By The audiophile world seemingly always fights technological change, but change is inevitable in the world that we live in today. One of the biggest changes to come along in our hobby has been the rise of Class-D semiconductor-based audiophile power amps. Class-D amps have been around for over 20 years, but early Bang & Olufsen “ICE amps” were like an ICE raid on you audio system. The brittle and cold-sounding amps were OK for home theater, and especially well-distributed audio (think: in-wall speakers), but when legacy Class-D amps were put in an audiophile system, you could hear audiophile gag reflexes ever so slightly louder than the Steely Dan Aja or Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms in the background.
Crappy-sounding Class-D ICE amps had their benefits back in the day. They ran cool. They were small. They had high output. They were cheap to make but, man, did they sound like crap. Now, inside a Sunfire True Subwoofer back in the day, a Class-D amp was a game-changer for what you could do with a modern subwoofer. Where things went bad was with the higher frequencies. Oh, for the love of God – those amps had no soul. They didn’t sound musical. They sounded bright, cold and shrill in ways that no fancy DAC equalizer or even a tube preamp could fix. The potential for great things was there, but the sound wasn’t, and audiophiles rightfully looked in other directions to find that accurate, ever so slightly warm, deep and engaging sound that we love from a great audiophile power amp.
How Are Modern Class-D Audiophile Power Amps Different Today?
Let me count the ways. Basically, today’s Class-D power amps, using much better semiconductors, far more robust power supplies and just overall superior component design are, in 2026, light years ahead of where we were in the past. GaN (Gallium Nitride), Pascal, Purifi and Hypex amps are changing the way that younger, hungry and enthusiastic audiophiles are looking at the power amp component in their systems. Gone are all the downsides. Also gone is the high price. In is a new level of power amp that is so close to the big-boy, more traditional amps that allows a lower level of financial investment to get really fantastic sound or more money to be invested in other, more impactful component categories. This is a game-changer for younger, more value-oriented audiophiles in 2026 in ways that weren’t available, say, 10 years ago.
What Do I Get with a Class-D Amp in the Modern Audiophile World?
- Physical Size – Today’s Class D amps are smaller than traditional amps. Some don’t like that (I am one of them), as they prefer the aesthetics of matching full-sized components, but that has nothing to do with sound.
- No Heat – Tubes make a ton of heat. Class-A amps, like my beloved Pass Labs XA-160.8 monos (read the review), are total space heaters. That’s a major downside to get that last drop of performance. I pay said price in my big system, but not in my more relevant and more real-world bedroom system.
- No Ongoing Maintenance – Most tube amps require that you bias them. Tubes require that you change out physical tubes every few years, and there’s no guarantee that the specific tubes that you love are available. Yes, you can “tube roll” (aka: swapping out tubes for possible performance benefits or sonic signatures) if you like, but that is a whole new world of audiophile extremism. There’s nothing wrong with it if you are into it, but it is a lot of work, money and grief that today’s Class-D amps simply do not require
- Power Consumption – Class-A amps work by drawing ALL of the power from the wall to output far less juice into your speakers. That’s their grossly inefficient design. Class-D amps barely need any draw from the wall to output copious amounts of power into the audiophile loudspeakers of your choice.
- Low Cost – The absence of any meaningful weight means that you can put a Class-D amp under your arm and take it over to your buddy’s house for a listening session. It also makes shipping a Class-D amp super-easy, which make it even more valuable on the resale market.
- Tube or Class-A-like Sound – From my point of view, amps aren’t supposed to have a sound – recordings are – but there are many who suggest that they want their amp to have a sonic flavor. If Class-A or tube amps have any flavor, it would likely be described as slightly warm-sounding. Class-D amps bring the same sonic characteristics at a fraction of the price and without all of the downside.
- Tons of Power – Class-D power amps deliver more than enough power, current and headroom to drive any modern speaker, even in pretty large listening rooms. Many Class-D amps come as monoblocks or can be made into them with a higher investment. Others, albeit a rarer option, can be bridged for even more power. Simply put, today’s Class-D amps pack enough power to drive your speakers right out of the box without getting into any fancier configurations.
What Don’t You Get with a Class-D Amp in the Modern Audiophile World?
- Audio Jewelry – Today’s most popular Class-D amps are designed to be more utilitarian in look unlike more traditional audiophile amp designs. If you want Vinnie Rossi-, Dan D’Agostino-, Pass Labs– or even McIntosh-looking meters or gauges, ClassD is likely not where you are going to find them. Super-fancy brushed metal case work? Yeah, that’s not likely happening, either.
- Full-Sized Components – This isn’t a rule, but most Class-D amps today are smaller and don’t match other full-width, 17-inch components, thus they don’t always match. One of our reader-favorite Class-D amp designer clients says that he makes a lot of his amps as mono options because he likes the idea of placing them next to the speakers, thus being able to utilize shorter speaker cables. Can we hear the difference in sound carried by differing lengths of speaker cables? For the love of God, I don’t know. Maybe, but there are better things to worry about in your audio system.
- Bragging Rights – The brands that sell Class-D amps are often upstart ventures brimming with enthusiasm and passion but not that blue-chip brand awareness. Jeff Rowland made a pricey Pascal-chipped Class-D amp for a ton of money and fancy casework but I am not sure that was a big hit or that it is still made anymore.
Should You Buy a Class-D Amp?
Do you want to be cool like me? Then you need to own three! I own a pair of Orchard Audio Starkrimson 25 mono amps, a Buckeye Purifi power amp and a Peachtree Audio Hypex amp – all powering (not all at the same time, mind you) a pair of pretty easy-to-drive MartinLogan Foundation F2 folded motion tweeter floorstanding speakers in my bedroom. They compare very, very favorably with the old-school Krell integrated amp that I’ve got. In fact, I like all three of the Class-D amps better, regardless of price.
The Buckeye Amp is so low-cost that you can reasonably have it as a backup in an audiophile system if you ever wanted to have a second amp. My dear friend and former AudiophileReview.com reviewer Ben Shyman owns a small Pass Labs XA 30.8 Class-A power amp with the heat and gauges and all of the downsides (none sonic) that he uses in his Manhattan co-op in the fall and winter. When it is summer, he has a more traditional Class-AB “kitchen table project amp,” also from Nelson Pass’ First Watt that keeps his AC bill lower in the summer. Could a tube or Class-A person do the same with a Class-D amp? They could and, in not all that long, pay for said Class-D amp with the money saved on power for the amp, as well as the HVAC.
Some Final Thoughts on Today’s Class-D Power Amps
Change is hard for a lot of traditional audiophiles but it is important, too. Class-D amps are major audiophile disruptors, and that is a very good thing. No longer do you need to endure the downsides of owning a big, monstrous, ultra-heavy amp to get that big, clean, visceral performance. Times have changed and, for the next generation of audiophiles or even OG audiophiles who are looking to downsize or simplify their systems, this can be a perfect option.
The future looks bright for Class-D amps, too, as more and more companies are looking at ways to make our options even better. Ernie Meunier at ArgentPur is taking Leo Ayzenshtat’s (from Orchard Audio) modules, upping the power supply and doing internal wiring with pricey silver cable and spendy aftermarket silver power cables. These good-looking amps are really well-loved here, as are Ayzenshtat’s slightly less expensive amps. Higher-end brands like T+A, Mytek and others are getting into the Class-D game now. NAD’s best amps are Class-D – we have their latest version of said amp in for review with reviewer Mike Prager right now.
These are exciting times to be an audiophile. Performance is better than ever, with value improving at an even faster rate. The cost to get into a truly high-end audiophile system is just not that crazy any more. Class-D amps are a significant part of that value proposition.
Do you own a Class-D amp? Have you considered one? Have you auditioned one? Tell us about your experience with this new technology. We will post your comments ASAP.
