SimAudio or Classe for Power Amplifier

I recommend you take a good look at the W-8, which is Sim's Evolution top model. It is H-E-A-V-Y. The transformers are HUGE. Basically, I'll parallel what someone else already said, that they will drive any speaker, and they have a 10 year warranty to top it off. I have compared it to the Classe 2200, and the Sim wins, easily. It has a tighter, deeper bottom end, and a huge soundstage. It also focuses better, and the top end is more detailed fast and extended. It is NOT aggressive, but very revealing. BTW, Ultra Audio, which is part of Soundstage magazine, just reviewed Sim's top three pieces, the W-8, P-8 and Andromeda, and were very enthusiastic, saying they even beat the mega-dollar Boulders in many respects. Plus, my experience with Classe dealers lately is that they seem to get very pushy, and I feel they are biased. It seems to me that Classe is only demo'd with B&W, and this seems obvious when you realize that they are both sold by the same importer. I cannot deal with a biased dealer, because I naturally feel they are not looking out for my best interests. My Simaudio dealer seems much more up front and honest. Now this may not be true for you, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Classe dealer you talk to plays you Classe with B&W. This is not because the match is excellent (although it is a good match IMO) but because they are financially bound to do so and contractually required by the importer. How can you trust a dealer like that?

I agree that Classe dealers would have a bias towards the B&W loudspeakers.

I don't doubt that the W-8 would sound better since it is twice the price of the Classe 2200. Did you have a chance to compare the 2200 against the W-5, something at a similar retail price?

It is interesting that Jeff Fritz wrote the UltraAudio review (April 2006). He gave it a 'Select Component' award:
http://www.ultraaudio.com/twbas/twbas_20060415.htm

He also did a review of the Classe 2200 (December 2004) in SoundStage. He gave it a 'Reviewers Choice' award:
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/classe_ca2200.htm

Perhaps they both offer outstanding value at their price points.

audio4ever:
thank you for the reply. I am looking very seriously at the W7 monoblocks and the p8 preamp. Do you actually have Simaudio in your system? What speakers did you hear the Simaudio with? I appreciate any feedback you can give.

You don't give a price range or a willingness to buy used, but you can pick up a pair of W10's for around $4500, which I think is a fantastic buy. I bought a used pair for around that price and have been using them to drive a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C2's, which I find to be a great pairing. I have read that Dynaudio uses Simaudio amplification to voice their speakers - no idea if that's true, but they sound good enough together to be true.

The other thing I like about the W-10's is that they run very cool - I can leave them on all the time and they don't heat the room, and you have to drive them hard before they begin to feel very warm to the touch. They are also extremely powerful. I'm sure I'll convince myself that soemthing is lacking at some point, but for now I can not imagine what would drive me to trade them out shy of a completely different system phiosophy.

I'm really close to buying a W-8, and giving up my W-5. The neat thing about the Sim sound, and the Classe sound, is that these two great companies strive to achieve the hardest, most elusive goal out there: to reproduce sound the way it was recorded. Nothing added, nothing taken away. This is in contrast to the VAST majority of other manufacturers, especially the small ones, which aim for what they call a "musical" sound, which means, euphonically colored to sound pleasant and musical, but that is NOT what is etched onto the CD that is playing. You see, when you set an alternate sound goal that you can control (such as to achieve a "soft", "rhythmic" or "round" kind of sound), this involves variables that can be determined, quantified and controlled in the design stages. So, you get a nice, homogenized sound, but one that is NOT true to the original signal. Now, if you play a musical instrument, and therefore know what "real" sound is all about, you know what I am talking about. This is why I cannot listen to products like MF, Ayre, and (sorry tube fans) pretty much the vast majority of tube gear. It does not sound like the real thing, and measurements will prove that. Sure, it can sound nice and pleasant, but not "real". Technology today allows for the design of very high performance systems, systems that can closely recreate the thrill of a live performance. Lifelike. That's why I like Sim and Classe so much - and I prefer the Sim because it seems, to my ears, that they are closer to that ideal than Classe, especially with the new Evolution stuff. Plus the fact that Sim is probably a smaller company, now that Classe is owned by the people that do B&W and Rotel, and Classe has started to subcontract a lot of parts in China, yet their prices are still very high. What I mean is that when a company gets big, the bean counters come in and control too much. That doesn't seem to be the case with Sim, and my experience with their products, talking with their staff, and seeing them at shows has so far supported my opinions. So go for the Sim, plus they've been around for more than a quarter of a century (a bit longer than Classe), so when they give a 10-year warranty, it is credible.
I am an electrical engineer and an audiophile, and I appreciate what some companies are doing - i.e. the likes of Sim, Classe and Levinson - a true push forward to the elusive goal of perfect sound. I will never buy a product from a company that says that single-ended is better than balanced, for example. It is simply not true. Balanced is ALWAYS better, when done right: good parts, good design and truly balanced (as opposed to that fake quasi-balanced we see so much on even expensive gear). I know the Sim and Classe gear is balanced when they use XLR connectors. Most, like ALL Rotel, even many Krells (not all though), are not. The only reason why a company would tell you that their S/E designs are the best is because they won't spend the money to do it right - balanced is always expensive as it requires a much more formidable power supply and twice the parts, as well as a larger chassis to fit it all in.
There - I've vented.
So, if any of all of this revealing info makes sense, my recommendation to you is to go and spend your money on a product from a company that doesn't practice marketing and voodoo. Get the Sim or Classe, my preference strongly towards the Sim but that's personal opinion.