Time to buy a class D amp?

Hello niodari,

     I've never listened to any Cherry, Nuprime or ATI amps, but I've read good reviews on all of them.  I don't currently have any knowledge or experience that would lead me to think any one of them is the best.
     I know there are a lot of good quality class D amps, such as the ones you mentioned, as well as many others.
    My suggestion is to do as much research as you can on class D amps by reading audio forum discussions on class D amps as well as owner and professional reviews online.  Start a list or spreadsheet of all possible candidates that lists Company, Model Number, Type(monoblock or stereo), Condition (new or used),Price and a Notes section for important related info.  You can also do Google searches on particular brands/models to obtain more specific and even comparison info.
     I'll get you started by listing some good quality class D companies to consider and other thread readers, hopefully, will chime in with others to consider.  Since I don't know your budget, I can't currently limit my suggestions by price but it's very useful if you could post your budget as well as primary usage (music, HT or both), number of desired channels (monoblock single channel, stereo 2-ch or multi-ch with ? channels).
     Here's my starter list:

ATI
Acoustic Imagery
Anthem
Arcam
Atmasphere (first class D amp from this tube amp company.  Release date TBD.)
Bel Canto
B&K Audio
Cherry
Channel Islands
Class D Audio
Classe
Devialet
D-Sonic
Hypex (class D power module and power supply manufacturer for DIY amp kits) 
James Romeyn (Hypex NCore400 amp kit builder)
Kii Audio
Linn
Lyndorf
Marantz
Merrill Audio
Mola Mola
NAD
Nord 
Red Dragon (all new upgraded models coming late 2019.)
Outlaw
Peachtree
Primare
Purifi
Rogue Audio
Sunfire
Theta
Wyred 4 Sound


Have fun,
 Tim





    
     
 
 

I've owned 3 class d amps over the past five years.  The Crown XLS 2000 at $500 did some things right and some things wrong: good low end, ok midrange, bright top end, huge soundstage but two dimensional, and somewhat blurred detail...but for $500....kept this amp for several years.


I also owned a Nuprime STA-9...their class a/class d hybrid said to emulate the tube sound; $700, better low end...better detail...slightly more three dimensional but somewhat bright (in my system at least) in the upper midrange and top end....kept this amp for a couple months.

Now I own the Digital Amplifier Company 2Cherry...$2400 (for the past 6 months)...and for that increase in price, you would hope/expect that things would be a lot better...and they are, the best amp (including tube amps and class a/ab amps) that I have ever owned (so far?).  Great detail, great clarity, great soundstage, life like realism (in my system with Salk loudspeakers with RAAL tweeters).  No weaknesses...not a hint of brightness.

My advice...since amps DO sound different....and since class d amps are generally lighter in weight and less expensive to return....try 2 or 3 of them at the same time and send those back that don't give you the sound you are looking for....$50+- if return freight is nothing compared to getting to hear them in your home, on your system with your music.

snapsc:
"My advice...since amps DO sound different....and since class d amps are generally lighter in weight and less expensive to return....try 2 or 3 of them at the same time and send those back that don't give you the sound you are looking for....$50+- if return freight is nothing compared to getting to hear them in your home, on your system with your music."


     I think this is a good idea once you narrow your list down to amps you'd like to audition.  Most class D amps are sold internet direct and offer free in-home trial periods for a certain number of weeks stipulating you can return it for a full refund with no questions asked, and sometimes with free return shipping.  But I agree with snapsc that even paying a reasonable charge is worth it to hear it in your system and room.
     You could even add a column for "Trial Period" that lists the offered in-home trial period in days or weeks.  The only downside is that, in my experience, class D amps take a while to properly 'break-in' and perform optimally which could be longer than the trial period.  However, the three class D amps I own sounded very good right out of the box but still kept improving in sound quality over a number of weeks after until the sound quality stabilized at each amp's optimum quality level.  The danger being that the ultimately best sounding amp just happens to have the longest 'break-in' time and the in-home trial period was too short for you to discover this.
    All of my class D amps have been on 24/7 for over 5 years now and are still operating flawlessly (knock on my head).  I suspect their low internal operating temps likely only increases their lifespans but this currently lacks scientific, objective and independent validation.  If longevity concerns you, you could also add a column on your list for warranty length and terms.

Good luck,
    Tim

Thanks indeed, Tim and @snapsc for your comments! 

I did not know, Tim, that all these brands produce Class D amps.
It would be virtually impossible to verify all of them (but will make a search for some of them) and given that i live in Mexico, buying and returning would not be really feasible. 

Although I am not yet completely convinced that it is already time to buy (another)  class D amp, i am still desperate to try one more because i like class D concept. I listen to 2-channel systems (no home theater!)  and could take an option of a stereo amp or monoblocks. Naturally, i would only consider a candidate with a high coefficient *performance/price* according to my vision of class D concept. 

@snapsc, your impressions on 2-Cherry after trying two other (known for me) class D amps are important for me. I was also inclined to a Cherry amp. The biggest and supposedly best one is Megaschino  (should be very good at $6900 in class D), then comes Gold Cherry with the same price i think and Cherry 2 with a much more accessible price. My question is, which of these three models maximize ratio  *performance/price* ?
Did someone compare these three? 

Hey niodari,

     If you're looking for the highest performance/price class D amp and don'[t mind buying used, I think the Merrill Audio Veritas monoblocks are a great option to consider.  Reviews on these amps claim they're among the best performing amps available regardless of amp type or price. They sold new a few years ago for $12,000/pair but I've recently seen numerous ads from owners with an average asking price of about $5,000/pair.
     Merrill audio recently came out with a new lineup of Element amps utilizing extremely fast switching GaN transistors that virtually eliminate 'dead-time' which significantly reduces distortion and improves sound quality. These include the Element 114 which is a stereo amp priced at $15,000 and 2 monoblocks,  the Element 116 and Element 118 priced at $23,000 and $36,000/pair respectively. 
      I'm thinking  the reason numerous ads are appearing for used pairs of Veritas amps is due to current owners of Veritas monoblocks planning on buying one of the Element amps and are selling their Veritas monoblocks in preparation. I strongly believe you'll prefer the sound quality performance of the Veritas amps over the Cherry amps but I can't know this with certainty.  Here's one of many good reviews on th Veritas:

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/merrill-audio-veritas-monoblock-amplifiers-are-all-class-d-amplifiers-the-same/


Tim