct a Class D amp in a nice wood cabinet that set me back the princely sum for $125.  It won a blind comparison against a pricey Class A ss amp at a gathering of the Bay Area Audio Society.  I initially felt the sound of the amp was rather dry sounding compared to my tube amps, but upon further listening, I conclude that it has a very neutral sonic signature.  However, this 125 wpc amp, paired with a Don Sachs 6SN7-based tube preamp, is a wonderful combination.  It drives my Dali Zensor 3 speakers with ease with great detail and extension.

I believe Class D amps are clearly the wave of the future.  They run so cool and efficiently and the new wave of designs I suspect will be able to mimic attributes of the sound of tube gear that so many of us like.