Hello guys
Im not an expert on the field and only had 4 amps in my system:
-Marantz PM7005 SS integrated
-Yaqin MC13S EL34 tube integrated
-Line Magnetic LM-508IA class A 300B tube integrated that could also be used as power amp. A nice and very rewarded amp among audiophiles.
-Nord NC500DM class D stereo amp with Rev D boards and Sparkos Op Amps.
Well, I have to say that even the Nord is not yet fully burned, it betters all of my previous amps on every field, including the LM508, wich costs more than twice the Nord, weights 6 times more, consumes much more power, produces much more heat and needs valve replacement ($) from time to time.
I havent heard multi thousands amps or systems, only once and sounded pretty bad (Bang and Olufsen), but then sound I get now from the Nord is great, and not harsh or lean at all. May be the LM508 sounded a tinny little bit more fulled bodied, but Im sure it was mostly noise as I did some test a few days ago because I founded hard to let the LM508 go, as it cost me pretty expensive for my budget and it was a real nightmare to importe it to my country (Argentina), but, after that test, it was clear to me that the sound was much cleaner, dynamic, holographic and toneful with the Nord.
A tip to consider. Hulgich Audio, a small speaker factory from Australia, won the best sounding stand on 2017 Melbourne Hifi Show using Nord amps with Rev C boards, wich are worse than Rev D boards, and competing with multi thousand systems.
Im not saying Nord amps are the best, only that good class D amps can be very good and may be more afordable than similar quality sound class A or AB amps.
Pedro