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Which Class D Amplifier? PS Audio, Ghent, Nord, Merrill or other???

I’m looking for a new amp & want Class D.

I’ve seen various brands mentioned, such as PS Audio, Ghent, Nord, Merrel to name a few, but I’ve not heard any of them.

Which company is producing the best sounding Class D?
Which models should I be looking to demo?


Thanks



singintheblues
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 

Hello singintheblues, as others suggested, it would be useful if you can tell us your amp budget, the rest of your system, and what tone concept yours might be.... Class D amplifiers are as different as there are amps.


I am personally extremely fond of class D amplifiers designed/manufactured by Jeff Rowland.... They range from approximately $2500 for the M125 stereo/bridgeable model to some $58K for his top of the line M925 mono, which I own and dearly love. IMO the sweet spot of the Rowland line might be the M535 stereo/bridgeable at just under $6K.... A truly remarkable device... I am preparing a detailed write up on it to be posted to Audiogon. Yes, Rowland does have a UK distributor.... So, please tell us more about your requirements and preferences.


Regards, Guido



  

sixsigmaguy
15 posts
 
Not class D but I replaced a PS Audio Amp with a Benchmark Media Amp and the improvement was dramatic. I couldn't be happier with Benchmark.
smoorenc's avatar
smoorenc
48 posts
 
I love my PS Audio's Stellar pre-amp and amp driving Tannoy's.  PS Audio is hard to beat for the sound/cost value.
genesis777
112 posts
 
The Red Dragon 500 are excellent amps.
noble100's avatar
noble100
2,419 posts
 
     To date, I've used 3 different class D amps on my fairly inefficient and older Magnepan 2.7QR speakers (87db @1 watt):

ClassD Audio SDS-CS440 stereo amp. 44O W/CH at 4 ohms.

Emerald Physics EP-100.2SE stereo amp.  150 W/CH at 4 ohms.

D-Sonic M600 M3-600M mono block amps.  1,200 W/CH at 4 ohms.

     All drove my speakers well, have a decidedly neutral and accurate sound quality with noticebly better bass response and dynamics than my prior and decent quality class AB amps (McCormack and Aragon). 
     I'm currently using the D-Sonic on them because they sound the best to me due to the superior 3-D sound staging, life-like dynamic impact, tonal balance and the overall sense that you are at the venue or the musicians are in my room.  
      D-Sonic has replaced the M3-600M monos with their M3a-600M model which the owner, Dennis Deacon, stated now utilizes newer  Pascal class D modules instead of the original's Abletec/Anaview modules for what he described as a subtle improvement. 
     I've listened to the Bel Canto Design Ref600M amps in a friend's system and they are also very good with an overall sound quality that's very similar to the original D-Sonic.
     Please list your system, needs and budget for more specific suggestions.
Thanx,
  Tim  
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