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

It's amazing how ignorant and nasty some people act.  The mono IceEdge modules cost almost $500 a pair with shipping and duty.  My chassis and copper and aluminum plates and drilling and front plate engraving cost way over $300.  Then there are expensive Furutech connectors, damping material, copper binding posts, exotic wire, etc. etc.  I have close to $1200 in parts in this amp.  The standard parts cost to retail is 5 times at least....so this would make a $6000 power amp that wholesale would be 60% or $3600.  Then there is the fact that the amp is hand made.  Totally tweaked modules, hand made wires, damping material measured and put on, etc. etc.  No one in the world would do such things (except me).  It is way over 10 hours labor to make one.

What would you charge for $1200 in parts, one year of development and 10 hours of tweaky labor?  Certainly not $2200 ($2134 after paypal fees) and offer a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee including paying for the shipping to the customer.  I certainly am not a good business man.  But I get by.

The best Mivera Purepower amp sold for $1900 with a single stereo stock module.  None of the tweaking and hand made stuff I do. 

Why can't people be nice?  We are better than this.  We can be really beautiful.  Life is a continuous blessing.  I hope you all tune into that channel.  Love and Joy is continuously present.  Please.....take it, feel it and live it.....it is who you are!

First of all, there's no difference between 2 x 1200AS1, and 1 1200AS2. I had 2 x 1200AS2 and 2 didn't sound better than 1. Just a waste of money. The $300 module sounds the same as 2 modules for $500.

Secondly, I tried many of the tweaks you mentioned myself. Since the connectors on the module are JST (tin), again, no improvement on the sound quality - even when using direct connect methods. Do you really think using solder instead of the JST connector makes a difference. All these tweaks amount to nothing, other than an excuse to inflate the price with the appearance of added value.

Forget about Manufacture warranty since you've modified the boards. What happens if the changes you've done to the boards causes damage to your clients other equipment (like speakers), are you going to cover the cost for that too?

These modules are so cheap that if the main fuse on the module goes, the manufacture won't even attempt to fix it, they just replace the module.

The only reason you chose these modules is because of their low OEM costs. Why didn't you pick a different module designed for Audiophiles?

Ric, sorry, but this kind of stuff from people without a clue is bound to surface
gfi, let me get this straight, if a 100 lemmings jumped off a cliff they were all smart? You come across as much smarter, but your GaN only mantra holds you back. BTW, I will have a 200w GaN prototype soon. Even if it is amazingly better, it will cost significantly more, and out of range of my budget.

hey golfnutz, what do you think is inside the $2999 PSAudio M700s?  Even if was 24 karat gold, it is simply not in the EVS 1200s class sonically. How do I know? I owned them, too

aber, maybe 12-15 years ago I bought 2 resistor ladder enumerators that EVS made. I'm not even sure whether I bought it direct from Ric, or second hand. The only contact since then was when I had questions about the amp several months ago and ordered it
One issue with class D that is not from a major brand would be resale value. I’ll never be the one to say I have purchased my final amp. 
In general I agree with you, but my Audio Alchemy DPA -1 or the DPA-1Ms (monos) which got fantastic reviews in The Absolute Sound way back in 2016, aren’t even bringing 50 cents on the dollar

So while Rics amp could fall price-wise on the used market, IMHO, it’s a risk worth taking. Keep in mind he is a boutique builder with a following: the $2200 EVS 1200 is a much better amp than the M700s (which are vg amps and a very good value @ $2999, but regularly sold used < $2000), so the EVS 1200 is likely to keep it’s value, and possibly even be worth a lot more to those who actually know what's what