Class D Amplification Announcement

I have a couple of MBL monoblocks purchased used, model N15.

They clearly sounded better than my ARC Ref 160Ms, even after tube rolling, vibration treatment and good power chords.  It took some burn in time to get rid of the traces of class D sound signature but now they sound like a very good AB class amp.  They are efficient, powerful and never get hot.  Only adjust I had to make in my system was using good copper wire.

Coming from being familiar with pro amps, I had some adverse opinions regarding using them for Hi-Fi. Ok for HT, but not Hi-FI. Had class AB most of my life in my stereo setups. Then an opportunity came to test some lightly used MBL N15 Class D monoblock amps. There was a little glare, but they sounded so clean and powerful, with great bass of course, overall significantly better than my ARC Ref 160M (within my setup). Changed my cables from silver to copper and it got better.

I took the plunge and bought them. Several months have passed and they have just gotten better. Visiting audiophile friends confirm this, they cannot identify them as a Class D anymore just from listening. Perhaps they needed enough burn-in? I believe the original owner gave up on them too soon. MBL’s LASA technology has been around for a while but it does not seem to get all the merit it deserves.

This experience opened my eyes to the progress of class D amp technology.