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Which Class D Amplifier? PS Audio, Ghent, Nord, Merrill or other???

I’m looking for a new amp & want Class D.

I’ve seen various brands mentioned, such as PS Audio, Ghent, Nord, Merrel to name a few, but I’ve not heard any of them.

Which company is producing the best sounding Class D?
Which models should I be looking to demo?


Thanks



singintheblues
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gdnrbob
2,421 posts
 
@georgehifi ,
To say Ralph,
'  he buys the modules does a small mod so it can be said to be better, throws in in a box, and there’s his beer money',  
is a bit harsh and uncalled for.

To the contrary, his amps are quite stable for a wide range of speakers.
Those speakers with low impedance are difficult to drive even in SS.

Regarding Class D amps:
In fact, I have spoken to him about it and he seems to have come up with an ingenious way to deal with switching issues.
Bob
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
is a bit harsh and uncalled for.
Really Bob, I've acknowledged his prowess with OTL's, but let see if the Class-D modules are his ground up design or someone else's aftermarket ones, with "signature tweaks".
To the contrary, his amps are quite stable for a wide range of speakers.
And you are talking about the OTL's they are very speaker specific,
unless you throw a ban-daid "autoformer" fix on them, then that gives them a few more they can drive, but your better off getting an amp that can do the job properly in that case. 
 
Cheers George

karurravi
14 posts
 
  • Bel Canto Design Ref600M. They were amazing. I used them with Dynaudio Confidence C4 Platinum. Just amazing.
dorkwad
317 posts
 
I'd have to say the Nuforce or Nuprime class D amps are definitely amongst the finest.  The ones Bob Smith at TDSS upgrades are THE finest and up there with the best sounding amps made.  I've tried my Nuforce Ref 9 V3 SE mono amps in at least 5 different systems with different speakers.  In all 5, the owners and all who heard said it was the finest the speakers and system had ever sounded.  Before the upgrades from TDSS, the amps were already very well reviewed and sounded very good.  After, they are more reliable and sound better in all the different parameters by a very discernible amount.  I've not heard all the different class D amps, but these amps I now own leave nothing to lust after.  They have power, great bass, detail and transparency, and are not hot on the high end.  They can drive pretty much any combination.  Mine will soon have the 500 watt power supplies installed.  They already had upgraded 350 watt supplies.   
guidocorona
4,114 posts
 

Hello singintheblues, as others suggested, it would be useful if you can tell us your amp budget, the rest of your system, and what tone concept yours might be.... Class D amplifiers are as different as there are amps.


I am personally extremely fond of class D amplifiers designed/manufactured by Jeff Rowland.... They range from approximately $2500 for the M125 stereo/bridgeable model to some $58K for his top of the line M925 mono, which I own and dearly love. IMO the sweet spot of the Rowland line might be the M535 stereo/bridgeable at just under $6K.... A truly remarkable device... I am preparing a detailed write up on it to be posted to Audiogon. Yes, Rowland does have a UK distributor.... So, please tell us more about your requirements and preferences.


Regards, Guido



  

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