Class D for a Tube Lover

Don't believe the die-hards. The newest Class D amps fulfill the promise of that topology. They consume just a few watts more than they are outputting at any moment. Try the Starke Sound AD-320. Four channels, bridgeable to two, sounds great, huge power & clarity; under $1500. Returnable if you don't like (you will). I have three running a 5.0 system with Linkwitz LX521-4 main speakers, Golden Ear Triton 5 rears, Wharfdale center channel (11 channels of amps); want two more for other systems in the house. They sound as good as the Purifi output modules (I have four channels of those also). Check the Purifi & Starke reviews. I have several class A amps also. The new "Ds" beat 'em.

There is no class d amp that will sound like a class A or tubed amp, sorry.

The issue here is distortion- it is distortion that causes tube amps to sound 'warm' and 'lush' and its distortion that causes traditional solid state amps to sound 'bright' and 'harsh', especially at higher volumes.

Class D amps do not make the same sort of distortion as traditional solid state. As a result, the generalization in the quote above is false. A class D amp will sound like a tube amp if it makes enough 2nd and 3rd harmonic distortion to mask the higher orders, even if its THD is two orders of magnitude lower than the tube amp to which it is being compared. If there are non-linearities in the encoding process, you do in fact get the lower ordered harmonics as the primary distortion. Just one example...

@boomerbillone 

The price on the Starke AD-4 320 shows $999 with free shipping as far as I can tell. Looks great and seems to be a hybrid of class d and a/b. When I search here it seems only you come up with any comments about it. How did you hear about this amp? Does the purifi amp you also own have any of the buffers?

If you live around a bigger city, you will likely find some discounted Peachtree products on Facebook Marketplace. If you don't like the sound, you can resell it for around the same price you bought for. Peachtree seems to be one of the most discounted product lines at your price point with a healthy resale market (in comparison to Cambridge Audio for NAD, say). 

I bought a ps audio S300 to use while my Musical Reference RM9 mkii (the best tube amp these ears ever heard) was being repaired... I thought I’d sell it once repaired. However, I kept it and sold my tube amp.

Does the S300 sound as good as that tube amp...? NO. However, I was shocked at how close it came.

It probably helps that I am feeding it with a really nice tube linestage (great synergy).

Ignore those that are making blanket statements against class D.

I didn’t like earlier class D sound either...but at least PS Audio.... and possibly others are now getting some incredible sound out of class D.

I don’t miss the tube replacement costs, heat, the weight, or the extra consumption of energy of tube amps.

My experience is that you can have the best of both worlds... With a nice tube pre.

YMMV