Is D for Dry? Class D...

I am leaning very strongly towards class D, not because I particularly am strongly musically influenced to do so, but from cost, convenience, and power consumption. I used to have a ton of class ab equipment, old hafler dh200s and the like that I built from kits and they sounded great. I started letting them run all the time so they didnt have to go thru the power cycle current inrush and I think its helped them last and be reliable, but holy mother they love electricity and my wallet didnt like the power bills. Then I realized that more power was a good thing and would save tweeters from premature death...So class D or H at a minimum is where I am going to have to go. That means upgrading the house wiring too...A single 15A circuit will never be enough with two high power subs, and 5 channels of high power audio. I think I am looking at needing 2 20amp circuits at a minimum and maybe 3

One other thing that just occured to me is that all my cars have class D amplifiers in them and I have been listening to them without complaint for years now, some of them not that new for sure. And while one can reasonably argue the environment in a car is not the quietest or perhaps the best for listening to music, still I find little room to complain about the sound I get in my cars. Why shouldn't we accept the validity of current class D designs and their very real benefits of vanishingly low distortion at moderate power levels, and an extremely low noise floor in the best designs currently offered, and keep in mind these are all contributors to an overall high quality sound. Never mind that some of these sound a bit harsh when pushed or perhaps a bit thin in certain parts of the audio spectrum or have other shortcomings. These issues are being addressed as the designs of these amplifiers  evolves and improves. The fact that Legacy Audio is rocking the ICE modules in their amps speaks to their fidelity and to maybe a lesser extent their reliability. I will say that most class D manufacturers do not offer very long warranties on class D amps, often only a year or two, where many class AB designs get 5 years and sometimes more. So there is that to consider.

@curlyhifi - I'm with you on this one...hopefully I'll be able to buy good cheap Quality amplification and thereby divert more money for quality speakers. There are only so many dollars to throw at this obsession and I want to maximize my benefit for dollars spent. I think it silly to spend more than you need to get a satisfying result. Currently its quite possible to get a quality 500-ish wpc stereo amp for 750-ish. Is it worth the minute difference in sound quality to spend more? Well it depends where you want to draw your line in the sand. For my own judgement, I'll take the saved money on amplifier cost and apply it in loudspeakers and get an honest audible improvement rather than getting all bent out of shape over amplifier contribution to the sound signature. Once you get to a certain point, any further improvement in the electronics is inaudible, and today's amplifiers pretty much fall in that category, they are all so good that it almost doesn't matter which one you buy IMHO. Speakers however share the single largest contribution to the sound signature of a system with that of the room they are in, so if the amp produces enough clean power for desired sound levels then look at the room and speakers for sonic improvements.