Comments please on: NAD M23 vs c298 vs. other newer Class D

@hilde45 

Not sure if this willl help. I used to own the NAD M22 (and M12). I had also tried PS Audio Stellar S300 amps (along with their matching preamp/DAC). I then “upgraded” to the M33 in that same system. Those were precursors to my current cabin system. At the time, the electronics were driving Sonus Faber Olympica Nova IIIs. While it sounded ok, I wasn’t really satisfied with it. I ended upgrading the electronics a lot - not a fair comparison to put a T+A SD 3100 HV DAC and P 3000 HV preamp in there. But before I did all that, I put the Atma-Sphere Class D monos in. 

Frankly - there’s no comparison whatsoever between the AS Class D monos and the NAD M33,  M22 and PS Audio S300 (eigentakt, modified hypex and ICE respectively). While the Class D monos need a lot of time to run in (>400 hours), I’ve found they’re quite remarkable in their performance. A reviewer even compared them favorably to his LAMM amps. I’m now using them to drive Sonus Faber Il Cremonese speakers fronted by the T+A DAC and preamp. Though they are the least expensive component in that system by a large margin, It find the amps to be fully up to the task. Smooth, stable, detailed and resolving and not lean or bleached iin the least which was my objection to the Hypex and ICE variants.

Hope this helps.  

@kirkwallace  Thanks for posting your experience! And for the link.

@rocray  Appreciate it. Too many conversations are of the sort "either-or" and I'm interested in "both-and" if the "and" is a component that, like a new coffee variety or nice jacket, add to the expressive options available. Swapping an amp in and out are super easy for me, because my equipment rack is easy to access and has multiple components on it at all times.

@atmasphere  Thank you, Ralph. Appreciate it. Since you jumped on, a couple of questions for you:
First, how were you able to make a Class D module that competes with companies like NAD, Purifi, et al.? It seems like the kind of thing that teams of engineers and iterations of product development would require and you did it alone? That's astounding.

Second, will there be another iteration of your class D amps? The ones you have now are the first generation, while other amps in this class seem to have gone through a number of "evolutions." Is there a new Atmasphere Class D amp version in the works?

@mgrif104  Are you saying "Audio Stellar S300 amps" are the "AS" which won out? Or does "AS" mean "Atma-Sphere"? I assume the latter. 

And when you say, "Smooth, stable, detailed and resolving and not lean or bleached iin the least which was my objection to the Hypex and ICE variants." -- you're saying all the others had those defects? 

Just want to be clear about what you're saying. Thank you.

@mihorn  thanks for the contribution and the links!

@hilde45 

AS in this case is the Atma-Sphere class D monos which I personally found to be significantly better than the other amps I mentioned in those characteristics. I’ll try to be bit more specific:

I initially liked (after it was broken in) the  NAD M22 as it was dynamic and powerful and reasonably resolving. But I also found it to not be tonally “dense”. I don’t mean lacking in bass, but perhaps this is what the reviewers call “tone color”. 

For the PS Audio S300, I found it again detailed enough but also somewhat bleached tonally. That said, I also thought it quite good for the price - vastly better than the a Parasound A23 I also had laying around which I found to be lacking in resolution and overaly thick in the mid bass.

I had high hopes for the M33 Eigentakt. It was certainly smooth but it never sounded quite right to me and somehow music lost its energy.  To be fair, that unit was also a preamp, streamer and DAC so it’s entirely possible one of those other functions was at fault. I never did try the T+A amps which are based on the Eignentakt module. Rumor has it those are quite good. But the rumors and reviews of the M33 were quite good too and I found it disappointing. For me. Others will clearly disagree.

The Atma-Spphere (AS) Class D amps I have found to be thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying to listen to. Tonally rich, smooth, powerful. Are there better? I’m sure. But I’ve also directly compared and found them fully competitive in my system to the Simaudio North 761 which I also own.  I personally think the North 761 is in the top tier of amps in the $15-$20k range. 

Full disclaimer: I’ve listened to a fair anmount of equipment to have certain tastes and biases. There are amps from a certain well known and regarded (even beloved) company whose sound I do not like though I’ve listened many times. The North and AS amps are what I like. As in all things, YMMV.

@mgrif104 Those are really helpful additions. Thank you. And yes, I really do get the point about "tonally dense". I have the XA-25 which I put up against a DIY amp made with a relatively recent Hypex module and, besides the grating upper end, with the Hypex, there was  "no ’there,’ there" to borrow Gertrude Stein’s cutting remark about her experience of Oakland, CA. The XA-25 brought that contrast immediately to light.