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Class D for a Tube Lover

First, I'm sure this has been asked many times but searching the subject wasn't too helpful to me.

So apologies in advance.

I enjoy tubed electronics and class A amps, which tend to be a bit warm.  My current Cary 805s warm my small (12x16) music room even in the cool/cold of winter.  I've got other amps that don't produce much heat, but am looking for something that produces no heat.  Living in a home with no central AC the room gets uncomfortably hot during the summer months.

So...I'd like to try some Class D amps.  Stereo or mono is just fine.  And my speakers aren't difficult to drive so I don't need a thousand watts.  But if that thousand watt amp sounds great, I'm not adverse to that, either.

I'd like to keep the price under 2k used.  

Please help.

Thanks.


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verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,499 posts
 
The stock JJs that Rogue ships with leave something to be desired.  If you put a good set of NOS tubes in, all Rogue class Ds get much better. Expect to pay $250 for a good set. 

I have had my Hydra with NOS Ciftes side-by-side with VTL MB-185s, Art Audio Quartets and Art Audio Opus 4s and again it is not the same, but it is not bad.  It is far more satisfying than other SS amps I have had through here during the same period. 

In the end, only the OP can be the judge.  But I will say that getting a Class D with tube input stage will be closer than a straight Class D is going to be.  I don't think that is at all a stretch.   
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
I hope this doesn't turn into a re-run of "Waiting for Godot", but the much-delayed LSA Voyager GaNFET power amp is now announced as shipping in late May.  At 3K this is as close to your desired budget and desired sound as you're likely to find any time soon.  
audioak70
2 posts
 
Try NuPrime ST-10, reference level amp. I am using it in addition to Rogue M-180 tube monos.
boomerbillone
355 posts
 
Don't believe the die-hards. The newest Class D amps fulfill the promise of that topology. They consume just a few watts more than they are outputting at any moment. Try the Starke Sound AD-320. Four channels, bridgeable to two, sounds great, huge power & clarity; under $1500. Returnable if you don't like (you will). I have three running a 5.0 system with Linkwitz LX521-4 main speakers, Golden Ear Triton 5 rears, Wharfdale center channel (11 channels of amps); want two more for other systems in the house. They sound as good as the Purifi output modules (I have four channels of those also). Check the Purifi & Starke reviews. I have several class A amps also. The new "Ds" beat 'em.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,794 posts
 
There is no class d amp that will sound like a class A or tubed amp, sorry.
The issue here is distortion- it is distortion that causes tube amps to sound 'warm' and 'lush' and its distortion that causes traditional solid state amps to sound 'bright' and 'harsh', especially at higher volumes.

Class D amps do not make the same sort of distortion as traditional solid state. As a result, the generalization in the quote above is false. A class D amp will sound like a tube amp if it makes enough 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion to mask the higher orders, even if its THD is two orders of magnitude lower than the tube amp to which it is being compared. If there are non-linearities in the encoding process, you do in fact get the lower ordered harmonics as the primary distortion. Just one example...
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