Brent Jesse rebirth?

Back in the 1990s, they said that vinyl playback is dead.  In the mid-2000’s, it was all about peak oil ;-)

None of this is to argue that solid state can be done right.  It takes more talent to do so however, and definitely separates the men (designers) from the boys.

... Thom @ Galibier

@hilde45 ​​@atmasphere I second your experiences and thoughts. I have four tube amps and three Nelson pass designed first watt amps and I enjoy them all equally. fascinating for me to hear that you think the same.

ps-I also like PSVANE tubes. I think between them and JJ we will be fine. their customer service has been flawless in my experience.

@bruce19 Quite the collection. I'm not yet understanding why Class AB, for example, cannot be implemented well enough to make Class D just another option. I've heard some darn good AB amps and only a couple D amps that sounded decent. Of course, limited experience, small sample side, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. But AB amps can have tone, grip, and energy efficiency, so I don't quite see why they'd be going anywhere or not improving. 

@hilde45  I'm sure your right. My earlier experiance was with class AB. Nothing wrong with those but I learned that I have a taste for that 2nd harmonic distortion or whatever it is that tubes and, apparently, SITs have. I have come to accept that hifi is the skillful creation of a desirable audio illusion and we get to choose what elements we want in our illusion. I also buy into Nelson Pass's zen proposition that less can be more, so simplicity appeals. In that respect class AB is usually quite a bit more complex circuit wise so maybe a bit more distant from the music. Class D contradicts this, it would appear and I have to admit I had a Rogue Sphinx and now have a ClassDAudio Gan amp. The Rogue, of course has tubes in the preamp section and Hypex in the back so it's no surprise that it appeals to folks like me. But the Gan fet amp Really has that same sweetness that I like, though it leans more to a "clean" sound. I think Ralph is talking mainly about Gan fet amps when he boosts Class D.

@bruce19 

I hear you about tubes and SITs having a distinctive second harmonic character, but that character isn't entirely absent from Class AB. Pass XA-25 is Class AB and there are others that produce second harmonic distortion too. It may come down to degree and consistency. As I understand it, in Class AB, odd-order harmonics tend to creep in more as the amp moves through its crossover region. Very design-dependent.

On simplicity, the Sphinx is actually a pretty complex design: tube mu-follower preamp, Hypex Class D output stage, discrete MOSFET headphone amp, and a MM/MC phono stage all in one chassis. Three different technologies interacting. That's not a knock against it but it's not simple.