New Class D amplifiers

@erik_squires 48 hours on to sound best for probably the  same reason I leave my pre and CDP on 24/7. They run so cool it takes forever for them to warmup and sound their best. Since I leave them on all the time I turn off and unplug for about 30 seconds once a month. Seems to be beneficial.

The sound signature of your system comes mainly from your pre-amp....Go Tube pre with a good class D GANFET amp and you’ll love what comes out.

@grantgg: I am surprised that neither you, in your quite lengthy list of Class-D amps (including integrated models), nor has anyone else contributing to this forum’s thus-far two pages of discussion on this topic, mentioned the now quite widely advertised HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier. which is admittedly a rather unusual-looking piece of Class-D audio equipment with its gear-driven volume control and other SteamPunk-like features (some liken its appearance to the high-end Swiss manufacturer Nagra’s equipment).

This Seoul, South Korea-based company claims that it is using a new variety of solid-state transistors, gallium nitride (GaN) FET transistors in place of the standard silicon ones, which for technical reasons are claimed to greatly improve the sound of traditional Class-D amplifiers, which suffer from time-delay problems associated with using silicon-based transistors.

Julie Mullins of Stereophile Magazine published a review of the HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier on December 2, 2022 - take a look at her in-depth review here: HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier | Stereophile.com.

I’m surprised no one else posting here has mentioned this particular integrated amp, which is quite feature-laden, including its ability to drive biamplifed speakers.

You will get all kind of opinions but bottom line is you have to try it and see if a class d amp works for you. It has for me for many years and I have heard it all at shows, dealers. Etc. Everyone has a spin. Bottom line is class d is as viable as anything and in many cases more affordable. Not to mention more efficient, generally smaller and easy to deal with. Only you can decide. I can only recommend you do.

I “downsized” to a Cambridge Evo 150 (Hypex based) recently based on positive press and glad I did. Read the readily available info and reviews. No BS there. It sounds and works exactly as advertised. Good luck deciding! So many good ways to go with Class D these days. It’s a better time than ever to be an audiophile !

I had a listening session with a friend just yesterday!  Pure bliss!   Couldn’t ask for more.   

This Seoul, South Korea-based company claims that it is using a new variety of solid-state transistors, gallium nitride (GaN) FET transistors in place of the standard silicon ones, which for technical reasons are claimed to greatly improve the sound of traditional Class-D amplifiers, which suffer from time-delay problems associated with using silicon-based transistors.

A solution in search of a problem. The best performing class d amps on the market today do not use GaN fets.