Classe CAM 350 monoblock vs Classe CAM-400 or Bryston 4B3
I don’t know
Classè
amps all that well but the earliest
reviews I can find for the CAM 350 go back to
2001. The CA-400 may go back to 2009,
when was the CAM-400 last made? I don’t
know. Any differences in reliability or
performance?
Should I assume both need to be recapped? Does one amp run hotter than the other? Is one Class A the other class AB?
Are there any Classè experts out there? I’d guess for the newer more powerful CAM-400 and extra $450 is not much of a difference everything else being equal.
As an audiogon virgin, having never bought or sold here I
don’t know that “everything else is equal”. I don't know how much to trust what I read.
All source material will be FLAC files. Speakers are Magnepan 3.7i about two years old. I know I love how Classè sounds but I worry about the heat making the room unlivable. My taste in music is eclectic, almost anything except rap.
Perhaps the cool alternative would be a used Bryston 4B3 which Audiogon
has 4 for sale at $4,100 - $4,500, any of which would have to be newer and less
expensive than the Classè amps. I have never listened to Bryston 4B3 on magnepan 3.7i speakers. I don't know if I would like it?
A little guidance for the blind, but not deaf, yet, please; thank you.
psnyder149L6FAYYYH0111 Panasonic Fan The part number so that you can have one of your very own for $28.95! lolAmazing! What does this fan cool - a processing chip?? |
@psnyder149 -- Thanks for the great info about Classé. My audio room is in the basement, far from highways, and soundproofed, so I am the most likely audiophile to hear any fan noise. I have banished fans from the room. I own a CP-800 (now in my desktop system) and sent D. Nauber a list of requested improvements for the Delta Pre. Three main ones were: gapless streaming, more PEQ bands per channel, and separate PEQ settings for each speaker configuration. I don’t know which, if any, of my requests were incorporated. Anyway, it’s good to know that if the CP-800 requires service, Classé might be in a position to provide it. |
Last night I called Sanders in Colorado and ordered a Magtec which should arrive
next Monday about dinner time. It has
been a circus, the Classé dealers is no longer selling Classé. The local Bryston- McIntosh - Magnepan dealer
is “kind of” open but not for me. A long
distance Bryston deal went bad.
I should interject that the Bryston deal was with EchoHiFi.com in Portland OR and in my experience they were not forthright and square with neither me nor the consignee. Specifically I was told my debt card was declined when it was never tried and that the consignee had changed his mind when in truth he was never contacted. I am looking forward to listening to my Magtec. I read on Audioasylum that perhaps I should have considered a power amp with a Hypex or a NC1200 board and saved a lot of money. There is a guy who lives a half hour drive away selling a nord acoustic on audiogon. I offered he bring it over so I can listen and I’d pay cash. He told me doesn’t deliver, or take cash. But he was desperate to sell and wanted $750 over MSRP? In contrast Sanders could not have been any better to do business with. I already went into CorelDraw and sketched out a wiring diagram. Unexpectedly at Sanders it was recommended that I preferentially use the unbalanced connectors. And thank you to all for their gracious assistance. |
