The Truth about Modern Class D

I enjoy Class D and I'm a tube guy. 

The front end of my winter system is a Primaluna Dialogue HP Integrated running either EL34 variants or KT150s.  It's just too much heat and electricity for the summer in my dedicated third floor room.  I have a roof mounted AC unit that is pretty quiet, which I could crank up but that seems wasteful and I like the changing of system front end every 2 seasons. 

In the warmer months, I am running a Schitt Freya tube preamp with an NAD M22 power amp--Class D.  I won't belabor things with long explanations about the sound. Instead, I'll just say the Class D "summer rig" is pleasant and isn't the abject, non-musical failure that some would seem to suggest in this Class D and other Class D posts.  

As a side note, I'm super curious to see if a Primaluna or similar/better tube preamplifier would be better than the Schitt.  The Freya sounds great and only has a few drawbacks to me (i.e. power button on the rear of the unit, volume control intentionally makes clicking noise as you advance it up or down, no 12v trigger out).  

I will note that the Schitt/NAD M22 combo sounds way better with vinyl feeding my Manley Chinook than it does with Tidal feeding an NAD M51 DAC.  But, I would say the same thing if the Primaluna integrated were swapped in for the Schitt/NAD M22 combo.  

I would have Paid $50.00 more dollars for an On/Off Switch in the front on the Freya. A 12V Trigger would have been a Bonus as well.Don't mind the clicking volume to much but you got to remember it goes to ZERO when ya mute it.Spent a couple of days trying to figure out why my Front Speakers quit working after installing an XBOX.Seems I accidentally hit the Mute Button on my Harmony 650 Remote.

At $699 it’s got what it takes under the hood, Mike Moffat is no fool, he made Theta digital what it is when it was on top. What he’s done with Schiit is hiend at lowend pricing, using volume to make his profit.
He’s giving Italian V12 quadcam horsepower but with US V8 supercharged iron and no glitz and glamour.
$50 more for front switch, a $100 for a smarter chassis, $50 for a more expensive remote, all of a sudden your over a grand and it sounds the same.

Cheers George

Yes George ,you are correct about those costs adding up, but, I would still have loved that front switch option.
The nice thing about the Freya is it showed up quickly in The Harmony Data Base so
I have a nice remote on hand for what functions it does have.
I have gotten a lot quicker at reaching behind and through the wires at the back of the Freya to turn it on and off.
I really have no complaints,and even though marketed as Hi-End at Low-End pricing ,
 for this Budget Audiophile  it IS Hi-End.
and its got Tubes..

I caught up on this 2018 version of Class D amp discussion from @erik_squires. Same talking points from a lot of the same contributors—right down to cut ‘n paste posts, analogies and jokes from other Class D threads. I found a few kernels of wisdom, though, to make reading every post worthwhile. My favorite? Post by @douglas_schroeder about his parallel IC method and the response by @erik_squires. 😂😂