Class D Amplification Announcement

@phd Ha! You're feeding into the hype! 

Class A and Class AB will never be obsolete in the second-hand market. Sometimes I wonder if it's not wiser to score a Denon/Yamaha/Pioneer/Onkyo/NAD amp for $100 on the used market and pair that with sufficiently good speakers and call it a day. 

I might be diverting the conversation towards budget gear and vintage gear. But I would love a comparison between a vintage A/B amp and a cheap China amp using class D. 

To me the high end is clouded in a veneer of romanticism and craftsmanship. For example people who buy expensive tube amplifiers are not interested in getting the best performance metrics. They're looking for a unique experience. This may explain why some audiophiles have several different amps/speakers/turntables and DACs for different experiences. It's just nice to switch it up. 

I'll only say that if I was searching in the sub $3K integrated category I haven't heard anything that touches the new Technics g700m2.  You can drop it into a reference system and call it whatever class of amp you want.  I played with the NAD M33 for a while, found it sterile, and moved on.  I've also got stuff from Gold Note, Naim,  McGary, Backert Labs and Linear Tube Audio in the house and the Technics is no joke on a par.  Is presentation different?  Sure.  But I'll be damned if it isn't difficult to pick a winner.

@mervo "The LAPC and JENO circuits are real tech."

YES!  I was playing with the LAPC last night.  It's pretty impressive.

@badgerdms agree on the NAD stuff being sterile. I have had a couple and ended up either selling them or sending them to University with one of my kids.

The Cambridge EVO series peaks my interest but at that price I can get the Simaudio ACE and have a nice kit for the garage. 
 

Tried a cheap Chinese class D amp once just to see what all the fuss is about.  It sounded good but created RF noise that was picked up by my ham radio transceiver so I tossed it in the can.