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

Eric’s report of very long warm up time for ICEpower amps is similar to mine....

Glad to hear I am not alone.

Although with my old ROland M312 I started to hear better sound after one hour or so....

Ahhh! This reminds me of a JR Class D amp I heard years ago, cold. It was painful to listen to. It was only many years later that I went with all Class D and didn’t put the two together. Thanks!

E

I'd like to answer George (above):

Amps are adjusted and calibrated at the factory for peak performance after a short 1/2-1hr warm when they've reached operating temperature, even tubes, to say they sound better after hours and hours is a furphy.

With another quote of his from another thread:

Give it up be happy with yours, that you say you can't hear any problems with it. And let those that can, and have been down that path go the way they want.

Best,
E

I had a Parasound Zone Master Class D amp on loan to give an evaluation of.  It uses the ICE Power modules and in that particular case, it did sound better after a long warm up period or as Parasound told me at least a 200 hour break in period.  And although it did sound better, to me it still had a high frequency range harshness which I didn't like.  I removed it from service and put the A51 back in which of course is the Class A/AB amp and it was more pleasing to me.  The zone master did have a noticeable boost in low/mid range and it was a 600 watt per channel vs. 400 watt as in the A51 at 4 ohms.
However, when I installed my Class D Anthem M1 mono blocks, it was hands down no comparison in performance upgrade I heard immediately.  The M1's blew away everything, no harshness at all, better sound stage/imaging and monstrous immense power.  And no warm up needed, they just plain old sound fabulous.  Hey, who could ask for anything more than 2000 watts per channel? 

I had a Parasound Zone Master Class D amp on loan to give an evaluation of. It uses the ICE Power modules and in that particular case, it did sound better after a long warm up period or as Parasound told me at least a 200 hour break in period.

That's interesting. Also, here's the manufacturer, not George, telling you how long a warm up to expect. :)

Poor George, found wrong again.

I should point out it this is also interesting for me as I replaced Parasound A21s with IcePower. I could not hear a difference even knowing which was which.

Best,
E

     Concerning whether class D amp performance improves by leaving them constantly on 24/7, I tend to agree with erik_squires that there are sonic benefits.
     I initially turned all of my class D amps(2 stereo and a pair of monos all with linear toroidal power supplies) off each night, with amp off/down times varying between about 6 to 20 hrs/each.  It was fairly obvious to me that my class D amps required some warm-up span of time to reach their optimum performance levels once they had been turned off for 6-20 hrs. 

How long did they take to warm-up? 
I didn't record time trials but I subjectively recall a time range between about 15 minutes and an hour.
       After a few weeks, I then began just leaving them on 24/7 and I could clearly hear my amps remained at a optimally warmed-up performance level.right from the get-go.
     For accuracy sake, it should be noted that my perceptions of when my class D amps are optimally warmed-up is a subjective measurement based on my ears and amps so YMMV.
     I should also state that, even if this warm-up period of my amps was proven to me to be a 'placebo affect', I would continue to leave them on 24/7 simply due to the impressive simplicity and convenience  factors.
     The main point I want to make, however, is concerning the statements from slimpikins and georgehifi of " As far as warm up is concerned, I cannot hear any differences in a cold start up vs. the amp having been on for 4 hours... other than Bourbon has taken over and everything in the room is just better." 
     Besides this statement being mildly humorous, I'm not sure these gentlemen understand that their agreed upon confession logically leads to only one conclusion of leaving class D amps on 24/7.   
     Since turning class D amps off would result in insignificant electricity and monetary savings, and since both of these individuals are admittedly unable to discern the sonic differences between cold and optimally warmed-up class D amps, why would they not just leave these amps on 24/7 and gain/enjoy the dual benefits of simplicity and convenience?  
     Do they have a phobia of a highly unlikely fire?
     Are they overly sensitive to the minute levels of heat produced by idling class D amps?
     Are they adverse to the simplicity and convenience of having their amps perpetually and immediately operating at the first inputted source signals?
     Are they being overly argumentative due to personal biases against the current large crop of good class D amps because they're not yet perfected?
     I really don't understand.

Tim