Is D for Dry? Class D...

Congratulations on the Raven,....Dave and the crew at Raven Audio build some amazing amps. I've lusted after the Shaman Mk2 monoblocks more than once (and the Silhouette Mk2s). They make great sounding gear that gives the best of tubes,....

zephyr24069,
Thanks for sharing your experience.  I am about to order the Rouge Audio Studio N-10DM which is very similar to your Legacy IV, according to ricevs.  Look at his site, tweakaudio.com, with its link to Rouge.  Due to break in, I might even order a second unit, so I can compare to Ric's mods which he claims improve stock amps.  Cost for the stock N-10DM only $1550.  With Ric's mod, $2100.  Pretty cheap interesting R&D for $3650 total.  Poster tweak1 has Ric's EVS1200 which beats all amps he has had.  Too bad his EVS1200 thread was deleted.

I suspect Ric is being modest in saying that the EVS1200 or other IceEdge 1200 models are merely excellent FOR THE MONEY.  I had the Merrill Veritas and Element 114.  They were warmer and tubelike compared to my Mytek Brooklyn Amp.  They certainly would be preferred by certain listeners, but for crisp neutrality I look elsewhere.  I asked Ric to name one amp at any price that he has personally A/B'ed to be better in clarity than these IceEdge amps, and so far no word.  I offer you the same challenge.

Even Mike Fremer in his PS Audio M1200 (another IceEdge 1200) review noted that its bass was as tight and accurate as anything he has heard.  He also said the HF were similarly detailed.  My belief is that electrons don't have preferences, so if bass is tight/accurate then the rest of the range--the harmonic overtones--will be likewise.  Many people like tight bass, but then some of them complain that accurate midrange/HF sounds wiry, sterile, dry, etc.  They don't realize that live, unamplified instruments sound that way, but they are used to most speakers which are dull in comparison.  It depends on perspective.  If they think speakers are correct, then yes, live/unamped instruments and voices ARE dry and sterile.  But if your frame of reference is live/unamped instruments and voices, then nearly all audio systems are dull and excessively warm/bloated.

Unfortunately, the high end audio business caters to the misconceptions of audiophiles who think that big money buys great sound.  They spend more time at audio shows and dealers than experiencing live performances anywhere--large or small concert halls, outdoors on the street.  Great times for those like we who know about great class D, and IceEdge 1200 in particular.  

Hi @edgewound 

Thanks for your reply.
I mean Class D is much cheaper to build, particularly for big power outputs.  So Class D manufacturers put them out at a third of the price or less of Class AB and a small fraction of Class A.
Class D is therefore a shortcut to big power but not to good sound.
There is more to designing an amp than big power.

Wise people speak of 'something' and 'nothing'.

First, the price for quality class D (or all things, including food) is much higher due to world-wide money inflation: thank you world monetary 'leaders'= banksters. Now...
I am one of the very lucky few to have made the leap of faith roughly 2 years ago, that ric had so improved the stock IcePower 1200 modules with his amazing circuit and parts knowledge when he came out with his EVS 1200, but the amp alone may not bring happiness. Case in point...
Prior to purchasing the EVS 1200 I upgraded my Oppo 105 with a Linear Power Module + replaced the OEM IEC with a rhodium IEC that has a stiff heavy gauge silver tail attached to the LPM and a silver jumper bypassing the 110/220 power switch (all from ebay). Easy peasy DIY. Huge improvement for~ $400

I was/am using a Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS -5 (outboard power supply). The IC from 105 to DDP-1 is a WireWorld series 7 XLR (my system is 100% diff balanced). As much as I rave/d about the EVS 1200, the sound I was hearing was a bit hot and the sound stage was not as big as I thought it should be, but I put up with it thinking it was the dac in the DDP-1, which I was/am not in a position to replace. Anyway...

Some 9 months ago I compared my Wire World optical cable (MSRP $165) to a uber expensive optical cable that I borrowed, which was/is glorious. Why, was well beyond what I could comprehend, but after a few months I had to return it. What I failed to do was reconnect my WW optical cable, and so was not listening to the DDP-1 dac, instead all the redbook music was playing via the stock internal 105 dac.

About a month ago I realized the optional DDP-1 filters were not engaging on my remote. WTH? So... I reconnected the WW optical cable and all my redbook CDs took on a much wanted roundness (bass was improved), plus a very deep and wide 3D sound stage. After a few minutes I decided to replace an old  Modwright(?) multi-stranded, unjacketed PC with my WW Eclipse power cord. That, too was not subtle, a huge improvement over the Modwright.

Moral of the story (for me at least) was: cables I had on hand took my EVS 1200 to an even higher level than I thought
hth

Thanks tweak1 for your informative post.  You prefer a little roundness in sound obtained from the WW optical cable.  With the other cable, you described the EVS1200 as sounding "a bit hot" which is music to my ears.  If its soundstage was not as big, that is expected from an accurate amp which focuses the instruments to sound thinner or more pinpoint.  The opposite of this effect is most pronounced in euphonic tube amps which bloat all the sound, making images larger on a bloated soundstage.  More subtlely, euphonic SS amps or other components inflate images slightly with the overlay of fuzzy warmth not present in the natural unamplified instruments.

Ric now writes that the Rouge Audio Studio N-10DM with his mods will yield the same sound as his original EVS1200, for roughly the same money, $2100, without the euphonic tube stage of the already excellent PS Audio M1200.  Fabulous.