Quiet competence or occasional magic?

[Adrian]

There’s a Primare A30.1 integrated in Cloney’s.

I did have a 30.2 power amp recently, it did take a little while for it “grow” on me but it was (is) a very good amplifier. It had a slightly different sound, kinda clinical but allowed a Crystal transparency to the music too. At low volumes it raised my eyebrows on more than a few occasions. Never got it ramped up to higher levels, too afraid!!

The older Primare gear seems to be held in higher regard than the newer stuff.

But for not much money, that 30.1 would be worth a listen.

Don’t forget with some amps you are also getting a DAC as well, not just an amp ( some Hegel & McIntosh models).

Enjoy the journey!


Post edit......

Came across this.........https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/ ... -amplifier

Michael Bladelius previously of Pass Labs worked with Primare for a time.

Perhaps we should be following designers rather than brands?

[Adrian]

I believe the Copland CSA 100 is worth checking out.

Put that on your watchlist!

[Diapason]

Ha, I'm intending to borrow shortly!

[Diapason]

I angled the car Blackrock-ward today with the intention of borrowing a Copland, but the demo model was out with somebody else (that'll teach me to call ahead when I'm already in the car!) Instead I borrowed a pre-owned Sugden A21SE, an intriguing prospect given it's a pure class A amp, albeit with only 30w on tap. I just can't resist the slightly quirky leftfield option! Sure enough, it runs hot enough to make clear that Sugden is NOT bluffing about it being class A. The cat is banned from the sitting room for now, and it's probably just as well. I may yet have to ban the kids.

So what about the sonics? Well, once again, this is an amp that definitely fits the topic of this thread. It doesn't address any of the things I set out to address when looking for a new amp (more power, more grip, more drive, more bass) but instead it sounds just gorgeous. Mid-range and treble are pure, luminous, velvety loveliness, that kind of open, calm, "everything-is-going-to-be-ok" kind of sound that encourages you to keep listening. Even now I'm watching rugby with the sound down so I can listen to some more music. This isn't normal for me.

There are issues, though. The gain is so massive that I can't move the dial much beyond 7 o'clock position so it's actually quite hard to set a good volume level. Also, it's *probably* not the right amp for these speakers, as the bass can be a little haphazard. Still, at the moment I'm sitting here wondering if any of that matters. Would I get tired of this general gorgeousness? Maybe, but not soon.

I should probably do nothing. Like I said earlier. Right?

[Adrian]

Sugden have a long long pedigree and take considerable pride in their products. The A21SE has much bigger heat sinks than the A21 Signature (24 watts), so yes it will run hot, but not as hot as it's heat sinks are vertical and bigger.

Whilst bigger electricity bills may be in the post, heating bills will be lower!! As for the cat, I would imagine he would welcome the new source of heat!!

WRT getting more bass, there is only so much you can do with the amplifier. IMO speakers would require to be changed out. Either to floorstanders or higher quality standmounts......... 805's, Borresen Z1's or Raidho? I have 805's, and they are truly an amazing speaker, real kick a** bass when required.

But ultimately..... synergy is very important. Getting the "whole" to work together is vital.

[Diapason]

Yes, can't argue with any of that, and actually that's part of the reason I think I should take a step back and figure out where I'm going.

[Adrian]

I spoke to Ivan recently, he mentioned a new speaker called the Magnepan LRS, which for approx 1200e is giving box speakers a very serious run for their money.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ma ... dspeaker-0

[Diapason]

I heard them upstairs in the shop between lockdowns, really interesting speakers and I quite liked them. Probably not ideal for the room in question here, mind you, for reasons of space and aesthetics. That's one of the reasons I've kept the SFs for so long, they just look great!

[Diapason]

I have to say, the good people of Cloney Audio have the patience of Job putting up with me at this point. I'm not sure if it's because I had a system at a higher level before and as a consequence I'm more discriminating, or whether it's just added crankiness with age, but I'm definitely fussier than ever. This is the first time in a long time that I've compared a lot of equipment in fairly quick succession, as recent purchases have been along the lines of "let's try that, I like it, ok I'll buy it". It's been a fascinating process and an excellent reminder of just how different components can sound, even something as apparently simple as an amplifier. The neighbours now hate me, but you can't have everything.

Since you last heard from me, I've sampled the Rotel pre/power you can see on the pre-owned page. Undeniably powerful, but not the sound I was looking for so it was ruled out fairly quickly.

Next up was the CJ pre-amp with the Parasound A21 (also to be found on the pre-owned section). To be frank this combo was over budget, but I wanted to hear what it could do, and in some ways it cleared up a few points for me. For starters, it confirmed what I had long suspected, that the SFs are capable of way better bass than I had been hearing. However, I also found myself missing the glorious Sugden mid-range I talked about before. The CF/Parasound combo was great in most objective ways, but didn't have the same magic, so I was back to the question that started this thread. It seems clear to me now that I need some degree of both to justify the next step. The phono stage in the CJ deserves a special mention, it was utterly fab, but unfortunately factory set for high gain (to suit MC) which meant that my listening was often too loud even with the volume set at 1 (it's a stepped resistor type volume). Close, but no cigar.

Most recently, I have been sampling the Copland CSA 100. As a current owner of a CSA 28 I thought this might be just an incremental change but I have to say, it's a big step forward. It's a very, very good amp. Bass is solid, and actually some of the best I've heard in my traversals. Clarity is excellent, the presentation is very balanced, and the whole thing just has this overall sense of unfussed quality that's really impressive. It's the very embodiment of the quiet competence I was talking about at the beginning of the thread and in all honestly it should probably be better-known. The on-board DAC is excellent too, better than my Arcam rDAC. All told, if I'd heard this amp first I might not have bothered going any further, as it addressed almost everything I wanted to address in the first place. But nothing is ever that simple.

One of the problems with listening to a few quality items in fairly quick succession is that it's hard to judge anything on its own merits, the inclination to compare and contrast is only heightened. While that can be instructive, it can also be stifling. So here's what I really want:
The evenness, functionality and quiet competence of the Copland, with the Sugden's lifelike midrange and image depth, along with the sparkle and presence of the CJ phono stage. I'd also like that for under 4k. Thanks.

All told, then, I'm still not sure what I'm doing with amplification, and I'm also now considering whether the fundamental issue is that I need new speakers to get the sound that I want. So it's going well. I do enjoy the chase, though...

[paulb]

If you want to have a listen to some different speakers I have a pair of Zu Audio Druid vi I am thinking about selling