Classe DR-25 worth buying?

I have a DR-3, which I think is a predecessor of the DR-25. The amp has excellent clarity and liveliness. To find is sonic competition, among amplifiers I'm familiar with I'd have to step into at least the four grand retail ballpark (and maybe more). The DR-3 sounds better than most amps I'm familiar with that retail for under ten grand - but then most of those other amps are considerably more powerful.

I asked a technician who's familiar with both the DR-25 and the Scintillas if the combination would work, and he said no way. The Scintillas are under 1 ohm over most of the spectrum, including the bass, and are only 79 dB efficient. They'd murder the little Classe'. Sorry!

My three year old Orion Bluebook lists the DR-25 at $1,638.00, to give you a data point.

I bought one of them when they first came out.....David Reich design and I thought at the time it was one of the best amps out there for the money. Built like a tank.....if you can get it at a reasonable price....sonically I don't think it would be a bad move.....

Probably responding too late to help, but just in case. The DR-25 will drive the Scintilla's to perfection, it is an extremely high current design, and stable into almost any load. I have personally seen the Scintilla's driven to perfection with a Classe Audio Fifteen, the smaller sibling to the 25 (or the later Twenty-Five). There are few amps that can claim the current capability or the stability into low impedances that these amps can.

Don't know where Audiokinesis gets his info, but he has gotten his info very wrong...just describing the 25 as little leads me to believe an unfamiliarity with this amp.

Thanks for your response. Do you know how many wpc the Dr-25 was rated? How would they rate sonically to today's modern amps? Bob

The DR-25 is 250 watts per channel, sonically it would rate very highly against the majority of todays amps. If you find a Model Twenty-Five amp my suggestion would be to make that purchase rather then the earlier DR-25. After Reich left the company Glen Grue and associates made some subtle improvements to the 25, my opinion of the latter amp is that it was a major improvement. The audio rags agree as well, look up the old reviews of the Fifteen and Twenty-Five and you'll find consensus that the mods were major improvements.

I have owned both the DR-25 and the Twenty-Five, and I still own a Fifteen which is to date my favourite amp regardless of company. I find these amps extremely musical, very well balanced, and when it comes to reserves they stand up very well.