The End Of Big Iron?

@mitch4t, I think you may like what you hear from class D. I used to have what, to me, was "big iron"...an ATI1506 6x150 amp. Not huge power output like you guys are talking about, but man I hated having to move that thing. Threw off a lot of heat, and was just onerous. Felt like it weighed 75 pounds - maybe it actually did. I bridged it to put out 450wpc into my home theater fronts, but had to sell it when my business turned down in 2008. I did regret selling it, and wished I hadn't for a long while - it just looked so cool (when I wasn't trying to relocate it).

Fast forward, and I now have a Peachtree Grand Integrated running a pair of WB Arcs - power overkill for sure, but I've got 440wpc on tap, it's the size of a small stereo receiver, and barely gets warm. And the sound is absolutely luscious. It's amazing that so much power can come from something with such a nice footprint, without much heat thrown off. I admit - I still think "big iron" amps look so cool, but there's something to be said for one's audio equipment not dominating your living space - before I bought the Peachtree I almost bought a Bel Canto, so nice looking with such a small footprint. I like that trend.

@Mapman, it's interesting that you mention not going back from Class D, including to tube amps.

In addition to the Peachtree Grand, I have an ARC VSi55 that I run in the winter when the heat isn't an issue here in AZ, and I swap them out between my two rooms just for fun. I consider the ARC to be a nice amp, nice sound, nothing to sneeze at. And we've done just casual A/B tests between the Peachtree and the ARC, and at measured equal sound levels I honestly can't tell them apart. They sound equally enjoyable, except that the Peachtree can play much louder effortlessly. Which sort of highlights how far Class D has come...you get tons of power, in a nice footprint, low weight, without all the heat, and at least in my case it just happens to sound as sweet and balanced as my Audio Research tube amp.