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Plinius SA201 compared with the Plinius SA102

Would be interested to know if anyone has made the comparison between these two amps. Is the class A mode on the SA102
worth the heat. Plinius states they have built the SA 201
that comes frightingly close to the sound of the class A SA100
series. What do you think. Is Class A worth the heat?
The SA201 cosmetics design clearly wins over the old work hourse look of the SA102. Any insight would be appreciated.
Lets face it when one sits and listens to music one can not
help but stare at the amp but if the class A modality of the SA102 puts out that much better sound then I guess I can turn the lights off and crank up the airconditioning.
Currently running Totom Forest. (great speakers)
jajmyers
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,197 posts
 
I've had the SA-102 for approx. 2 years. Yes, the amp gets hot to the touch, but never to the extent that it heats up the listening room by more than a degree or two. Also, the manufacturer stating that the sound quality of the 201 comes close to that of the 102 would make me choose the better of the two. Go with the 102... it sounds great, reasonably priced in the used market, good resale value, has a mute switch & a switch to play in either class A or A/B . If you want a newer / more current version of the SA-102, there are plenty of used SA-103's popping up in the classifieds... a bit more expensive than the 102, but also newer.
jajmyers OP
7 posts
 
Thanks Pdreher does your 102 have the plastic connectors or the bolts for speaker cable connection. My plinius 9100
has the plastic connectors and not sure if they can take spades or not. Would prefer to use spades.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,197 posts
 
The SA-102 has bolts with transparent plastic housing.... very sturdy... and yes it takes spades.

I've owned solid state amps from BAT & Sim Audio... and in my experience, neither came close to the SA-102 in regards to musicality, warmth, build quality, value and listener satisfaction.
lak's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
lak
4,570 posts
 
With the Plinius line of amps in general (to my ears) running in class A always sounds better. The class AB is no slouch either!
jajmyers OP
7 posts
 
So true Lak My 9100 sounds good but even better when its warmed up. Hey Pdreher thanks for your response. Do you take the plastic housings off to hook up the spades. When I unscrew the plastic housings on the 9100 there is a small round hole that looks only big enough to place bare wires not spades. Am I missing something here. For the Sa102 do you simple unscrew the plastic housing and place the whole spade inside the hole or do you remove the plastic housing altogether.Wanted to use some stealth cables. Maybe the sa102 has bigger holes when one unscrews the plastic houseing.
By the way amazing system you have. The room is to die for.
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