D amps

Which new class D amps?

I'm waiting for the new mono-blocks to post on their website. I want to read about the options that are alluded to on their current website.

Hello @bernal737 ,  I had Mola Mola Kaluga amps with my N802's, also with the MM Makua preamp.  they were amazing in many ways, with great bass control and dynamics.  But they lacked the sublty, resolution, sparkle, air and imaging of  great class  AB amps that replaced them.  I know there are many newer class D designs.

@bernal737, I agree with the comments above. I owned the HYPEX NCore NC400 bridged class D amplifiers and did not like them. I switched to the Mola Mola Tambaqui HYPEX NC1200 DAC and still did not like the class D sound on these amps. As described above, they lacked the subtly, feeling, resolution, sparkle, air and imaging of my MusicalFidelity class AB amps that replaced them.

When I first installed them, after break in, they sounded very good. The problem is the more I listed, the less I liked them. I replaced them with the Musical Fidelity integrated CLASS A/B amp M6si. It is configured as 2 independent monobloc power amps with a separate preamp. It is, in fact, a preamp with 2 monobloc power amps that just happen to share the same casework.

There are some newer class D designs on the market today using the GaN class D amp. For example, please see the Atma-Sphere ClassD GaN mono amplifiers. Purifi Class D amps are another example. Jeff Rowland Design Group also uses a class D design but I know nothing about it.

Based on my Class D experience, I am not looking at any Class D amps.

please see this link for more info:

I can tell you about a excellent pair of monoblocks GanFet technologies 

and under $2500 a pair coming out in. 2-3 weeks I bought their proto types 

and had a few of my Highend Furutech items added ,better fuses Hifi tuning copper 

nottoo expensive ,it comes with WBT. Loudspeaker terminals 

power supply technologies I have not seen in any other brand ,NASA trickle down. 
very small but powerful, class D audio   Dot.  Com . And a great little review 

enjoy the music  dot com on their  stereo amp ,a year before these new ones. 
keep an 👁️ eye out. 

Thanks for all the info, very much appreciated!

Musical Fidelity leans towards a warmer sound than say Cambridge Audio or most Class Ds. Class D is not for warmth. Hypex is probably the popular modern implementation that comes closer than Purifi and definitely Pascal. I’ve heard Atmasphere Class D and the sound was more like his tube amps than not.

So don’t make the mistake of thinking all Class D is the same. Some vendors offer different op amps up front that adjusts the sound to different preferences. VTV for example.

Personally, with B&W, which I have owned, I’d probably lean towards Pascal or Purifi. Hypex ncore done well would be perfectly fine.  I tend to lean towards detail rather than warmth.  

I know a lot of people will hate me for this comment but please try the Java hifi single shot amplifier. It’s the best amplifier I have had besides some SET gear period.

See Java Hi-fi link as referenced above:

Thank you hgeifman https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/2736328

@hgeifman   they lacked the subtly, feeling, resolution, sparkle, air and imaging of my MusicalFidelity class AB amps that replaced them.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Hypex. I’ve been curious about it for a while. People say Purifi sounds better, but I doubt it will be a complete overhaul that fixes all these undesirable aspects. You might want to try the Topping LA90 and/or B100 that just came out. What impresses me most is the frequency-independent THD, something I haven’t seen from any other amplifier, regardless of what class they’re built from.

I absolutely love my AGD Production Gran Vivace GANFET monoblock amps on my Fyne F-703 speakers. I can't imagine that they wouldn't excel on B&W 802s...

My brother tried the Topping amps and they were absolutely horrible. They retailed for around $ 1500.00 and he sent them back for a refund. Granted they were not fully broken in (about 50 hours). Also connections were funky and the build quality didnt inspire confidence. 

I think you will find that the Fyne speakers and B & Ws present very different loads to amplifiers. I dont think this is the best comparison.

I've tried a few of the Class D modules. The earlier Ucd, Hypex Ncore, the older Purifi 1ET400 pretty recently. The only audio brand/designer type I've tried was an Elac Alchemy DPA-2 a few years ago. Actually the Elac was the first "real" class D I tried. It had a warmer tone, black background, & wasn't too bad. It opened my eyes to that Class D was heading in the right direction. 

It was like a $1700 amp that I got for about a grand. There were no reviews about it & I took a chance. It was decent but the top end was lacking vs a  good AB. No extension or sparkle. But it had other qualities that were better than similarly priced AB amps. I didn't use it very long though. 

All the other Class D modules were ok. They have some good qualities. I think they are perfect for home theater. For music, if being real picky, they can be a little 2 dimensional. Lack reverb, decay. Somewhat hard edges to the notes. For the money though I still think they are good. Ultra quiet, transparent as all get out, speed, & the Purifi had great bass. I'd match them with simple circuit no feedback tube preamps for some color. Never kept any of the amps long term. 3 months tops probably. I listen for hours everyday though. 

I honestly bought & tried them just to see if/how they were improving. I haven't tried the new Hypex NcX or the new beastly Purifi's but bought the Hypex Nilai DIY500 a few months ago. Best Class D I've tried yet. Took about 2 weeks before I really started enjoying it. I think it sounds best when I keep it on 24/7. I say it's the best I've had but I haven't tried any class D from popular designers or builders.  The Nilai for the money is great imo. It's not 2 dimensional. It's smoother sounding..less hard edges. Has decay to plucks & cymbals. It just sounds like a proper amplifier to me. Doesn't have the sweetest top end compared to more expensive amps I've had but it's better than any class D I've tried. I like it. 

I've actually been using it daily for the last few months in a streaming system with an Icon Audio LA4 MKiii upgraded tube preamp. I soldered some ODAM caps throughout & use NOS tubes. Beautiful vocals with the Nilai.Black space & depth between instruments. I feel that the Nilai is stupid good for the money.

When I try a Class D amp I have no bias though. I don't go into it thinking it already sucks or try to critically find everything wrong with it. If there is something amiss with the sound I let it come naturally. Most people whom buy amps in these price ranges probably wouldn't even know it's class D if you didn't tell them. 

I heard the new Orchard amp at the Florida show. It sounded like a great amp to me. The Nilai was cheaper & available at the time. The Alpha Audio reviews were pretty positive on the Nilai as well. 

I think Class D will just continue to get better. Especially when more brilliant designers keep working with them. I'd really like to try a few of the ones already out there. Going with a well known & respected class AB amp is still a safer bet though. I guess that depends on your budget. I also think we have people that will never accept or welcome class D. No matter how many other people say they love it.

Very happy with my Atma-Sphere Ganfet monoblocs, currently driving some JA Pulsar 2’s.  They are closer to the Pass labs xa30.8 than to typical Class D’s.  

I own 2 class D amps and love the sound of both with either my Harbeth 30.1s or vintage KEF 103.2s (desktop system):

-- Wyred 4 Sound ST-500 stereo amp (250 WPC). I bought a used one based on a couple positive reviews and a number of positive user comments. I sounded great from the first note, at least as good as any trad SS amps I've had

-- More recently, I picked up a gently used pair of Bel Canto 600M monoblocks. Again, they sounded wonderful from note-1, even a bit more refined than the W4S.

Neither amp has any of that treble hardness people talk about. They both sound exactly right to me, tonally and dynamically.

BTW, I didn't have to deal with burn-in with either amp. But if I bought a new class D amp, I'd burn it in at least 400 -500 hours. Class D amps & DACs are often described as needing epic burn-ins (I certainly found that to be true of DACs).

bernal737 don't guess, try a great class D amp. Orchard Audio is running an amp tour. Join the list on their website. Listen 7 days and and pay shipping to next person on the list. Then post a small review. After doing this I bought an Orchard Audio v1.0 StarKrimson Stereo Ultra DMC amp. The amp uses Orchard Audio's proprietary ganfet modules.

Thanks,

aldnorab

I haven’t heard any on B&W, but I’m an authorized Vivid Audio dealer, and their founder, Laurence Dickie, designed the B&W Nautilus speaker and all of the tapered tube “tweeter on top” speakers in their heyday before starting Vivid. The sound signatures are quite close. 

I’ve paired the Vivid G1 Spirits with Aurender’s AP20 integrated amplifier, which uses dual mono Purifi Eigentakt modules, similar to what is used in the Mola Mola, and it sounds really good. I actually reviewer the Aurender AP20 with these speakers on this forum:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/aurender-ap20-impressions

The sound is very transparent and engaging, and there’s enough drive to properly control the speakers. I’ve also used AGD Gran Vivace on these speakers which also do quite well. Both amplifiers are very linear, so if any added warmth, harmonics, or bloom is desired, this can be achieved elsewhere in the chain.

I’ve used Rotel Class D amps for years and years. They use B &O iCE modules. I have five modules, from five channel 250/500 watt models to extremely powerful 500/1000 watts modules.  They are beautiful sounding amps.  Love em so much, I’ve built my own 1000 watt sub amps using these modules.  I’ve also built amps using Pascal modules up to 2500 watts. Very expensive, but incredible sound. 

I have been using AGD amps for a couple of years now and couldn't be happier. Lovely sound driving my LRS+ with ease.

@hgeifman FWIW, class D amps vary in sound more than tube amps seem to. So having a bad experience with one isn't an indication that another will be the same thing. The Hypex and Purifi modules are sold as parts so you have to come up with a power supply and input buffer, which has a dramatic effect on how they sound. At this point IMO its pretty well demonstrated that some of those modules have been put in boxes by by people that don't know what they are doing.

+1 @atmasphere 

@hgeifman May I know which specific vendor's Hypex-based amp you or your friends have purchased from?  Knowing the specific Hypex-based amp vendor might be necessary, as different vendors often implement subtle design choices that can influence sound quality beyond pure measurements. Brands like Apollon, Nord, and VTV Amplifier are some well-known names offering Hypex or Purifi modules, each with a slightly different approach to things like power supply and housing design, which can impact the listening experience.

@lanx0003. My first class D amp were custom built Hypex NCore NC400 bridged amplifiers. I had them for a short tine and replaced them with Mola Mola NC1200 mono blocks. I was disappointed with the sound quality and sold them. As I stated above, they sounded very good at first but the more I listened, the less I liked them.

This was several years ago and I have no other experience with class d amps.

I currently own the Musical Fidelity M-6Si integrated amp. I am VERY surprised it sounds this good. I am very happy with my decision. The M6si offers excellent performance, facilities, and power. As per the Musical Fidelity web site “Internally, the M6si is configured as 2 independent monobloc power amps with a separate preamp. It is, in fact, a preamp with 2 monobloc power amps that just happen to share the same casework. The M6si has 220wpc. It has very low distortion, outstanding noise ratio and extremely flat frequency response”.

+1 @atmasphere, I agree it is the overall design of the amp that makes it sound great.  

Hello bernal737  May I recommend the power ampss from Starke sound?  They make 4 channel and 8 channel amps. They make their own modules. I have six of their four channel models and they drive the Linkwitz 521-4 systems superbly. I also use them with Magnepan LRS, LRS+, and the Golden Ear BRS speakers. They have an iorn grip on the speakers they drive and give excellent results with everything I connect them to. Dayton Audio has a very tiny 2 way kit using passive radiators on each side and it sounds very well when the Starkes drive them. I also have two of the Purifi Audio EVAL-1 kits that sound very good also. But the Starkes are just a bit smoother and sweeter on the top end. Starke gives you a trial period also. Highly recommended. Happy Listening! 

Y'all haven't heard ClassDaudio.com amps yet looks like. I own two. Fits in your palm, 5 lbs, & are dazzling. Cheap too.