Class D amps seem poised to take over. Then what?

@jtgofish

I have owned lots of hi-end amps, both tube and SS, system is all true balanced kit. Currently (npi) I own (2 years now) a class D EVS1200 based on IceEdge dual AS1200 modules, but lots of tweaks by Ric Schultz. It is a fantastic amp, not at all phasey, with very good imaging. That said, UPS will be delivering my LAS Voyager GaN amp today. I can’t wait to hear whether it is THAT much better to deserve the hype from new owners. It is already broken in, but will give a couple days warm up, at which point I will start my own thread

The other problem I am hearing is how mechanical it sounds.I hooked up my Gale 401s which are famous for their rhythm, groove and timing and now they sound like the music is being played by robots! I would have never thought any amp could do that but somehow it is.To me that indicates some fundamentals are really srewed up.

They probably are! But I think you also know that convention solid state amps can have problems as well as tube amps. Class D is no different in that regard- they can sound quite different depending on the design. We have a class D amp here in the shop that sounds for lack of a better expression, dead. But I have a pair of class D amps at home that sound very musical and lively. So If I were you, I'd continue auditioning amps (if you are otherwise interested in this technology) until you find something that ticks all the boxes.

Ralph,I trust your ears and judgement.
Any suggestions of Class D that have decent image depth and musical engagement?The only one I have heard which I thought sounded OK was a Hypex based Nord but that was only briefly at a hi fi show so I would need to listen longer and to my own music to confirm that impression.I do wonder if in trying to make the Purifi "perfect" [well measure perfect] they have overcooked it and made it worse.

Read my review of the Legacy Audio i.V4  Ultra at Dagogo.com 
Gorgeous with all genres of speakers 

Any suggestions of Class D that have decent image depth and musical engagement?

IMO the problem with Bruno's modules is that he makes them available for anyone to cook up the input circuit. Many designers have with really variable results! Almost any class D module is going to need some sort of gain and impedance matching at its input since the typical comparitor input (and all class D circuits have a comparitor) is often only about 2KOhms; far too low for most preamps and needing some level at the same time.

So that's one variable. You hope that whomever designed the input circuit knows what they are doing.

The other issue IME/IMO is the power supply. Unless you have an enormous manufacturing budget and can spring for a custom designed switching power supply, if you have a switching power supply its likely to have current limiting issues which can shoot down the amplifier design. For this reason I recommend looking for class D amps that have a lower tech power supply using a conventional power transformer and rectifiers.

So a Hypex can sound great if these issues are properly attended. That is why you hear such variable reports about Bruno's modules (UCD, Hypex and Purifi).

You've probably been hearing about the AGD Audion- all the reports I've heard about this amp indicate that its excellent (not heard it myself).