2 Classe ca 100's vs 1 Classe ca 200 ?

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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