Class D Technology

But they still had a stripping of the harmonic structure of the upper/midrange and highs, leaving what seemed to be just the fundamental with no decay and an opaque sound with larger than usual "nothing" gaps in the music.

This is the perfect description of my experience with Ice Power. I have heard others describe this sound as neutral and uncolored, but to me the vocals and instruments sounded stripped. Diana Krall sounded more like Katy Perry. The larger than usual nothing gaps in the music made me focus on the recording instead of enjoying the song. 

It seems like some companies are aware of this and add tube input stages to try and add harmonics and meat back to the bone.  

I do not hear that at all.

Be careful about taking a small sample and drawing conclusions from that on the whole. I’d have to hear the same setup others have heard this with, Only then could I comment on the sound resulting from that particular setup and compare to others.

If you are listening to Diana Krall, and you hear Katy Perry, the problem is much larger than amplifier technology.   You either have one heck of a malfunctioning system, a set of speakers that were dropped out of a truck before being delivered to you, or you are experiencing neurological problems that require immediate medical attention.  I'm not being facetious...Katy Perry and Diana Krall sound nothing alike, aside from both being female.  If that's genuinely what your ears heard, you have bigger issues than deciding what amp to buy.

seanheis1 OP

It seems like some companies are aware of this and add tube input stages to try and add harmonics and meat back to the bone.  

Yep, agreed Sean, that's called microphonics, colorations, distortions or euphonics, and not the real harmonics of the instruments or voice that are supposed to be there, but hey some people like it, each to their own.

Cheers George 

If you are listening to Diana Krall, and you hear Katy Perry, the problem is much larger than amplifier technology.   You either have one heck of a malfunctioning system, a set of speakers that were dropped out of a truck before being delivered to you, or you are experiencing neurological problems that require immediate medical attention. I'm not being facetious...Katy Perry and Diana Krall sound nothing alike, aside from both being female. If that's genuinely what your ears heard, you have bigger issues than deciding what amp to buy.

bcgator, it was an analogy. Diana Krall has a warm voice and the Ice Module made her voice sound cold and thin. Katy Perry has a cold and thin voice...hope that clears things up. ;-)