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
Mapman: " Also I do not hear the issues George claims even at this modest cost."

Reports from those who do hear issues, with class D or T, are scarce. Rumor has it that georgehifi’s real father is an Australian sheep dog, perhaps he can hear dog whistles, too.
I’m still waiting to learn from georgehifi exactly what these supposed class D sonic shortcomings actually sound like. His very rare previous descriptions were so vague that they’re meaningless.
Has anyone else claimed to hear these issues besides him? I don’t recall anyone else chiming in to claim they hear issues with class D. I faintly recall a single poster, who didn’t have a user name of georgehifi, claiming they listened to some D amps stating that ’something was missing’ or ’it lacked soul’ but nothing specific that could be relied upon with any confidence nor even be considered a corroborating anecdotal description since I believe this was claimed only by a single poster.

Tim

Actually not to take sides with anyone, but I have heard the sound that George mentions. However I hear this problem with all classes of amps, who use certain chassis. Chassis can and often do play a role in mid and upper end distortion. So do transformers being to close to caps.

If you take your amp (any amp) apart and spread out the components you will be able to find the distortion cause by component cramping.

Class D amps in their little squeezed boxes have problems, but also problems come with these smaller boards used.

I like Class D a lot, and there are lots of advantages over A and AB as far as mass goes obviously but there are more steps to take in the mechanics of most of these amps that have a ways to go. I'm working on a few of these issues as we speak and can say with almost certainty the amp I will use for our Rev Combo will be Class D, the low end amp already is Class D.

Again a very important thread, minus any absolute opinions. There's good in all but sometimes we over look the simple things when designing.

Michael Green

Hello Michael,,

     Very nice post with some very interesting information and thoughts from a system tuner's perspective.
     As a layman, I think it's an important reminder that designing and engineering a good sounding audio amp, regardless of type, requires making many good smaller decisions (based on one's knowledge, experience and goals) all contributing to the final amp creation's sound.
     Designing very good class D amps seems to be especially difficult since amp designers must make decisions based not only on their acquired experience and knowledge of traditional amp design but also must gain experience and knowledge of how to incorporate the newer and higher performing component parts into their designs.
Thank you,
   Tim
Tossing arguably superior circuits or eval boards into a box will not likely make for a superior product providing a lasting satisfaction. Designers care about circuit board layout, trying to minimize circuit trace paths from RFI and noise perspectives. And then there are the vibration control and global noise/RFI isolation and reduction issues that come into play.
Thanks for the insight MG,

Nord was offering an upgrade billet chassis (I think for the NCore only), but it’s no longer posted as an option

I read another review citing power cord sensitivity. I changed one out and did get a substantial overall more organic presentation.

Based on that, last night I swapped out a Surfer Cable XLR (silver; a very good value @ $150), but when I replaced it with a PS Audio copper XLR (not sure which model, but I own it) it took about an hour to saturate, before the music refocused. Tonal tilt now favors of the midrange/base, and a lot more fuzz on the peach. It’s the kind of improvement I would expect if I can ever find a Audio Alchemy PS 5, outboard power supply for my AA Dac/Pre