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RE: 845 SET vs 25 Watt Class A Sugden Amp?

Posted by cawson@onetel.com (A) on February 10, 2016 at 03:46:04

In Reply to: RE: 845 SET vs 25 Watt Class A Sugden Amp? posted by AudioSoul on February 9, 2016 at 05:41:10:

Thanks for replies so far.

My reasons for looking for a suitable SS amp is to increase my hours of listening and to use the amp for more than just music listening. I'd turn it on even if listening for short periods and would put my TV, etc through it.

Also, the tube amps are not dead quiet on my 102 dB speakers and many SS amps would be. They'd use far less mains power, though Class A less so that other SS amps.

Sugden have never done anything other than Class A. Some of their designs (eg A21) do get very hot, but the newer design I'm looking at (Masterclass FPA-4) gets warm rather than hot. My mains watt meter indicates consumption of about 170 watts.

Yes, Sugden's website offers little encouragement - virtually no useful information and the briefest of specs - but they enjoy a very good reputation and have never wanted to set the world on fire with fancy claims.

As far as real output power is concerned, this 25 watt Sugden is a little louder than the 28 watt 845 amps at the same preamp setting. They are happy driving my Avantgardes at very high volume without distress - as I would expect from a similarly powered Class A.

I collected a demo unit yesterday, along with a Quad Platinum. The latter sounds like solid state - very confident bass, though rather muddy and lifeless overall, no musical thrills - so that's no longer being considered.

I'll listen only to the Sugden for a few days before the real comparison with the tube amp - playing a carefully chosen list of 4 or 5 tracks on the SS, then the same on the tube amp. I did this test with the Benchmark AHB-2 that I tested recently - sadly with disappointing results.

The First Watt (and Pass Labs) offerings are also Class A but are little known in UK and are over-priced here - as most US-made stuff is. Their circuits seem to be more wasteful of mains energy than Sugden's newer circuits.

I'll report back in a few days, but other SS suggestions (including digital amps) appreciated in the meantime.

Peter

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