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

tweak said..."I'm missing something reading your post. Once PS goes direct prices should be lowered by the same amount dealers were getting."

McGowan already said on the PSA forums that prices will not be lowered...meaning...no  discounts any longer.   

I only have extended experience with the Nord NC500 Mk II monoblocks. I have found these to take a LONG time to burn in. They really started to sound there best after several months of use - maybe 1000 hours or so. Anyone that comes to the conclusion that class D sucks after a few days or even a few weeks of use (assuming a new unit) is not getting a true perspective of what they are capable of. 

I find these amps to provide excellent, maybe even exceptional, value. They are very quiet, detailed, dynamic, have great bass, lots of headroom, and, of course, are lightweight, cool, and efficient.

But I don't think they are for everyone. They are very neutral sounding - some would call this sterile. They don't have the gutsy upper bass and sweet midrange that many class A & A/B amps have. But a lot of this has to do with system synergy. 

I recently acquired a Parasound JC-5. This amp is not lightweight, cool running, or efficient. It's also more than double the price of the Nords. But it does have a more pleasing sonic signature in my system, and a wider and deeper sound stage. To me, this is worth the cost, size, and lack of efficiency, but I can certainly see the Nords being a great fit for many audiophiles. Once fully burned in, they are really pretty damn good.

Tweak

As stayed earlier, Paul already said MSRP is the price. When I was shopping for M700s earlier this year, the $2200 you mentioned is about $400 higher than the quotes I was getting. The BHK series was heavily discounted ( around 36-40%). I can see how PSA wants to keep prices high.

The BHK250 was on my radar, however, if I were to spend $7500 there are a lot of other optionsthat hold value better ( I’ll never bet that I am buying a final- lifetime piece of equipment ). $4500 - $5500 will be my limited if all goes as planned. Lots of options there as well. 

The M700 are something I would keep even after I upgraded since I have various uses ( ceiling speakers, deck, landscape, etc).

Ahem, here's what I said: clearly I was NOT referring to the M700 prices

However, listening to the Ric Schultz EVS 1200 for only 2 days, it is in an entirely different class and at $2200 it's like stealing. That said, they are built to order in small batches.

Just for the benefit of those who are not familiar with PS Audio’s business model:  They have a trade-in program where they discount the product you are buying by the original MSRP of the product you are trading in, up to a limit which is about 30% of the list priceof the piece you are buying.  I’ve used this offer twice, once for a pair of M700’s and once for an S300. In both cases I was able to get the maximum discount in return for an old and obsolete piece of equipment that I was no longer using and that could have been sold in the used market for no more than a couple of hundred dollars.  This is not as good as just getting 30 or 40 or 50% off from a dealer, but it is certainly better than paying list price.

And, yes, I think the PS Audio class D amps sound very good.  I am using the M700’s in my main system with a BHK preamp and Directstream DAC (also from PS Audio) and am very happy with the results.