Lack of popularity of Chord???

it is true that chord makes amp and preamps, they were an earlyadopter of switching class d amps

Chord amps are not class D, they are class AB with proprietary and smart switching power supply.

I believe that all good audio products have robust conventional linear power supplies. Chord is anathema to that. I know that the OP has clarified that he is asking about their amps but the Dave is a great example of what I am talking about. John Atkinson can drivel like Pavlov’s dog (or a comatose patient) as all he wants to talk about are the "impeccable" measurements but much like a Benchmark product, the lack of a beefy heavy-iron power supply dooms the product to listener fatigue and lack of body, lack of "there there". Time and time again, the products that sound the most organic have beefy power supplies. I have a twenty year old Classe’ CDP.5 cd player that all these years later can stand toe to toe with the very best digital players and I attribute this to the fact the coming from a conventional amplifier specialist, Classe’ built it with a huge power supply. I am currently THRILLED by an eight watt SE amp that weighs almost 70 lbs! Talk about heavy iron.
Like the much-missed Victoria’s Secret "Miracle Bra", imho a lightweight amp with a switching power supply is little more than a cheap trick. Cheap, amusing, and sure to lead to dismay and let-down.

I been a Chord amplifier owner for many years and have just upgraded my previous Chord amplification to the new Chord Pre 2 and Ultima 3 mono-blocs. I also still retain a really quite old Chord multichannel amp and previous generation stereo amp and DAC (with separate Roon bridge).  Chord does not tend to hold its value well and the visual design is quite marmite (obviously I’m a lover).  It also uses a switched mode power supply which to some users represents a definite no no. It’s reputation is of being bright particularly on the older designs.  The latest models (Ultima) represent a total electronic redesign which is well explained in the Chord advertising literature as being fast and modern.  A number of High end European manufacturers are going the way of switched mode power supplies (e.g. Soulution) ~ so watch this space, as they say.   In spite of all the protest I am a great supporter of Chord Electronics which to my ears augment my dCS Rossini DAC (and clock), Martin Logan Renaissance speakers and Transparent cabling rather well.

chord (the electronics company, not the cable company) has a long and illustrious history, and also a penchant for thinking things through from first principles and not following common trends, conventional wisdoms

i have not had chord preamps or amps, they were certainly early adopters of switch mode amps and power supplies, in fact their quite successful and excellent dacs ship with outboard smps’s but of course, there is ample filtering inside the units

that way i see it, it is very nice a company like this exists in this space, cool stuff, cool thinking, excellent sonics speak for itself, cost of the gear is often high, but one can sense the excellence within... a value add for the industry and end user choice

Other positives to Chord Electronics designs relate to my varying dalliances with other amplifier brands; with eventual departures (including Leak, Quad, Conrad Johnson, Audio Research, PS Audio, Theta and Japanese brands of their time.).  Chords build quality is fantastic although I must admit a six month lead time on the Ultima Pre 2 seemed excessive.  The power amplifiers design is based on Class AB but designed to stay in the Class A region longer than traditional designs. (If interested there is are white papers available for this and justifications for using switched mode power supplies.. . see "chordelectronics.co.uk/chord-amplification-technology".  One of course is a pair of 480W monoblocs in a smallish chassis with no transormer hum (why should there be as there is no transformer?). They  do get warm but no more.

Yes of course I'm biased its a UK brand but I really do know I'm going to get first rate support locally.