come on, someone must have some experience/advice!
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Not yet, but I have a couple of class-D, so it is on the list of things to do.
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I have the AGD Audion mono blocks. I have used the Vinnie Rossi LIO DHT, LTA Micro ZOTL and also use the Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 preamps. All sound great with different flavors. The LIO DHT presents a wonderful holographic sound stage. The MZ and Rhythm have bass slam and dynamics. These are three fantastic preamps and there is no doubt about the ability of the AGD class D amps.
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Maybe more folks have come around to Class D and have played with putting tubes in front of one.
They have 😀
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Hi Ralph! That is good to hear.
Also, I would love to try your Class D amp. Is it ready for the public? I know you were working hard on it.
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One of the best pairings I've had for class D is Cherry Amp's. They have a more unique signature to the sound, they aren't off the shelf amps or modules and were all designed by Tommy.
Paired with a Schiit Freya + but it needed a better preamp to really shine, I tried my friend's BAT VX3ix tube pre-amp and it really started to shine!
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Nice preamp! Obviously AGD should be on your list along with Ralph’s new amp and maybe even LSA if that’s more in your budget. I will say I heard Joseph Audio Pulsars at a show powered by Bel Canto mono block amps, which honestly shocked me, and I was really impressed with the level of clean detail and musicality — changed my impressions of Class D amps completely.
So, Ralph, since we’ve got you here I gotta ask, how would you compare the sound of your new amp versus your OTL amps? I have to believe there are similarities or you probably wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of building a GaN amp of your own, but I also imagine that at least some of that “tube magic” must be lost, no? Love to hear your thoughts!
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Yes Audio Research sp16 to Bel Canto ref1000m monoblocks. Love the pairing. May be trying something new soon. Always looking to downsize. . See here:
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I run a modded class D LSA Voyager amp fed by the Sachs tube preamp. Sublime sound.....
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I’m running a Belles 22a pre into a Cherryamp 2Cherry… nothing but praise here.
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if I know Ralph he‘s spent a long time messing with the distortion profile on that amp..
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I for sure was a bit, just a bit, of a Class D naysayer. I wasn't foolishly so, as I always thought the tech would improve. I think we are right at that point now.
Ralph's amp has to sound good. Man, I need an inheritance to keep up with all that I want to try out.
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So, Ralph, since we’ve got you here I gotta ask, how would you compare the sound of your new amp versus your OTL amps?
The distortion signature of the amp is similar to our OTLs in that the 3rd harmonic is most prominent. It is high enough that its able to mask higher ordered harmonics, so it sounds very similar to our OTLs (which was a nice discovery - to find out we were on the right path all along...). In direct comparisons people independently seem to say the same thing- that its a bit more focused (easier to hear into the rear of the sound stage; this is owing to about 2 orders of magnitude less distortion) but otherwise has the same liquid organic midrange and highs. The big difference is how it plays bass, since it behaves as a voltage source while our OTLs are meant to behave as a power source, owing to using little or no feedback. I've been playing a set of the class Ds at home for the last 8 months or so.
I for sure was a bit, just a bit, of a Class D naysayer. I wasn't foolishly so, as I always thought the tech would improve. I think we are right at that point now.
I heard a class D for the first time about 22 years ago. IMO it was a joke. Also IMO it is no longer- they have to be taken seriously. Earlier class D amps gave the tech a bad name just as tube console stereos gave tubes a bad name. There is as much or more variance in the sound of class D amps as there is with tube amps.
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FWIW: My experience with class D goes back to PS audio GCC 250, which I still use in my video system, but in my 2 channel audio Ive had several W4S, Emerald Physics 100.2SEs, Audio Alchemy DPA-1 (excellent sound but I need a lot power in my room), PSA M700s (also sounded nice), EVS 1200 which I raved about for a year UNTIL it was replaced with a LSA Voyager 350 GaN amp, which is roughly half the power, but twice as room filling/coupling in my large room. From this experience IMO, GaN is so superior (at least when done right) to conventional class D that it SHOULD have a separate designation. Switching Speed is the juice
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not yet but i may, and put yet another set of tubes in front of the amp by going hybrid.
according to paul mcgowan of PS audio fame tubes sound best at the input section of the amplifier.
to get this in Class D form means the Rogue Audio Dragon or Medusa. I am aware of no others.
The PS Audio BHK amps also have tubes on the input stage but it is not class D.
Obviously off from the OPs original question yet it may prove a nice combo to pair a quality tube preamp with a class D amp also with input stage tubes.
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Cavanti1960...The PS Audio M1200 class d monos use a vacuum tube input...
OP....In the past I paired a Prima Luna Dialogue Premium tube preamp with a pair of Merrill Audio Veritas class d monoblock amps with great results... The tubes mellow some of the hyper detail that class d is known for.
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A pair of modified Nuforce 9SE V3 amps with a modified Dehavilland Mercury II preamp are in use over here. The best of both worlds. I tried going direct to the amps from my DAC, but lost the magic and musicality.
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