Quiet competence or occasional magic?

[tony]

Nice looking amp Simon. At the very least you have bought another 10yrs of borrowing equipment from Cloneys :)

[Diapason]

It has been suggested that they must have nearly fallen over when I said I was going to buy something...

[tony]

I did notice a lot of white smoke around the blackrock area at some stage during the week. Some locals were telling me they hadn't seen that for nearly 20yrs.

Of course people in glass houses need to be careful. It is a long time since my wallet was prized open for system changing Nordost Blue heaven power cables at a special sale price.

[Diapason]

Next you'll be buying a new belt for your TT or the like. It's a slippery slope, Tony, mind how you go.

[Ivor]

I thought I'd posted a response almost 24 hours ago... ah well, confusion has become my default state. :)

Well done Simon, I'm glad you found a balance. Copland make fantastic units, I've always liked them and indeed at one happy stage I had Copland pre/power and CDP all running concurrently. I wish you many years of itch free listening old boy.

[Kevin1]

Here's an action shot...

rsz_20210417_165101.jpg

Would be very interested in your experience with the CSA 100, a few months down the line. How does it compare to the older SC28? I am considering getting the CSA100, to drive Magenepan LRS (quite tough to drive). Currently doing just about OK 70W power but they could do with some more, and rather like the Copland sound. Any views welcome. With thanks.
Kevin

[Diapason]

Hi Kevin,

I'm glad to report I still love it, and I'm struck by its quality literally every day. Not a hint of buyer's remorse, and trust me when I say that's extremely rare for me. Regarding comparisons with the CSA 28, it still has something of that Copland sound, but for me I find it a significant step forward in every way. As always, there's a question of taste here, and the amp leans more to the "refined" end of things rather than the "excitingly ballsy" end of things. That suits me very well, but I could cheerfully accept that other might be looking for something else. For Maggies though, I'd say they could be a lovely combo, I'm guessing refined and open and natural. On my side it sounds subjectively more powerful than a lot of other things I tried (including Parasound A21) but the subjective sense and the real physics can be different. My speakers are the kind of things that can be driven by anything, but at 4 ohm nominal they only come alive with some real juice. I would say the CSA 100 is definitely worth a go, and if it's not enough you could always consider the CSA 150 instead.

One way or the other, I would heartily recommend an audition.

[Kevin1]

Thanks for that, really helpful.