What is your favorite Class D amp?


Moving to a new home with a smaller dedicated listening room has caused me to rethink my entire system.  I have always been a fan of EL34 tube amps and presently have a Primaluna HP (4 tubes per channel), but the size and heat make this a bit more difficult in my new set up.  So I have been thinking about going with a smaller, less hot class D amp.  But being a tube guy, I have never seriously looked into or listen to these amps.

so what is your favorite class D amp?  New or used, in the 5k range, but could go up to 10k.  Preamp is a Conrad Johnson ET-7.  Speaker will be in the monitor/mini-monitor class (so I don’t need high power for a smallish room) but have not made my final decision on speakers as the amp/speaker synergy makes this kind of a joint decision.

I purposely asked for “favorite” to be a bit more open in your relies.

thanks, Bill

meiatflask

Not class D but cool, powerful, in price range, and small footprint: Benchmark AHB2.

I’d finalize the speaker decision first because that’ll largely dictate which amps will be suitable to drive them properly.  That said, you might consider the Coda S5.5 that’s a Class A amp but supposedly doesn’t get too hot according to owners so worth a look, and it’s not all that big either as amps go.  For Class D I’d look at AGD and Atmasphere GaN amps.  Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

Orchard Audio Starkrimson 25 monoblocks.  They design their own GaN-FET modules and they sound fantastic.  Well within your budget.  

I am using a class D NAD 298 in one system with a ProJect Pre Box RS2 Digital preamp which has a selectable 6922 tube preamp stage, the sound is very good.

I have a pair of these and would put them up against any GaNFET on the market. Try to find a shootout between the Eigentakt and a GanFet amp. 

The customization options from Nord are unrivaled. 

https://nordacoustics.co.uk/product/nord-three-1et9040ba-mb-mkii-mono-block-power-amplifier/