T+A Class D Amps ( M200 or A200)?


For somewhat idiosyncratic reasons, i am considering (i) moving my NAD M33, which I quite like, out of my main system where it is powering DALI Epicon 6s and dedicating it to powering a new pair of Revel Performa 226Be that are in a somewhat smaller room (15’x25’ with 8.5-9’ ceilings and fewer windows) with better acoustics and (ii) taking the NAD C399 that currently runs the Revels and using it just as a pre-amp/streamer/DAC (which it is pretty well suited to, despite lacking balanced outputs) and for a pair of T+A M200 mono blocks for the Epicons.

My thought is that both sets of speakers will be happier with these changes.

Has anybody here auditioned a T+A class D and not liked it?  (I think I can get the M200s on a 30-day trial at just the cost of round trip shipping, which given their slight weight shouldn’t be too bad.)

FWIW, my music is all streamed via Qobuz and TIDAL, jazz, vocals, pop some classic rock; played at rarely higher than moderate volume.

Thanks!

kirkwallace

I am really resistant to the idea of getting DAC/Streamer separate from each other and even separate from the pre-amp. (I would even consider going the other way and skipping the pre-amp altogether by hooking up an amp directly to something like the Bluesound Icon, but that is probably heresy?)

Yeah the Icon is probably a good step below where you’d wanna go.  Unless you’re very space constrained I’m not sure why you’re hesitant toward a separate DAC and streamer, and most combo units come with some significant compromise either with performance or the app, or both.  Something like the HiFi Rose RS151 DAC/streamer with a good stereo preamp might work — preamps are important so if sound quality is paramount this might be worth considering.  If you’re really hell bent on combining everything including the preamp then the new Eversolo A10 looks promising with the significant caveat that their customer support is sub optimal should you ever need it, and especially with streamers it’s not uncommon at some point.  But here’s a good review fyi in case you might be interested…


https://soundnews.net/reviews/sources/eversolo-dmp-a10-review-feature-rich-great-sounding-and-incredibly-beautiful/

Thanks @prophet9 and @goodlistening64 ; very helpful to me.

  @soix, do you think, cost aside, that the eversolo dump-a10 is likely better than the NAD M66. The M66 has also gotten great reviews (e.g., https://www.stereophile.com/content/nad-m66-streaming-preamplifier-measurements-page-2 )

 and has more functions than I will ever use. Pretty solid customer support room, at least based on their being very helpful when i had some very boneheaded questions when setting up the M33.

I really have no idea which is better, but all else equal I’d give the nod to the M66 as the more established brand and Dirac if you might use that.  That said, I doubt you’d be unhappy with either performance wise and the A10 is $3k cheaper, which in my world is material.

Totally appreciate that, thank you, @soix.   I do expect they would both be pretty sonically neutral. The other item on the scale in the M66’s favor (for me) is Bluesound. Probably not worth 3K on its own, though.  But if I were to go through with this, I would hope to do a bit better on price of the M66 via the used market or through “kindly” dealer trade-in concessions.

Good discussion. Your focus seems to be on power amps, and they are certainly part of the equation, but I wonder if the right preamp might make the difference. I realize this is complicated given all the digital you have integrated already, but just throwing it out there.