CLASSE - Great amps or highly flawed?

Whenever I read discussions like this, I always wonder whether the person who auditioned the equipment has asked how long the equipment has been run. I am going through a significant break-in period with some new equipment that I purchased, and, if you auditioned it the day I brought it home, you would have made many observations about harshness in the mid-range, lack of bass response, a "sheen" on the high frequencies, etc.

I am now in the position to leave the equipment turned on 10-12 hours per day, and can state that the sound today is nothing like the sound on the first day. I expect in 2-3 more weeks the components will be close to totally broken-in and the sound will have changed (for the better, hopefully) yet again.

I guess my questions are: do you think equipment needs to be broken in? Was the Classe equipment you auditioned fully broken in? Could a full break-in period be the difference between what you heard and what the Classe owners are saying about their equipment?

No, the amp was well broken in from the dealer and over a year old.

Depends on your associated equipment and your tastes, just like any other hi-fi purchase. I personally love the Classe sound. I've owned a Classe CA-200, CAV-75 and currently a CDP 1. I've never had any problem with any of these pieces of equipment. As far as 'dark-sounding', if you like the 'brightness' of Krell, you will not like Classe. I prefer the musicality of Classe over Krell. This is a highly subjective choice though.

I’ve owned a late production run Classe CA 300 for well over a year now. In my experience, I have found that this amp works very well with electrostatic hybrid speakers. It casts a spacious, well layered soundstage that is anchored upon a vise-grip tight bass foundation. The midrange presentation is a bit cooler than Rowland gear, yet not as sterile as some Krell amps I have owned. (Yes, I’ve owned Krell gear) The upper registers are detailed and clean. Much like the Rowland gear, I can listen to this amp for hours as it is musically inviting, exceptionally dynamic and fairly involving. I can’t say that about most solid state gear. The CA-300 build quality is exceptional! This amp is a brute but also very sensitive. I have had issues with ground loop hums, heat sink ‘ringing’ and sudden safe mode shut-downs when this amp gets fed anything it doesn’t quite like. I’ve been fortunate as these issues have been far and few between and generally quickly resolved. With a used street price around $2,000 I believe the Classe CA-300 represents a good sound value. While a bit finicky, this amp is long on muscle with a sweetness and openness that just makes you smile! I certainly think it’s a solid state amp most can happily live with and others would die for.
Regards;
-Jerie

This thread should be removed as it begs the question:
How bad does Classe suck? An apology would be in order from the writer and the moderator.