Class "D" amp? I do not have a clue. Do you?

I have the Bel Canto ref1000 mkii monoblocks. They are the real deal and work very well with tube pre-amps which tend to have higher output impedance (not all Class Ds may be ideal matches for tube pre-amps), and all the speakers in my system, all of which tend to benefit from the high current delivery and damping factor.

For speakers that benefit from this (not all do), they are just what the doctor ordered in a small energy efficient package. For others that do not, well, I expect Class D to be competitive as well but there may also be a lot of viable competition. My amp hunt is over for the foreseeable future.

I'm a fan. But there are substantial differences from model to model and brand to brand. My Bel Canto Ref 1000s sounded good to me but a bit thin and dry. I switched to Kharma MP-150s and the improvement was dramatic. These amps sound very similar to my friends' tube amps.

Have owned several class D amps including tripath and ICE. I prefer the ICE module based amps. They have a natural sound to my ear.
Suggest you pick up a used amp and listen for yourself. The experience will be worth the investment.

I too have had Bel Canto's Ref 1000's in my system. IMO their power and overall presentation seem very well designed when paired with my Eidolon's. In the June / July issue of TAS Nelson Pass gives, what I consider, an experienced and gracious opinion of class D amplification. Unfortunately, like countless other opinions it generalizes these designs as well as assuming the goal of these designs is to achieve "the qualities of good class A amplifiers."

Class D switching, digital, PCM, ICE, etc. amplifiers come in a variety of implementations. Many share some fundamental design features, still, most seem to have their own distinguishable presentation within class D. None of the class D amplifiers I've listened to at any length sounded like a push pull or SET tube, solid state, class A, AB despite others claims.

As a professional Bass player I often play raw digital pre production files as well as analog recorded tapes. What my switching amplifiers do for me is provide an unbelievably revealing and transparent presentation ( what could easily be termed as sterile ) and the most well defined bass. I've found their most unusual quality is their ability to preform at their full output capacity without becoming congested or fatiguing. It's as if they're passing current directly to the drivers. In short they sound like switching amplifiers and their presentation is not for everyone.

My suggestion is to do your own auditioning using robust copper interconnect, speaker, and power cable and an up to date dedicated and shielded AC circuit. Switching to a battery powered preamplifier took my system to another level altogether.

Readers please note that the BEl Canto ref1000 and ref1000m (or mkii as the ref100m has also been called)are two significantly different designs that reprotedly sound different and may work differently in different system configurations. Be sure you know exactly which design is being referred to.

When vendors change a design but only alter the model names slightly, things can be confusing. USing two different designations for the same design (re1000m and ref1000mkii) only makes thnings worse.