I got a new amp, here's a very long post about it!

tl;dr: I bought a new amp and I'm very happy.

If you're passionately arguing elsewhere on the forum that all competently-designed amps sound the same you might not enjoy this thread. If you don't believe that amplifier break-in is real you might find yourself at odds with what follows. If you expect opinion threads to be accompanied by level-matched DBT tests then you'll be extremely disappointed with my approach below. Finally, if you don't enjoy long-winded ramblings from middle-aged white men who should have better things to do, you should probably move on.

Disclaimers out of the way, let's get started!

For quite some time I've felt that my speakers were capable of more than they were delivering in my system. The sound was good, very enjoyable and easy to listen to, but bass could be a bit soft and anaemic, and the sound wasn't as "open" as I thought it could be. Historically this was my second system so it didn't matter that much, but since the man-cave system was sold and the room turned into a playroom for my daughters, this is now the main system. The speakers (Sonus Faber Signums) look great and are well-regarded as classics, so I wanted to give them every chance to survive. The Copland CSA 28 I was using is a lovely amp but at 60w maybe didn't have the juice for 4 ohm, 87 dB speakers with a reputation for being power hungry.

I decided I needed more power, but quality needed to be enough to open up the sound without hardening it or brightening it. I favour a really open, relaxed sound that draws you in, I prefer a few rows back rather than a front-row presentation. PRaT (I hate that term) is secondary to tonal balance and realistic timbre to me, and I want to hear the venue in a "you are there" rather than "they are here" sort of way. I mentally gave myself a 2k EUR budget and contacted my long-term and extremely patient dealer. He is happy for me to borrow items I might be interested in, so I could listen to each amp in my own system for at least a week (sometimes 2) to help me reach a decision.

First up was a second-hand Krell KAV 400xi. I had sampled it in a previous system and liked it well enough, and the 200w rating into 8 ohm doubling into 400w at 4 ohm seemed perfect on paper. The reality was solid but ultimately a bit disappointing. It was maybe a *little* better than my Copland but not enough to justify an upgrade, and it didn't really address what I was hoping to improve. Bass was a little better, maybe there was a small increase in scale, but no increase in clarity or openness to speak of. It went back to the dealer.

Next was an ex-demo Audio Analogue AAcento. I knew nothing about this amp, but the design sounded interesting, it offered reasonable power, reviews were good (vocal magic was reported as a highlight), and I thought an Italian amp for my Italian speakers might amount to something gorgeous. In many ways, it really did! There was an immediate sense of openness, an airy and clean kind of sound, and I could certainly hear a little bit of that midrange magic we all crave. Bass was improved, not exactly thunderous, but we're dealing with small stand-mounters here so we can only expect so much. There was something about it that I couldn't quite gel with, though. It didn't sound subjectively powerful, if that makes any sense, it didn't have the proverbial vicelike grip on the speakers. Also, while some things sounded gorgeous, some other things sounded a little "odd". Vocals more recessed than I was used to, or maybe a tonal balance that threw me off, other little wrinkles. The moments of magic (and there were quite a few) weren't enough. It went back to the dealer.

Deciding I'd been distracted in my search for power, I felt it was time for some American muscle. The problem, of course, is that American muscle costs a lot more in Ireland than it does in the US. Still, a used Parasound Halo integrated popped up at my dealer, so I had to borrow it. Initial impressions were very positive: solid, unfussed, in complete control, it sounded consistently good with every type of music, exactly the kind of thing I had set out to find. Quiet, solidly engineered, utterly competent, check, check, check. Except I never sat there transfixed the way I had with the Audio Analogue, I found my mind wandering while listening, and it was easy to turn the system off and walk away to do something else. I wasn't mad on the phono stage either, and while I hadn't ruled out moving to a separate phono stage I wasn't convinced this was worth it. There's also the niggling sense that it just costs so much more than it should in these parts, it's designed to compete at a different price point. It went back to the dealer.

At this stage I was faced with the awkward prospect that I was going to have to choose between "midrange magic" and "consistent control". I was also a bit concerned that my speakers really were at their limit and nothing was going to improve them. But I pressed on.

A leftfield option then presented itself, exactly the opposite of what I was originally looking for: a used Sugden A21SE at a good price, offering 30w of pure class A juice. I put it on the rack and it didn't take long to realise that Sugden are not bluffing about it being class A, the temperature in my sitting room rose in short order. I was afraid to let my cat near it, not least because he'd probably take up residence on top of it. As for the sonics, well it didn't address what I had set out to address (while bass was pretty good and there was probably more of it than offered by the Copland, 30w can only do so much), but instead it sounded simply gorgeous. Midrange and treble were pure, luminous, velvety loveliness, that open, calm, "everything-is-going-to-be-ok" kind of sound that encourages you to keep listening. There were annoyances, though. The gain was so massive that I couldn't move the dial much beyond 7 o'clock position, and as a a result it was actually difficult to set the volume to goldilocks level: it was always too loud or too quiet. Also, the bass was just very haphazard, sometimes great, sometimes MIA. Plus, I'd need a phono stage, and I wasn't convinced the Arcam rPhono I'd borrowed was delivering. All the same, as the week went on I wondered if any of that actually mattered, as maybe the loveliness was worth the few downsides? In the end, my dealer rang saying that if I wasn't buying he had quite a few other interested parties, so I had to make a decision. When forced I was surprised that the choice was easier than I expected. It went back to the dealer.

Again came a leftfield option, especially if I was after serious power, and I brought home a Rotel RC-06 preamp and RB-1092 power amp. Significantly below budget, but offering massive power levels (I assume class D?) I turned it on and instantly hated it. Powerful perhaps, but not much to offer by way of refinement, subjectively a bit bright and simultaneously two-dimensional. Everything else I had kept for at least a week but this was an easy and immediate no within a matter of hours. It went back to the dealer.

In an effort to see whether my speakers could actually offer the performance I was looking for, we decided to up the budget and try something a little more classy: a used Conrad-Johnson ET3 pre and Parasound A21 power. I had briefly used an A21 in the man-cave system several years ago and I liked it a lot, so despite the local pricing (A21, not A21+, was 2200 Euro used) I wanted to hear what it could do. I'm happy to report that it sounded much as I remembered and in many way it cleared up a few points. For starters, it confirmed that the Sonus Fabers are capable of way better bass than I had been hearing, and that maybe there was life in the old dogs yet. However, I also found myself missing the glorious Sugden mid-range I talked about before. The CJ/Parasound combo was great in most objective ways but just didn't have the same magic. The phono stage in the CJ deserves a special mention, it was utterly fab, but unfortunately factory set for high gain (to suit MC) which meant that my listening was often too loud even with the volume set at 1 (it's a stepped resistor type volume). Close, but no cigar. It went back to the dealer.

Needless to say, at this point I have developed a reputation for being "fussy", but my dealer is now running out of options, especially since I had vetoed valves. The system is in the sitting room and used by everyone for everything, including TV watching, so I didn't fancy the combo of little hands and valves (not to mention the aforementioned cat). Dealer suggests Devialet? I had sampled before, but not the sound I'm looking for, and not enough inputs anyway. I suggest Primare I32? Too dry sounding according to my dealer, I probably won't like it. The only thing he has left to suggest is the new Copland CSA 100. It's over my initial budget, but since it's new he'll take my old amp as a trade-in which will soften the blow. I'm not sure. I already have a Copland and was looking for something different. More importantly, the phono stage has a capacitance of 200pF, and my cartridge wants to see something lower. Still, I've tried everything else so let's give it a go.

Immediately, concerns that the CSA 100 would be just an incremental change over the CSA 28 I already owned were blown out of the water. My initial response was that it was a very, very good amp. Bass was solid, and actually some of the best I'd heard in my traversals. I was surprised at this for some reason, but maybe I shouldn't have been, as 100w is not to be sneezed at. Clarity was excellent, the presentation very balanced, and the whole thing had this overall sense of unfussed quality that was really impressive. The on-board DAC was good too, clearly better than my Arcam rDAC. Of course, nothing is ever simple when it comes to the nitty gritty. Vinyl through the phono stage sounded poor, like, really poor: flat, 2-dimensional, tight, constricted, not really pleasant to listen to. Also, I kept thinking about that midrange magic from the Sugden, and I wasn't getting close to that here. One of the problems with listening to a number of decent quality items in fairly quick succession is that it's hard to judge anything on its own merits, the inclination to compare and contrast is only heightened. While that can be instructive, it can also be stifling. After a weekend with the CSA 100, I'd pretty much decided I would do nothing, buy nothing for now, as I couldn't find what I wanted. I was over it.

Most of my "serious" listening here happens at the weekend, during the week I use the system mainly for TV watching, so not exactly crucial. As the Copland was a demo model, I had assumed it was well run-in already, but as the week went on and our bingeing of Below Deck Mediterranean continued (!), I was increasingly struck by the quality of the sound of background music, etc. If the music in gutter TV like Below Deck is capturing your attention then something good must be happening, but I didn't really think too much about it, putting it down to the internal DAC being better than my Arcam.

Last Thursday evening I had a couple of hours to spare so I sat down for some serious listening again, and honestly, if it had been "good" before it was now simply excellent. I know burn-in is a contentious issue, I'm not even a massive believer myself, but what had been a little closed in and a little tight sounding was now expansive and free. The good lateral imaging that had been slightly lacking in depth was now a proper soundstage front to back. Bass that had been tuneful had now deepened and solidified (to the level where I was hearing upright bass details that I had never heard on this system before, and yes I'm sorry to wheel out that old chestnut but it's true). It sounded subjectively as powerful and controlled as anything I would ever need. Moving to vinyl was somewhere between shock and revelation, it sounded SUPERB! And best of all, there was some of that midrange magic creeping in that left me in rapt attention and brought on the goosebumps. That intangible rightness of "real musicians in real space" was finally there, that open but relaxed sound I had been craving, underpinned by a solid foundation. I listened all weekend, delighted with myself.

I asked my dealer how many hours were on the amp before I borrowed it, and "10 maximum" was the response, much to my surprise. The Copland is a hybrid design and while it only has 1 valve in there, I'm now pretty sure the break-in effect is real for this amp at least. None of the other amps I tried changed sound over the course of the weeks I had them, only the Copland. Of all the amps I tried, this is now clearly the best for my taste and for my system. It's over my initial budget, and I had zero intention of replacing a Copland with another Copland, but here we are. In the end, it selected itself while I wasn't paying attention.

So that's it, the end of the amp journey for now. Despite having components priced all over the map, my system now sounds great with pretty much everything. It's satisfying on the audiophile front, ticking plenty of the standard boxes, but it's also musical and really easy to listen to with no hint of etch or hyper-fi histrionics. I'm not sure how well-known Copland is on this forum, but if you get a chance to sample one I'd highly recommend it. Just try to find one that's been well run-in...

 

Rock on, our middle-aged brother-from-another-mother across the pond!

Great post. Glad it worked out!

 

I've never heard a Copland amp but I agree on your description of the Sugden sound. It's nice to read a post about listening's and using one's ears and comparisons for a change.

 

I’ve been working almost 50 years to optimize my speaker/amplification synergy. It seems as if the speakers have a massive built in “dynamic improvement potential” that I haven’t come close to achieving yet. I’m keeping on trying and the sound keeps getting better and better.