Sugden A21 Signature Integrated Amplifier

The a21 was a challenging listen for me at first. Just felt like a ton of dense sound coming at me. As I mentioned earlier, an upgraded power cord seemed to really help (don't ask me to explain). Or perhaps I got used to it. Never heard an amp quite like it before. Despite the density of sound it was very clean and clear.

I had a pair of LS50s for a weekend and thought they were fatiguing. Could maybe be a case of too much of a good thing?

I had a pair of B&W 705s at one point and wish I could have tried them with the a21. The 705 is pretty thin sounding but I bet would sound great with the a21.

 

Dense or thick seems a fitting description for the a21, yes. But still with clarity.

 

I agree with both of you. One of the albums I’ve been especially loving with the A21 is Jose Gonzalez’s “Vestiges and Claws.” There are a lot of densely layered acoustic sounds on the record that are intentionally overloaded at times. The Sugden does an amazing job of navigating the thicket without losing the emotional qualities of the recording. It is thrilling. This quality works very well with jazz too.

 

Clear, absolutely. However not as detailed or natural as the Belles that I wound up buying. I hate to use cliche terms but the best way to describe the sound of the Belles Aria is organic.

 

Anyone here has owned a Prima Luna amp before?

 

I’ve got a Dialogue Two in my basement I’ve owned for 6 years or so. Really like it with the C7ES3 (+ a JL Audio sub) but when I tried it with the P3ESRs it didn’t have the same magic. Also, putting a 60 lb black tube amp in the bedroom wasn’t especially popular—hence the Sugden.

 

That's funny, I too have owned a PL Dialogue Two. It was my introduction to tube integrateds. What would you like to know?

 

Some Americans seem to be much enamored with the Dutch-designed but Chinese-made tube amps ...

I am still sitting on the fence as every amp I have owned so far and I have owned many over the years, has been Class A/B amp.

 

Well I am Dutch myself, and I have met some of the people who were involved with PL at the start. The PL range is very good (lots of balls for a tube amp and extremely reliably built) but ultimately not my cup of tea sonically. I did a lot of tube rolling, and learned a lot along the way about the way different power tubes (el34, kt120, 6550), and pre amp tubes affect the sound.

After that experience, I wanted to try a dedicated el34 amp (Line Magnetic 211ia), which is very affordable but great. To my ears the LM turns out to be more refined sounding than Prima Luna. I love it with my Tannoy Turnberries. I bought the Sugden out of curiosity and it's a fine, unique amp. But the LM211ia remains unbeaten with the Tannoys on most records I play (especially on my focus areas, 60s pop and acoustic jazz of the 50s and 60s).

 

I am looking for a power amp since I require my preamp to have at least one tape loop, which most modern preamps or integrated's no longer provide but I have a few older SS preamps available. I like my experience with SS amp and tube preamp combo as the sound was quite satisfying. I do wonder what a tube amp and SS preamp combo would sound like ...

 

I have.

 

I owned the Prologue Four a couple years ago and found it underwhelming. Just an average sounding amp to my ears, but it was the low end of their line.

 

I owned the Prologue 2. Terrible!!! That is all.

 

Does not sound good when I cannot even get a single glowing review on PL amps from those of you who used to own one. Even if some of you had the bottom of the line model, there is no excuse for the amp to sound crummy. Someone on the classical music thread recently bought the PrimaLuna DiaLogue Premium HP Integrated Amplifier and cannot stop singing praises about it ...

 

I really like mine, but this forum has me dying to try a LM.

 

@coopmv if you really want to know I suggest you drive down to NYC or Boston and listen to one. Then you'll know for yourself.

 

LM sounds light years better.

 

Why did you get the Sugden and not the LM?

 

Not sure if this was for me or Art. I got the Sugden because space constraints and aesthetic requirements necessitate a small footprint in my bedroom system.

Something to look forward to. Taylor was great to work with on the Sugden so I know who to call, but I’d love to hear one first. Maybe at RMAF this year I can find a system.

 

The question was meant for @Art K, as he said LM sounds way better than Sugden ...

 

My Dad still has an A21 from 1972 going strong (has never even been recapped!), driving an old pair of Celestions of the same vintage. Still sounds great too!

 

It has an even better track record than my Tandberg 3003, which was made in 1982 ...

 

I believe he said that LM sounds way better than Primaluna, not Sugden.

 

That's how I read it too. I would say the Sugden and LM211ia are different flavours on a similar level of quality.

 

How would you sum up the differences between the two (A21 and 211ia)?