Are ICEpower amps really that good?

Red Dragon amps were used at the LA show in the Adagio/Modwright room. Leviathan 600wpc mono blocks. If these are what you are referring to, then there are several members who have heard them in that context.

Let me throw my $.02 into the discussion.

I have not heard all digital amps out there but lets say they are in theory dead neutral as some people say.

My question is: are your sources and speakers dead neutral? If not, you'll be some amplifying nonlinear distortions which are not friendly to hear.

My main quibble with "neutral" amps are they don't have ear friendly distortions to counteract the unfriendly distortions making the sound lacking in texture. Digital amps are maybe beyond their time.

What really is needed, is system balancing and synergy with the right kind of distortions in the right places so in the end the sound that reaches our ears actually sounds like music.*>)

My main quibble with "neutral" amps are they don't have ear friendly distortions to counteract the unfriendly distortions making the sound lacking in texture. Digital amps are maybe beyond their time.

What really is needed, is system balancing and synergy with the right kind of distortions in the right places so in the end the sound that reaches our ears actually sounds like music.*>)

Kw6 (Threads | Answers)

Coming from a purely layman's perspective, I gotta say I'm in your camp on this one, Kw6.

Don't make a lick of sense to me. So, we have to have conventional amp smears, hyped highs, second order and third order distortions to cancel or mask speaker and player distortions? That seems counter productive to me.

We who have great class D amps find it an invigorating exercise to hone out great sounding components from the pretenders. I am continually amazed how most wires, preamps, and CDPs really mess up the music.

My speakers are one of the most neutral, and revealing speakers ever made. That's a good start. Non oversampling and upsampling players with no digital filters sound best. Less circuitry yields purer reading of disc material. I still am looking for the perfect cables and interconnects. Dielectrics fizz is real when you are trying to hear subtle textures, real textures, not contrived.

The beauty of it all is when all distortions are minimized, your reward is a treasure trove of subtle nuances locked into 16 bit CDs you can't hear otherwise. That is because of the barely audible fuzzys and fizzys generated by electronic wizardry, and winter jacketed wires.

I wince every time I read someone complaining how their new class D amp sounds all congested, bright, or dull. There should be no worry. You just have a little house cleaning to do.

Synergy is the key. (Personal preferences + depth of noticed detail) / (system capability + system synergy = satisfaction)

Bob Wood

Personally, I like my NuForces more than any amp I've had in my system. They are very clean and very dynamic. As or more detailed than I was used to. About the same imaging. And I sure like not worrying about tube replacement, sparks at turn-on, heat, and waits for warmup!