I have the NAD M12/M22 combo which as far as Class D is concerned is fairly high end. They measure great and don't have any any of the etched/digital sound to them. They are pretty smooth and about a week ago I would've sung their praise.
That is until a week ago when I took them to a very high end dealer to audition some Sopra 2's. Their room is pretty heavily damped and it acts like a microscope for any changes in gear or cables. I'd never experienced anything quite like it, you can be VERY discerning in this room.
To cut to the chase, my NAD setup felt DRY and lifeless in there compared to the Class A/AB amps we listened to. I didn't want to admit it at first because it's deflating to hear your gear getting outclassed, but they just were. We swapped cables out, amps, preamps, different speakers, etc. and the main culprit was the NAD M22.
The dealer even said this was THE BEST Class D he had personally heard though he didn't carry any Class D as they carry a stigma whether warranted or not. And to me they were just simply getting outclassed by some decent but not over the top Class AB from Pass, AVM, and Simaudio.
Way more musical with much better tone, more harmonic richness and bloom. Deeper and wider soundstages, you name it.
YMMV
That is until a week ago when I took them to a very high end dealer to audition some Sopra 2's. Their room is pretty heavily damped and it acts like a microscope for any changes in gear or cables. I'd never experienced anything quite like it, you can be VERY discerning in this room.
To cut to the chase, my NAD setup felt DRY and lifeless in there compared to the Class A/AB amps we listened to. I didn't want to admit it at first because it's deflating to hear your gear getting outclassed, but they just were. We swapped cables out, amps, preamps, different speakers, etc. and the main culprit was the NAD M22.
The dealer even said this was THE BEST Class D he had personally heard though he didn't carry any Class D as they carry a stigma whether warranted or not. And to me they were just simply getting outclassed by some decent but not over the top Class AB from Pass, AVM, and Simaudio.
Way more musical with much better tone, more harmonic richness and bloom. Deeper and wider soundstages, you name it.
YMMV