Sugden amplifiers and pure Class-A in general...?

OK, I pick up my demo Sugden A21AL Series 2 on Sunday thanks to a most wonderful local dealer. I'm demoing the Sugden because I was very impressed hearing it driving a pair of Harbeth SHL-5s and M30.1s recently, plus it's time to move my Campion on to greener pastures. I want something different, more transparent and more lifelike. Upgrade time. I've read as much about the A21AL S2 as I can find on the web, so I'm turning to my beloved peeps here in the forum to regale us with their Sugden tales and anything they would like to offer up on Class-A amplifier operation.
It seems to my ears (with their so far, limited engagement with Class-A) that Class-A offers up a more transparent window into the recording, along with healthier doses of tube-like midrange and bass.
Many thanks in advance!
–R

 

That was a pretty succinct one sentence summation of what makes the Sugden sound so addictive to so many audio and music lovers.

 

Thank you Art, kind words as always. I was hoping you'd chime in... you're helped along, and into the music significantly, by your beautiful Well Tempered TT though

 

OMG. That is an amp I surely would love to hear, too.
The L4 Pre + power combo in Class A must be wonderful sounding from what I read.
Heard nothing but good things about SUGDEN and sure like that massive solid casework and no gimmicks but still classy/elegant design.
ENJOY

 

Thank-you Baron!!!!

 

One thing I notice in a few conversations with people regarding Sugden is that their amps get referred to as 'heirlooms.'

 

Hello. I know nothing about amplifiers at all but I have a vintage one that I am looking to get rid of. I thought here might be a good place to get some input from people who know about them. I have asked around and done some research on it. It is a 1950 oahu valco tube amp. It is not mint but it's in good condition. Does anyone know of a good place or a collector who might want to buy something like this? I live in Texas so local would be preferred but I am not opposed to out of state buyers either.

 

One primary benefit of a class A SS design is lower distortion through the use of high standing bias, a low watt class A design on the surface seems counter intuitive to me. At least on paper this amp would not seem to be able to take advantage of that design in the usual sense. If you are looking for something transparent, my guess is this would not deliver the goods, but keep an open mind as they say. It would seem to introduce distortion at impedances lower than 8 ohms (which to be honest you might like very much or you might not) and kind of fall apart at 2 ohms, also it might clip pretty easily depending on how loud you listen. Under real world conditions none of that might matter at all. It would appear this amp is built for a specific texture of sound rather than to capitalize on the usual sonic benefits of a pure class A SS amp design, which imo is kind of neat and kind of wacky at the same time! Good luck I am very interested to hear your observations. Sounds like good fun.

 

Did you dealer take your Campion in as a trade? Didn't you just get this unit less than six months ago?

 

No, I'm not trading it, I'm selling it, and yes about six months ago. As I said in my OP, feel like a change/upgrade.

 

Post impressions in your system once everything settles into place.

 

I certainly will, I also plan back-to-back comparisons against the Campion too.

 

Pick up one of these, before you do!
http://www.avahifi.com

 

With that amp, you should be able to run your heater a few degree's lower in the winter time.

 

OK, I have to de-lurk at some point. I've been readying this forum for over a year now, so I guess it's time to come out in the open and introduce myself. I'm a budding audiophile putting together my first real system. I've been an avid record collector for years now (mostly 45s 1956-66 - early R&B, RnRoll, etc.) I also have a pretty large collection of long players as well.

Over the past 12-15 years my system has consisted of an aging but well loved Pioneer SA-7500 integrated w/ JBL 2800 speakers and a Pro-ject Debut III. This system served me well. I was more into the records. I just recently took delivery of a pair of Focal 816v speakers and wow! This is what I've been missing, much improved sound-stage, clarity in the upper mid range and highs. OK, I'm hooked.

So I started looking at replacing my old Pioneer integrated amp. I like a one box solution, so it's gotta have a built-in phono-stage. Any day now, I'll be receiving my Arcam A19, and I'm definitely looking forward to it! Once that's in place for a few months or weeks, I'm most likely going to splurge on a Rega RP6 or possibly even the RP8 - haven't decided yet.

So what's all this got to do with raferx's original post? I'm very intrigued by the Sonneteer Campion as an elegant integrated with a nice built-in phono stage. One day I may go the moving coil, external phono stage route, but I'm not there yet. We'll see how my Arcam A19 pans out first. It's sure to be an upgrade over my Pioneer SA-7500. The Sugden's probably out of my range at the moment. It and the Lavardin integrateds interest me quite a bit.

Anyway, just say hi , introducing myself and looking forward to following along with raferx's foray into pure class A. When it comes time for you to let the Sonneteer Campion go. . .it may be hard for me to keep my wallet in my pocket. From what I've read online, it sounds like a great integrated.

Cheers,
Austin

 

The Campion is a great amp. If Rafe moves his on before you make a move I have another source for one. Just let me know.

 

I had a sugden A21 last year, but unfortunately it was the 40 year old one. Still has its fans out there, but not my bag. Not affording new equipment and as a result building stuff is a two edged sword!

 

I don't know about the "healthier doses of tube-like midrange and bass". More midrange and bass is just another way of saying less top, ie rolled-off. Any amplifier you buy these day should have a perfectly flat frequency response throughout the audible range. The advantage of a class A isn't to do with frequency response, it's to do with a slightly enhanced smoothness in the top end. I'll leave to someone more knowledgeable to explain why. But I found it was noticeable to my ears, so much so that I bought one despite the extra cost, the low power output and the extreme heat problem. Mine's a Musical Fidelity AMS35i

http://www.musicalfidelity.com/products/ams-series/ams35i/

I'm not sure MF even make it any more - there's very little demand for class A amps because of the obvious drawbacks. They do sound very nice, though.

And to Austin Lee - hello and welcome!

 

Welcome to the forum Austin! I'll keep you posted on the Campion, but I did just post it online at CAM.

 

Merci Art
You'd be in good hands with Art K. Austin!

 

Thank you everyone for welcoming me to the forum. I'm looking forward to being a contributor rather than a bystander. Seems to be a lot of great folks on the forum. I look forward to hearing your remarks on the Sugden amp raferx!

 

I looked up your posting on CAM, a very fair price on the Campion. Too bad I'm waiting on delivery of an Arcam A19 I just dropped about the same amount on. I guess I need to audition the Arcam first. The Campion just has that "je ne c'est quoi" that draws me too it. It's that whole understated elegance thing and hand-built to boot. There are no decent HiFi dealers in New Orleans, so I spend a lot of time reading forums like this one. I wish I had a local dealer where I could listen to more equipment!

 

THe AMS 35i is still in production as well as the AMS 50 and 100 Watt Class A power amps, ridiculous large + heavy but for those who can afford the high electricity costs running these babies every night they sure will do a superb job.
I am also a fab of the AMS 35i, I think that is enough for most speakers, rooms anyway esp since the output actually doubles from 8 to 4 OHM and reaches nearly 140 watts in 2 OHM loads. OTh MF is known for extree powerful amps and they been busy coming up with larger and bigger amps afdter he AMS line - Starting with the M6 500 warr model for around 5 grand they topped that with their newest M8 PRE + Power combo - Nearly 800 watts per channel at 4 Ohm and more than 535 watts at 8 OHM are large houseumbers.
The surprise is that these heavy weights do not sound just big and bold but refined, smooth, exact and very inviting without of course never ever breaking a drop of sweat. One of my favorite brands. I am really glad I got the M3i might be the smallest Integrated but as Michael Anthony said "It sounds way too good for the price point". Seems they just cannot build any amps, that do not sound superb..lol

 

Thanks, I hope the Arcam gives you many hours of listening pleasure

 

Those MF AMS amps are monsters!!!