Opinions on Wyred 4 Sound ICE amps

I would demo the Bel Canto ICE amp (Ref 1000m). I went to Stereo Exchange in Manhattan and listened to the Bel Canto Ref 1000m as well as a McIntosh MC275, Meridian G57, and an Ayre. No question, the Bel Canto was different, and not at all to my tastes, my wife's tastes, or my daughter's.

But if you like the way they sound, then go ahead and buy a W4S. Don't believe any claim from W4S that their amps sound better than the Bel Canto...the amps sound very similar.

Personally, I ended up buying a W4S amp based on a reassurance from Rick Cullen that their amps sound a lot better than Bel Canto's Class D amps. Well, an old B&K 4420 sounded much better to my ears than the W4S when I owned it, as does my current MC275. In the end, my impressions at Audio Exchange and in my own system were the same and left me unimpressed with W4S and Class D generally. YMMV, of course.

Dob,

The person who started this thread asked about the Wyred 4 Sound amps, not about Spectron, Mark Levinson, Kharma, or Weiss switching amplifiers. I owned a Wyred 4 Sound amp, so felt I could offer first-hand impressions.

The amps you mention may sound terrific, although I suspect are considerably more expensive than Wyred 4 Sound amps and are not on the radar screen of the person who started this thread.

But since I have not heard the amps you referred to, my generalization about Class D amps was unwarranted.