Counterpoint Hybrid Amps: How do they sound?

Some of you hit the nail on the head -- 10 year old equipment has parts that are not of the resolution and finess of present day stuff. And, of course, there is the other problem of aging capacitors that have a life expectancy of 15 years (although many swear their 70's receivers are still kicking).

I'm sure the upgrades make the stuff sound pretty good; however, I think upgrades, esp. from altavista, are highly overpriced, and you lose most of your money when you sell. As opposed to buying something current, at a good price, you will probably lose very little when you sell.

There seems to be no agreement on reliability. Trejla & Ultrakaz say the preamps were the problem, Alruhl says he & his friend had no problems, but Justlisten had amps blowing right and left.

If, as Trejla believes, the amps are somewhat "dated" sounding, with some zing and electronic-sounding, I don't know if a stock unit is a good buy. I'm actually looking for a moderate size amp for a second system, and to use in my main system when I'm between amps, or maybe just to save on my Audio Research & Cary tube life.

I can't speak on the pre amps and amps Counterpoint once made but I do have the DA-11 transport. This machine is well built and was a demo unit at the time I brought it. The only thing that has been replaced is the belt and the display is out. Some internal fuse should fix that. Now if I can just find an original remote.

I have owned a few Counterpoint products over the years and none were unreliable at all. Originally, I used them to feed Apogee speakers with Theta source material. I actually still have a couple stored (an SA100 and an SA220). Compared to SS of the time, I found them quite musical and reasonably priced. With good synergy, you could get pretty enjoyable sound.

I recently hooked each of my remaining two Counterpoint amps (in succession) up to a pair of Avalon Opus Speakers and a pair of Kharma Ceramique 2 speakers with Levinson digital source and was disappointed with the performance. Both were still musical, but compared to a number of amps I either own or have recently auditioned, there were a number of problems. My complaints were with what I must guess is an excessive "mosfet mist" - worse in the 220 than in the 100. The soundstage was wide and deep, but definition of individual instruments was not as precise as in many current amps, and air around voices and instruments was lacking.

The hybrid approach can be found in a number of current production amps - some wonderful (Lamm), some disappointing IMHO (AR), and others I have heard great things about but haven't auditioned (Llano).

If you have tough to drive speakers but love tubes, a hybrid may be a good choice - or a tube pre with a ss amp. I am considering the latter now or a really big tube amp.

Hope that helps...

Jacob

I've had an SA-220 (upgraded Sa-20) for almost 10 years. I still haven't even changed the input stage tubes - normally an indicator of a very well thought of circuit design. I would recommend either the SA-100 or the SA-220, the earlier versions, the SA-12 and SA-20 did have a rep for terminating rather easily.

I am currently auditioning a used SA-220 amp until January 11 in my home and then have to decide if I want to purchase it. One thing my son and I noticed is that the amp has to be on for about an hour and then the sound 'blooms' and is most impressive. Has anyone else noticed that? Sound stage is wide and could use a little more front to back depth. One thing I am pleased with is the lack of ear fatigue after listening to them for compared to my previous Hafler. How does this amp sound compared to Brystons?

The main thing I am concerned about is repairs if it goes down as the store will give me only a 90 day warranty. The do say that they can fix it unless the power transformer blows. If Mike Elliot repairs this amp how do I go about contacting him?