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Should I steer clear of class D amps

I’m finally upgrading my amp. I currently have an Onkyo TXNR 636 which has served very well but it’s now the weakest component in my system.

I’ve a budget of up to £1200-£1300 and been looking at the NAD C3050.

I was initially drawn to the NAD C3050 when I saw the VU meters but these are not deal breakers if I can get a much better amp without them, but I really do like them. I spoke with a dealer and he mentioned all NAD amplifiers are now class D and that’s now where I’m stuck procrastinating my purchase. My understanding was class D never really took off, despite the power efficiency due to the HF noise caused by the PWM. Times change things improve but I can’t find much about how they have mitigated this, in fact an article in EETimes refers to how the tests performed for THD etc are quite irrelevant in a digital amp and quoted figures may be very different in real life. In essence, the way of testing makes them look better than they are. This may be true but do they sound good? We all know vinyl is technically an inferior medium but I certainly prefer it’s sound.

I am listening to classic/ heavy rock and a mixture of lossless streaming from a NAS into a Cambridge Audio CNX V2 and vinyl off a Technics 1500C with a Pro-Ject DS phono stage all into monitor audio bronze 5s. 
 

I need a new amp. I need slapping out of my indecision but it’s not an insignificant amount of £££ and I want to get it right. Should I stick with AB ? My electric bill can’t withstand class A or valve regardless of sound quality. 

Also what’s the thoughts on NAD in general, I’m my youth they were good amps, but then so were Pioneer. 
 

nosleeptilldownload
mitch2
3,969 posts
 

Stereophile’s review of the HiFi Rose GaN Class D integrated and ASR’s positive review of the DIY Nilai500DIY Amplifier make the new breed of Class D sound more interesting.  The DIY Nilai500DIY is something that might be well suited to my garage/outdoor system instead of the big class AB monos I have out there now.

frl
24 posts
 

No experience with NAD class d, but I'll throw out a positive recommendation for the hypex amp by ATI I run in my mixed HT/HiFi system. I keep expecting it to be the weak link when I do critical music listening, but it has proven very scalable in my system. Size and running temps were major considerations in my process, but I've been very pleasantly surprised with the musical ability of this amp.

angelstar
4 posts
 

NAD really are exceptional sounding. I have a few different systems that I listen to daily and there’s something magical that the NAD Class D does in comparison. Definitely midrange centric as someone else pointed out but also very accurate, almost analytical. Definitely go amp shopping and see what you like. 

slbjbb
43 posts
 

I have a class D Classe amp that sounds anything but sterile or hard. It is very dimensional and detailed. It's a good match for my system and I'm happy with the made for each other pre and power amp. My advice is to ignore the data the reviews or the type. Listen to what sounds best in your price range

seanheis1
624 posts
 

Class D amps need a tube preamp or a solid state Class A input stage that adds 2nd order harmonic distortion to the signal. Linear power supplies can also add 2nd order harmonic distortion. 

If you get a stock module from Hypex or Ice Power with the Hypex or Ice Power stock switching power supply...and combine it with a preamp that is adding nothing to the signal path....such as a Benchmark DAC or Benchmark Preamp...you will get that sterile lean Class D sound. 

Class D is sounding much better because brands such as Jeff Rowland have figured out how to add the right distortion amounts to the signal path. I believe Jeff Rowland & PS Audio use old Ice Power modules....so it's not like the modules are necessarily sounding better....but the implementations are definitely becoming more musical.   

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