Spectron Musician III MK.2 or Audio Research DS450

The thing with the good Class D amps is that the performance rivals others, they are small, they are efficient, and do not get very warm. Plus massive amounts of power to drive most any speaker.

Are the prices high? Definitely in some cases. THat's part of high end audio. One is actually paying largely for teh innovation and the benefits derived in the case of Class D beyond just paying extra for boutique type products. Nothing new there! Over time, I would expect price/performance to trend positively.

Also it is worth noting that Wyred and Bel Canto does add useful technology to the stock IcePower modules which at least helps justify the cost somewhat. Wyred adds an input stage that makes the amps tube pre-amp friendly and BC adds that plus a custom power board. These are things that only audio enthusiasts (like me) would care enough about to pay extra for.

WHen I bought my ref1000ms here on A'gon, I had the seller actually open them up and show me a picture of the innards to make sure that I was getting what I was paying extra for.

I would really like to hear the new Audio Research DS450M. Maybe it is a possible next step type higher efficiency amp for thirstier speakers than say Icepower to-date.

Will have to stop by my local ARC dealer where I bought my ARC pre-amp to see/hear.

A beefy power supply done well can never hurt, right?

The description of the sound it produces on the ARC sight is not unlike what I hear with the Bel Cantos, which is quite good. Maybe these can push the edge further, albeit perhaps with some additional size, weight, bulk, power consumption and cost compared to Icepower for example.

Gregm..LOL..No..I do not market or sell any Audio products
at all. I'm not in the retail business. My "ad copy" style
of writing is a habit I'll never shake resulting from being in the publishing business for fifteen years. I'm just an older dude that has an intense passion for music as everyone else on Gon. Having been a hard core Audiophile
since 1975, I get excited when I see a high end company moving forward with an innovative approach to conventional
amp designs and I'm very impressed that Audio Research is the first to come out with a class D amp with the largest power supply on the market. It has been over due for quite some time and I have been hoping for many years that someone would eventually produce this kind of Class D amp.

FYI..I spoke to Eric at Audio Perfection store in Minneapolis, fifteen minutes from Audio Research in Plymouth. Audio Perfection is a Bell Canto and Audio Research Dealer. Eric's take on the Bel Canto REF1000M
and the Audio Research DS450M is this.." Both amps have outstanding sound but the DS450M has much more body and weight with individual instruments"...

I got to audition an ARC DS225 over the weekend running a pair of Nola Baby Grand Reference speakers. The Nola's were not quite my cup of tea, but the ARC seemed to do a good job, though I did not hear enough to make any comparisons. Definitely a nice product.