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[WTD] Class D Power Amp

Weeman1973

Weeman1973

Big Country Member
I fancy trying a decent Power Amp to run my Davone Ray S Speakers.

They’re a 4ohm / 89db sensitivity load so perhaps not the easiest, hence my thoughts about going Class D.

For a pre I’ll probably use my Cayin iDAC6 which has either a transistor or valve output which I feel would be a great match with a Class D amp.

More interested in a ‘branded’ item such as Lindemann, Peachtree, Bel Canto etc. but wouldn’t rule out ‘DIY’ items if they’re nice looking...

Also due to where I’d like to situate the amp, it really needs to be small form factor which is another reason for looking down the Class D route - so, what have you got?
 
I have a Nord small form factor class D power amp that was used for rear speakers for a short while and has sat unused since I moved home 2 1/2 years ago. It's high quality and black with no visible marks, damage etc. It's somewhere between 180 and 250 WPC at 8ohm. I am on holiday ATM but could do some research later today and post a link to the exact version if your interested. It's similar size to Bel Canto, Cyrus (not as deep as Cyrus), MF HPA etc. I think it has balanced and single ended inputs. I would be looking for £290 to include RM special delivery or you could collect for £275.
 
It's a Nord One MP NC252 with balanced outputs as well as single ended and the 12V trigger option. There are some reviews online and one from someone who chose over theNC500 plus his reasoning.
 
If your close enough to collect your welcome to try first with your speaker. I compared to a Meridian 557 and a NC500 custom made £3k amp and it held its own. I am pretty sure any well designed power amp would sound good connected to a quality pre amp. For the comparison is used a Chord Hugo TT2 and Mscaler as the pre (and DAC). The speakers were PMC Twenty Five .26.
 
Brian Ellis said:
If your close enough to collect your welcome to try first with your speaker. I compared to a Meridian 557 and a NC500 custom made £3k amp and it held its own. I am pretty sure any well designed power amp would sound good connected to a quality pre amp. For the comparison is used a Chord Hugo TT2 and Mscaler as the pre (and DAC). The speakers were PMC Twenty Five .26.
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Thanks again Brian - it is very much appreciated.

I may be in touch when you’re back from your holidays to see if they play nicely with my Davones as just noticed you aren’t that far from me after all.
 
My son is looking after the house so your welcome to collect this week and any time would be OK for him. I am not back until 30th January but gives you time to road test!
 
Weeman1973, just had a look at your speakers, they look very interesting. Can see why your thinking about Class D as Imagine they would sing better with some power behind them.
 
Thanks Brian.

Previously I have tried an NC502 based amp with my speakers which whilst delivering all the power the speakers could ever want, I wasn’t blown away from the overall presentation the pairing offered - hence my trepidation of trying an amp further down the Hypex food chain as it were.
 
Just in case this helps the search. I owned a pair of NC500 based monos, NC400 based monos which were full of top end components and in custom high end cases and XTZ class D monos as well as the Nord 252. It was hard to distinguish much of a difference (if any) between them and I did experiment somewhat. Maybe a class A/B amp in a small form factor case would be a better solution. Your speakers seem quite unique so a demo connected to your speakers would be beneficial.
 
Brian Ellis said:
Maybe a class A/B amp in a small form factor case would be a better solution. Your speakers seem quite unique so a demo connected to your speakers would be beneficial.
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That is another consideration thanks - maybe a pair of Cyrus X Monoblocks or the like may be the answer. The speakers so sound very nice with my Avondale Qudos powered monoblocks but I’m using them another system upstairs currently
 
There’s a Gato Audio dia 400s integrated with dac at Audio Emotion. Bit over budget! Maybe you could home trial it? I believe you could use your pre with it.
 
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