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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
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taww's avatar
taww
137 posts
 

I recently picked up a Mola Mola Perca. It’s for my second system, to go up against my current ICEpower 1200AS amp, but I’ve been breaking it in with my main system where I use a Gryphon Essence. I absolutely love the Gryphon, but the Mola Mola really has me scratching my head if it actually deserves to stay here……

mifanning's avatar
mifanning
25 posts
 

Late to the thread.  After years with Class A/B amps — with a slight diversion to Class D with Devialet—I recently switched to the Class D Mola Mola Perca.  Simply an amazing amp that grips my drivers like no other amp.  I’ll admit that the first week was tetchy as the amp reveals everything.  That means poorly recorded music will sound terrible.  Similarly, I had to reacclimatize my ears to the proper sound of the human voice.  Previously, my Class A/B amps provided a slight bloom to voices.  With the Perca, I believe I am hearing them as intended but that’s a personal observation and choice.  Your mileage may vary.

For the record, I’m using  a Lumin X1 preamp/network streamer as the front end (balanced mode with Grimm SQM XLRs) tethered to Vivid B1 Decade speakers.  As an aside, Vivid co-owner Philip Guttentag recommended the Perca/Vivid combination as a “marriage made in heaven.”

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,600 posts
 

Simply an amazing amp that grips my drivers like no other amp.
 

That’s a good way to describe what I have learned.  I struck gold in this regard with my current amp from Class D Audio. Newer design and best yet in terms of overall results and value. 

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,709 posts
 

I’m using a pair of Bel Canto Ref 601 monoblocks and honestly I have never heard my speakers sound this good before.

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