"D" amps, general discussion who's 1 and why?

Really? I'd love to hear from those who've gone from SET & other tube amps to "D" amps and what they like about the change. I think it's magazine/ad generated hype.

My naive opinion is that they are cheap & powerful, good for bass in a bi-amp situation, etc., but they don't sound like music. They could be revolutionary for applications like boom boxes, in televisions, etc where teeny ss amps are needed. Nothing sounds as crappy as the sound in my Panasonic flat screen tv. Cheers,
Spencer

Ericjcabrera, you and I have a similar views regarding digital amps. When did you last hear them in your system, they seems to have come along way in the last year or so from when I last heard them in my system from what I am reading from others which I have to say intrigues me.

Sbank, there are few that have gone from Tube amps to specifically Spectron amps latest version. There is a lengthy but very good review on Audiogon from one owner and the amps he compared to which are very respected, there are others also and this is why these have peaked my interest and want more thoughts from others regarding this. When you say they are cheap, what do you mean? because they are by far inexspensive. The gorgeous looking Jeff Rowland 312/301 mono blocks leading the pack I believe cost wise and then the Spectrons come into play arround 14-15K for mono blocks with no upgrades which will even drive them up higher in cost. Have you actually listened to any in your system.

There's nothing cheap about Rowland, Spectron and a few others. BTW, these are not "digital" amplifiers, they are merely Class D.

The people that like these amps tend to like neutral, unstrained, clear sound. They demand very fine source components. If you want some added warmth to offset some glare from your CDP or cables, then you probably need to look eslewhere. Some people just want warms sounds and they should also look elsewhere.

Dave

I have gone from Rogue M 150s and various solid state class A and class A/B power amps to class D.

My first foray was with PS Audio GCC and GCA series, the GCA 250 had a level 2 mod from Underwood HiFi.

I then bought the Wyred 4 Sound SX 500s to biamp with the GCA 250. I sold them both and replaced with a W4S MC 250/500.

I chose W4S because Rick Cullen has been building class D for various companies. Also, he has a strong reputation as a modifier. Putting 2+2 together, he brings quite a bit of knowledge to the class D game.

Like all components, W4S amps are power cord and interconnect sensitive. I just replaced a Tek Line micro Reference Xtreme power cord with their Reference. I am shocked at how much better the Reference is over the already impressive micro Reference Xtreme. Definitely worth the extra $250 when used with the W4S amp.