Yes, that was my experience with the Class D amps I've tried (a Wadia and a Teac, think I said Sharp in my original post but I meant Teac). At first I wasn't too sure, they sounded different but like anything else it can take time to get used to a change. But the more I listened the less I liked them and within the week I was sure they weren't staying.
I guess another possibility is to stick with Class A but find a lower power amp, maybe a 40w Class A would only draw 150w or so from the mains and as I don't play things too loud that would likely be fine.
I appreciate that I'm a bit of a Class-D fanboy, but I'd just say be mindful not to associate what you experienced with
all Class D amps - they are absolutely NOT all the same (Just as all Class A or A/B are not all the same).
I'm currently auditioning an Audio Research Class-D amp (yes, I know, heresy!) and it has an astonishing ability with image focus and soundstaging. As we all know, synergy between components is equally, if not more, important than individual performance. An unsympathetic partner will not show up the amp's best qualities.
My previous Gato Class-D amp was a superb match with my Q Acoustics Concept 500s but not quite as good with the Martin Logans, whereas this Class-D Audio Research is really doing the business with them, and it's less powerful than the Gato so it's not all down to grunt. If it was, the MF kW550 that's also currently in residence here would wipe the floor with it... but it absolutely doesn't.