go for one. you'll win in better tonal balance, less distortions and less speaker load complexity. |
I second Marakanetz advice. I've found a more powerful amp will sound better than bridging two amps. |
with what you're looking for, you may even consider going with the ca300 if you can, i've read that the sonics and low end are much better than the 100 or 200. it may be stretching your dollar, but it's a thought. looked into it quite a bit as i was consering these amps until i went to a tube amp. good luck! |
This is interesting. Folks feel a stereo amp is preferable to monoblocks, is that what you are saying? |
I'd go for 2. I have a CA200 and it's a great amp. But, bridged it is like 700w into 4 ohms. The 2 CA100s also give you option of vertical biamping, plus bridging option. You may also find one CA100 is plenty of power for 7Bs.
-Ed |
Drubin, I think the previous posts are saying that a more powerful stereo amp is better sounding in certain respects, than bridging two smaller or equal amps, however, if you have a pair of amps already designed as monoblocks to begin with, such as what I own, then the story might be a little different. |
yep,
if the amp is designed to be a monoblock it's certainly more beneficial to have two |
I could be wrong but I think Classe put the CA series technology of UHC (ultra high current) in 200's and up. They also claim the difference in amperage from lower to higher also deals with higher quality parts. I know I've got 1 ca200 and have been very satisfied for several years driving Thiels. |
What do you all think of Classe amps? I've never evaluated the stuff critically, but it has always seemed such an attractive value from a watts per dollar perspective, plus good apparent build quality and nice looks. How does it stack up sonically with something like the Pass X series amps, Levinson, etc? Is it in the same league? |
Drubin,
I am wondering the same thing myself. I am considering the purchase of a pair of CAM 200 monos to power my Magnepan MGIIIA's. The price seems attractive enough. I will be setting up an audition of them within the next few days. |
i almost purchased a classe amp(s) to go with my classe preamp and cd player but in the end decided to go with a pair of odyssey monoblock amps. very similiar sound, but saved $$$$ compared to the ca-201, ca-301 and the cam monoblocks. |
Samski, I own two CA-150's that power Aerial 8's and have found the match to be very satisfying. The folks at Overtures Audio and a fellow from Texas ,Jeff Wiseman, made the suggestion and the results are that you never run out of power and the dynamics are great. The Aerial's love power but clean power and the best front end you can afford. Steve P.S. The cables are important as you are well aware. SAL |
Drubin, I was alluding to the bridging of the amps, which IMHO degrades the sound. Amps designed as monoblocks sound better than stereo amps bridged. I did own a CA-200 for a year or so, and it was a very nice amp. Warm, rich tonal balance, with solid bass. I'm currently using a Threshold T400 amp, which has more detail in the upper midrange and high's without any glare. I wasn't really looking for another amp, I was happy with th CA-200, I just happened to have a friend selling the T400 and I tried it out and preffered it. He didn't want the hassle of selling and shipping, so he made a great offer, I took it. I am still using a Classe preamp (CP-60) and I believe Classe equipment represents a great value when considering $$$ vs. performance.
Regards,
John |
I would shoot for the CA-200 over the two CA-100's in terms of sonics. That is, unless power / spl capacity is more important to you than the overall sound.
My past experience with Classe' amps is that they start sounding better as you get to the 200 wpc model and above. Below that, i didn't really care for them for multiple reasons. At or above the 200 wpc models, i think that they sound markedly different and better than the models below that point. While i know that they say that their smaller amps are the same circuitry and are just reduced in terms of output capacity, the sound is NOT the same or as good. At least, that has been my experience. Since bridging typically degrades the sonics on most amps when put into that mode, using smaller Classe' amps and going that route may take you further away from what you seek sonically but give you the spl's that you desire. As others have mentioned, the CA-300 would probably be a better bet, but could be out of your price range. Sean
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Sean,
how can 200wpc model have the same PS as 100wpc model?
at least that should be different... |
The basic circuitry is said to be identical but scaled to accomodate the various output levels. In other words, the 100 wpc amp has a power supply capable of X amount of amps with 8 output devices and the 200 wpc has a power supply capable of XX amount of amps with 16 output devices, etc... Same circuit design, just different capacities.
As someone else mentioned though and from what my ears tell me, there are either differences in circuit design, parts quality used or the bias levels are altered as the bigger models definitely sound "better" to me. Sean
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This may be true in this case, but I would hestitate to generalize, and alot depends on whether you plan to bridge, or vertically bi-amp. I know that, imo, a bi-amped pair of DNA 0.5s beats a single DNA 1.0. |
Good point Swampwalker. What works best will be system dependent i.e. make & model of amps and speakers being used, etc.... My comments weren't meant to reflect on this type of installation in general, but on this specific installation with the amps mentioned. Sean
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I was curious about this too and reach out to Bryston - How does two smaller amps vs one bigger amp compare? Specifically: 1) two 4b stereo's vs. one pair of 7b monos 2) one pair of 7b mono vs one 14b stereo 3) two 4b stereo's vs one 14b stereo Research says separating the left/right and high/low channels will provide better separation - but what's the downside? Since the combined power rating of each option is about the same - is one option louder, fuller, more relaxed? Because the Bryston amps have totally independent channels (4B and 14B) the advantage of using separate amps for l/r and high/lows does not apply. So you can use 1 stereo amp per side and not have any crosstalk between channels.
The Maggies like to have a lot of voltage swing so the more powerful the amplifier the better the control. Even though 2 - 4B's might seem like it would give you the same power as 2-7B's or a 14B that is not the case because the passive crossover in the Maggie will limited the power to 300 watts on each driver as opposed to 600 watts from the 7B's or 14B's. |
The 14B is two 7Bs in one box.
The 7b is a bridged 4 in one box.
They are essentially all the same.
A,. |
For sure, CA-200/201. More musical and refined than CA-100's, although CA-100 is a fine amplifier as well.
peter jasz |
