The NAD M33 will cancel your complaints about Class D

I have had two Devialets, previous NAD generation and various other class D bits and pieces. Can’t stand them for that very reason: tonal balance. Nothing wrong with them. So I disagree. D is not yet there. High end is not about class D yet. 

Admittedly I haven’t heard the M33, the latest Lyngdorf or any other Eigentakt hardware. But reading Darko’s review (not first person experience, agreed), one word strikes a cord: out of the box the amplifier sounds a bit lean. Darko had to make good use of Dirac to get it to play to his taste.

And I remember my days with Devialet and WA Duettes. One had to buy the garden hose variety power cord because Devialet was very fussy about mains quality. A power regenerator would be even better. Only Transparent Reference would do as a digital cable. A lot of people would vouch for Entreq grounding products. Silly expensive speaker cables (I had to get to 15K Transparent Reference XXL to bear the sound) but even then, sitting down, I would end up dissecting and reasoning, not enjoying the music. 

A clear trend emerged where people would go to great lengths and spend silly money to convince themselves that this class D or that was the bees knees and they really enjoyed the sound when in fact they would equalise, filter and tune the sound to try and compensate for the inherent class D flaws. 
Also the Devialet was an absolute nightmare for all other Hi-Fi components - I think it was injecting a lot of junk in the mains. Even my TV was suffering, until I got a power plant. 

Someone hasn’t heard anything better than his/ her Devialet. Have they tried a Gryphon Diablo, a Pass Int or any number of other serious integrated A/B amps? Maybe and of course in the end it’s all a matter of taste.


 I would certainly love to have an anorexic, slim, cool and power efficient amp, possibly an all in one solution to get rid of all the big, heavy and geeky looking boxes in the lounge (no, I am not into HiFi porn). Devialet would have been my ultimate Hi-Fi system if it would have delivered ultimate sound. Everything else was superb, if bling. I sold it within 6 months of trying, really trying to convince myself I was enjoying its sound. 

I auditioned both the Gryphon Diablo and Aavik U-300 when looking for a top class all in one solution. In the end I went with the Aavik. It was close and had I just been looking for amplification alone it would have been even closer. The DAC and Phono stage in the Aavik were better however to my ears.

Both are fabulous products.

Happy Thanks giving,the music will tell the story,get what sounds good to you,and do the research!