High-end ($3000+) class-D amplifiers

[asruser2020]

What are your opinions on high-end, expensive class-D amplifiers from major brands? I'm currently looking at:

Primare A35.2
$3500
200 wpc into 8 ohms
25.8 lbs (11.7 kg)
Review: https://www.stereophile.com/content/primare-a352-power-amplifier

Bel Canto e1X amp
$6000
250 wpc into 8 ohms
13 lbs (5.9 kg)
Review: https://www.stereophile.com/content/bel-canto-e1x-power-amplifier

McIntosh MI254
$4500
250 wpc into 8 ohms
23.5 lbs (10.7 kg)

NAD M22 V2
$3299
250 wpc into 8 ohms
19.6 lbs (8.9kg)
Review: https://www.stereophile.com/content/nad-masters-series-m22-power-amplifier

NAD C298
$1999 (too low for high-end)
185 wpc into 8 ohms (Purifi)
24.7 lbs (11.2 kg)

 

[richard12511]

Have any of these been measured? I'd be worried that they're not as good sonically as the best ones we've seen measured here(March Audio, Nord). They might be just as good as Nord/March, but we know it's not really possible to be any better. These also seem pretty poor price/performance. You should be able to get 400+/channel into 8 ohms with state of the art amp performance for ~$1,500 from the best amp makers.

Honestly not familiar with all of these brands, but you may be paying for name/aesthetic here more so than for actual sonic performance. And that's perfectly ok if you're fine with that. I know people that want the Mc gear for the looks, and I must admit I do think a full rack of McIntosh gear looks pretty slick.

What are you looking for?

 

[cistercian]

Crown I-Tech 12000HD 2100 watts per channel @ 8 ohms. About 3k used, about 8k new.
4500 watts/channel @ 4 ohms. Not as low a distortion figure as typical hifi amps.
Just ridiculous high power.
https://www.crownaudio.com/en/products/i-tech-12000hd

 

[BillG]

All of them are very overpriced with the exception of the last NAD which is just slightly overpriced. $1,500USD, which would be my personal limit, will buy one a powerful class D amp with incredibly low distortion.

 

[RayDunzl]

No immediate experience with them here, except inside my little JBL LSR 308 (and 305), assuming they are Class D... https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/sta350bw.pdf

Otherwise Class AB and the Krells here now are some sort of variable Class A

---

Are the March Audio amps not "high end"? I kinda thought they are.

 

[tmtomh]

For $3000 get the Benchmark AHB2 (not Class D, I know, but still small form factor and low heat) and you're done.

 

[asruser2020]

For $3000 get the Benchmark AHB2 (not Class D, I know, but still small form factor and low heat) and you're done.

This one's nice! I forgot about Benchmark.

 

[asruser2020]

What are you looking for?

Reputable brand would be great. I know they'll have dealers in the USA along with servicing.

 

[CDMC]

Have any of these been measured? I'd be worried that they're not as good sonically as the best ones we've seen measured here(March Audio, Nord). They might be just as good as Nord/March, but we know it's not really possible to be any better. These also seem pretty poor price/performance. You should be able to get 400+/channel into 8 ohms with state of the art amp performance for ~$1,500 from the best amp makers.

Honestly not familiar with all of these brands, but you may be paying for name/aesthetic here more so than for actual sonic performance. And that's perfectly ok if you're fine with that. I know people that want the Mc gear for the looks, and I must admit I do think a full rack of McIntosh gear looks pretty slick.

What are you looking for?

NAD has and it measures very well: https://www.stereophile.com/content/nad-masters-series-m22-power-amplifier-measurements

I chose it because of it’s power capabilities, features and excellent measured performance. Well those things and I bought mine for $1550 used.

Were I looking now, I would be very temped by the NAD C298 if I wanted an amp through a dealer with US based support. If it has sufficient power, it probably isn’t worth spending more. That said, I would put March on your list. Yes, if you have a problem it has to be shipped back, but you are dealing direct with the manufacture. There isn’t a lot to go wrong.

 

[Eetu]

Apollon, March & Nord Purifi amps are <$2000. Why would you want to spend thousands of dollars more for inferior/similar performance? Genuine question.

 

[charleski]

Apollon, March & Nord Purifi amps are <$2000. Why would you want to spend thousands of dollars more for inferior/similar performance? Genuine question.

Hi-End audio is basically about the Pretty. That’s what you’re paying for, something that looks cool and impressive. Good casework is expensive, that’s never really going to justify the extra cost, but there’s always an excess built in for a Nice Thing.

On that basis I’d go for the McIntosh because Oooh, glowy blue dials.

 

[Ilkless]

Apollon, March & Nord Purifi amps are <$2000. Why would you want to spend thousands of dollars more for inferior/similar performance? Genuine question.

OP wants something that's more corporate/larger support network/retail presence. I can't say I don't empathise seeing so many small brands that were forum darlings come and go when something happens to the founder.

Reputable brand would be great. I know they'll have dealers in the USA along with servicing.

NAD would be a pretty safe choice and not badly overpriced. Only brand of these listed whose own engineering team I trust to be able to keep up with Hypex/Purifi's engineering and do justice to the potential of the modules.

My personal take is that the Hypex/Purifi modules do the heavy lifting and they are now used by so many brands that they are a commodity, so brand support is a nice bonus but not necessary. Hypex (and Purifi) also have unusually strong support and communication with consumers for OEMs, perhaps reflecting how they got their big break in the DIY market. Get an affordable, pretty, well-built class D power amp from any of the small guys (with proven build quality rather than obvious mistakes like some dissected on ASR), and then some pretty boutique preamp to go with it.

The Benchmark AHB2 is of course another option, but IMO it looks hideous.

The problem is that the boutique manufacturers are often the ones that feel the pressure to distinguish themselves with complex, overbuilt ancillary electronics to the class D modules, that ultimately can't keep up with the insane levels of engineering in Hypex/Purifi (probably because they have never had the incentive to engineer at that level due to the voodoo that dealers and most enthusiasts prefer to indulge in). Budget limitations and perhaps engineering insight helps ensure the cheaper guys are kept down to earth instead of ridiculous overbuilding. Preamps are comparatively harder to screw up, the performance gap isn't that large, the electronics genuinely differ between brands (vs in the Class D space), and the bulk of the tactile user experience is interacting with it - volume control, input switching etc, so a splurge there feels justified for something with extraordinary build, industrial design and track record of long-term reliability and support.

My pick for an affordable power amp would be the Hattor NC500. I think it's very pretty and reasonably-priced. Then splurge on a preamp. Hell, I would even go for used ultra-high-end like JRDG, Nagra, Levinson, Accuphase, Luxman, Burmester etc. etc. because depreciation tends to be quite heavy and many of these brands pride themselves on long-term support.

 

[sigbergaudio]

Interesting that the McIntosh MI254 is marketed as a "4-channel digital amplifier". I don't see any digital inputs or outputs

Strange specs too? Very high THD and very low damping factor for a Class D amplifier?

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

Question to the OP. What are you looking for ? In those amps? ANd why the "High End" moniker? All that I can see from the brands chosen is they cater to audiophiles who will likely hear vast differences between amps ... that under the scrutiny of knowledge removed and level-matched, are indistinguishable ...

For around $1600 (plus shipping , perhaps) March Audio P452. The designer made sure of not messing with the performance of the Class D module in there, thus SOTA measurable performance. NAD could have been a choice but they have a strange tendency to under perform with respect to the capabilities of the modules used. See Amir recent review of a NAD multichannel amp

 

[OdysseusG]

Audio jewelry can be fun, but generally isn't worth it to me. That said Apollon's basic cases aren't bad, so I'd expect the "premium" ones to be quite handsome. I'm also fond of March Audio's casework and compact size.
If the concern is going with a more established player it's hard to beat ATI whether you go with the 52X or 54X series. They don't measure quite at the tops for Hypex but are certainly solid. The other obvious contender would be Theta Digital with certainly more interesting cases. Most would say prettier than the very businesslike ATI (who build the amps for Theta, among others) but a bit polarizing.
FWIW, class D amps I've owned: Apollon (Purifi and Hypex), March Audio (Purifi), ATI 543 and ATI 526, and Wyred4Sound SX-1000 monos (Ice Power). Subjectively, the Apollon Purifi sounded better than the ATI 543. I vaguely feel like the W4S monos were also better on the bass panels than the ATI 543. Depending on your speakers I'd be apprehensive of going with Ice Power.

 

[carlob]

For now no high-end class D amp is going to measure better than straight Purifi/Hypex modules in a box, you can buy these from a variety of assemblers (I wouldn't say manufacturers, they just put together OEM modules), only thing that can screw up performance is the buffer module, which is customized by the assemblers or the Purifi eval buffer.
SMPS used by the assemblers are 100% of the time the Hypex ones which are ok for the application, big brands seem to cut corners on power supplies. Will see in the future if a manifacturer is going to come out with a original design that is better of Bruno Putzeys ones but I wouldn't bet on that since most of the manifacturers are licensing his stuff so no real innovation on that department.

Btw if you are going to assemble a Hypex/Purify amp by yourself I'd go with this buffer: https://neurochrome.com/collections/buffers-preamps/products/purifi-1et400a-hypex-nc500-input-buffer

If you like audio jewelery and don't care much about performance I think Jeff Rowland cases are hard to beat (the class D modules inside not so).

 

[Dialectic]

The Benchmark AHB2 is of course another option, but IMO it looks hideous.

I've been waiting for someone else to say this!

 

[jae]

SMPS used by the assemblers are 100% of the time the Hypex ones

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smps-for-audio-applications.14307/

 

[Matias]

My endgame power amplifier will be based on the yet to be released high power Purifi amplifier modules built by Apollon. Patiently waiting until then.

 

[carlob]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smps-for-audio-applications.14307/

Yes, I was talking about the usual assemblers. I believe that March, Nord, Audiophonics, VTV, Apollon and the others all use Hypex spms (the ncore mp modules incorporate a power supply). The only differentiators, besides the quality of assembly, are the case and the buffer (and opamps) they use.