CLASSE - Great amps or highly flawed?

Mr Hand was the Man!

now, back to the Classe' discussion. I have not heard a bad amp from this company. My only quip would be that the newer stuff is junk-sourced to china.

I do like the older models CA 300 amp ETC,
New units very well made "But" the prices are up there . I paid 3 Grand for the 300 I sold the unit , I still dream about the unit . Kicking myself in the Tokus

Heard them back in the 80s. They bored me. I met Ken Kessler, the reviewer, and asked him how could he possibly like such dull sounding amps. He said he felt they were neutral and that is the way music sounded. Could never understand it. 

Hi noromance,

Not arguing your opinion, but many (including me) used the early Classe’ class A/B amps via the XLR inputs. Dave Reich designed the DR-9 with single-ended inputs and later succumbed to pressure from Glen Grue to add XLR inputs. Reich did so in a less-than-ideal way, using a cheap opamp in the XLR circuitry. This continued for years in the DR-10, DR-15, and DR-25 and even in the later Fifteen and Twenty Five models after Reich left Classe’. I can personally attest to the lack of dynamics and liveliness of these amps using the XLR inputs. The result was that they were often described as "dark sounding". A different story completely using the single-ended (RCA) inputs IME.

Is it possible that you were also a victim to this in your auditions of the '80s?

Best to you noromance,
Dave

I would not buy since they moved production to China !