[jking]

So this is my first post and I understand I need to introduce myself and start a new thread which I hope is not duplicitous. About me, I have been a lover of music and audiophile since my teen age years. Bought and sold equipment to be able to support my habit. Started reading the Absolute Sound from the first issue. Yes, I am getting old. Was always on the unicorn quest to create the "absolute sound" in my listening room. Was lucky to be able to attend live classical concerts, live jazz clubs, rock and pop concerts. Also I have been involved in music production and have spent time in recording studios. Over time my in house speakers have been  ESS AMT's, Wilson Watt Puppie's , Ribbon hybrid speakers the name of which I don't recall, Maggie's, PSB's, Paradigms, was smitten by the sound of Apogees on first hearing them, stared with the Duettas and then the Divas which are still alive and well today. So well , that despite attending several audio show I have heard nothing yet that would make we want to change. Also have built 2 pairs of speakers using Common Sense Audio Drivers, picked up a pair of Duevel Bella Luna Omnidirectional's , also a pair of Bruno Putzeys Kii 3 speakers to jump into active speakers and class D amplification and just recently got a pair of custom made Coherent Audio speakers that I am going to beta test for use as surround sound speakers.  I am still a tube guy at heart, perhaps mostly because for my Diva's I found that Ray Lumley Mono 100 Tube amps were a match made in heaven for the Apogees.  In my system, no Krell, Rowland , Classe or Threshold amp could come anywhere close .  I'm also super happy with my Coincident Dynamo driving the Duevel's.  Ok, sorry to bore all of you and enough of the introduction.

I'd love to hear your real world audition reviews of Class D AMPS that you think are state of the art in 2021.  You know, from those of you who have actually spent time listening . I need to decide on 8 channels of amplification for my surround speakers. I have read with great interest the historic posts here.  I admit, I am a Bruno Putzeys fan and am considering 8 channels from Apollon. I do realize that Purifi module aside , there is so much more to the equation than the amp module . I am also considering 2 4 channel amps from Cherry.  I note that some of you may have had direct experience with Cherry and Apollon Purifi. I'd love to hear from you. 

 

[FullRangeMan]

Welcome to AC.   
TAS also lead me to a long winding road:
With me it was even worse I was a firm believer in audio magazines and for over 30 years I believed that live music was the best benchmark for home audio and during all his time I bought hundreds of magazines that I treated as if they were commandments 

[Phil A]

Welcome!  There's a host of new GaN amps out or coming out soon as well (note that the below are 2-channel but I'm sure tat there will be more multi-channel as well going forward - Nord Acoustics also make some of the same type of amps you mentioned as with as VTV):

LSA Voyager 350 $3000
Wyred for Sound amp $3000  shipping sometime in the near future
Peachtree 400 amp $3000
Orchard Audio amp $2500  shipping sometime in the near future
Mytek Manhattan $6000   shipping sometime in the near future
Mytek Empire mono blocks $20,000  shipping sometime in the near future
AGD Audion mono blocks $7500
AGD Gran Vivace mono blocks $18K
Merrill Audio Element 116 amp $16K

[LarryD56]

   I am a pleased Cherry amp owner with a Megaschino, an STM King Mk2, and Tommy's Dac 2. These are my standards that I compare everything else to. I've had Cherry products for around 8 years and have not had a hiccup with any of their products. I have several other amps, but they don't seem to ever make it into the rotation. Cherry makes great products that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

Larry D.

[WGH]

Add the PS Audio Stellar M1200 monoblock amps to your list, they are both musical and detailed. I would love to hear a 7.2.4 home theater driven by 11 - M1200 amps.
I wrote a review: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=176173.msg1856501#msg1856501

Surround and Atmos speakers need very little power because bass is rolled off at 80 Hz, the 250 watts per channel in the Cherry 4-channel amp would be total overkill unless you have a huge theater and listen at reference levels. I use a old Adcom GFA-7300 5-channel amp for the 4 Dolby Atmos speakers. The 7300 is capable of driving 60 watts RMS into all five channels simultaneously and it never feels like the amp is running out of steam or distorting. The 4 surround speakers have a mix of 120w/channel and 60w/channel amps. My ears max out before the amps.

Two small 4-channel Cherry amps would be nicer than the stack of old school class AB amps I currently use but my pocketbook prefers the old amps.

[hayden]

NAD C298

[dwmaggie]

I'll second the Cherry recommendation.  I have a Megaschino, a DTM, and 2 Maraschinos.  All amps are 200wpc, except the Megaschino which is 250wpc.  They do everything better than the 50+ pound class ABs that I have used.  Currently I am evaluating a ClassDAudio Mini GaN5 200wpc.  So far, the Mini GaN5 is holding its own.  I also have a Crown 1800Xls 200wpc, it seems best suited to sub woofer duties.  Many choices out there, go ahead, try one.

[Early B.]

Class D amps, in general, have finally arrived. Like any other type of amp, the exceptional ones ain't cheap. I want a set of Cherry monos, but at $4,900 each, I'm gonna hold onto my A/B monos for a while longer. At the end of the day, regardless of amp type, the price, sound, and quality all come down to the stoutness of the power supply parts.

 

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC jking   

[jking]

Thanks to all for your welcome message and replies, much appreciated. Ahh yes the long and winding road of TAS. In the beginning, great to read HP's detailed and  ruthless observations of equipment failings which likely lead to sonic improvements. But later , perhaps, arose a perceived conflict of interest between objective reviews and advertising revenue. All and all the interesting journey of great audio continues with many opportunities to observe gurus that come and go, some honest , some trying to be honest but lacking the  breadth of experience to approach correctness, some false prophets, some selling snake oil to maximize profit, some who believe measurements are all that matters and on and on. And then there are the few who are genuine in their desire to seek the truth in review and observation, and those who with passion, design and create components that try recreate the sound that we are looking for at a price that is truly affordable , or at least fair. Learning to trust one's own ears is sometimes hard to do, but in the end , that , together with being fortunate in having others to consult with, whose observations you trust , make this audio journey a pleasant voyage.

And , if there is anyone  else out there that has had an opportunity to hear and directly compare Cherry with Apollon's Purifi amps, I'd love to hear from you.