Is D for Dry? Class D...

@nitrobob   Congratulations on what sounds like a great system! I had Caliber XDs stacked on 2 Foundation subs driven by Wavelet before I went up to Valor and the results were both earth-shattering and musically fantastic.  The subs require good break-in to sound their best, 250+ hours and they are even tighter, more impactful, graceful and musical then straight OOTB.

As I understand it, the i.V2 may be at Ultra build level by its design (check with Legacy).

For the other Ultra models, instead of using one 1200AS2 stereo board as I understand it to drive 2 channels (so 2 boards in a 4ch, 3 in a 6ch and 4 in an 8ch), the Ultra doubles down and uses an entire 1200AS2 board to drive a single channel. The results are noticeable for 2, 3 and 4 ch listening, dynamics, etc.   I'm a customer and have learned as I proceeded up the line so please check with Legacy for all details.

Zephyr
Thanks, I was thinking it was a hopped up version. I believe your right on the IV-2, as my dealer said one of the benefits of going IV-2 and IV-5 instead of sending my V-5 back in to be upgraded to a V-7 would be the extra 400 watts to my Focus’s. (600 up to 1000 each). Jealous of your Valors.   LOL ..
BTW I don't know what your using in the back but the Phantom HD's was quite a surprise.. I strongly suggest them. 
And thanks for the heads up on the break in ..

Is there anything between the mid three figures and the low four figures that A) offers high wattage, and B) sounds good?

Class D sounds dry and lifeless... thats all, carry on

The one I'm playing sounds neutral, smooth and relaxed, very transparent without any dryness at all.


Class D amps vary in sound in much the same way that tube amps do (SET vs push-pull vs OTL and so on...). To assume they all sound the same is really ridiculous. But to be clear, some (especially older designs) do sound dry; it was years before I could take class D seriously.

@atmasphere +1 on that,....well said!

@nitrobob  Thanks,....I used to have a very large, complex, costly and (I thought) great-sounding/viewing 7.1 HT and 2-ch hybrid system up until late 2008-2009.  I missed 2-ch music whenever I was immersed in a movie and also was tired of chasing the ever-evolving standards in multi-channel audio and home theater decoding standards, pre-processing, post-processing, video standards and all they bring along, etc...so I've stuck to 2-channel fully since 2009.  I did love the sport of home theater so to speak however my listening and system building has given me much more happiness ever since choosing only 1 addiction to chase :-)