Amp/Preamp Asylum Looking for a new Amp or Preamp? If you're after tubes, post over here.

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Amp/Preamp Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

Class B amplifier sounds good?!?

Posted by KanedaK (A) on August 24, 2014 at 07:04:21

In my continuous search of good sounding vintage electronics, I bought recently two SAE Mk XXXIB amplifiers. One died 30minutes after being powered up, the other one works fine.

I currently use a restored SAE Mk 1B preamp wich sounds really nice (if not completely "neutral" by modern audiophile standards, it sounds amazingly MUSICAL to me, adding "zing" and detail to the music without ever sounding thin or harsh), so I was curious to try the small SAE amplifier wich, according to some (included Jim Bongiorno) is the best sounding SAE ever produced, if one doesn't need loads of power (it's rated at 50W/ 8ohms).

My usual amplifier is a fully restored SONY TA-N86B wich is the best amplifier I ever owned or tried, period.

My speakers are heavily modded Klipsch LaScala wich, at 104dB sensitivity, live happily with the Sony's 18 watt class A output even at indecent levels.

so, i've been trying this little SAE Mk XXXIB amp these last few days, swapping it in and out of the system, alternatively with the class A Sony.

I can say I'm very happily surprised with the SAE: not only does it sound good, wich i expected to a certain degree, but it stays completely COLD to the touch, even if one puts its hands directly on the heatsink.

I find that greatly disturbing. It's the first amp I ever owned wich stays that cold. It doesn't even get mildly warm, no, that thing is as cold to the touch as a CD player.

I came to the conclusion that it must be class B (as opposed to most audiophile amplifiers being class AB) and if it is, I'm extremely surprised that it is even listenable on horn speakers. According to the theory, a class B amplifier should sound like crap, specially at very low power...

Maybe it's not really class B, but if it is, Jim Bongiorno must have been a genius in cricuit design to have it sound so good!

Compared to the class A Sony, the SAE is a bit less good at late-night listening, miliwatt output level, where the Sony edges it in ultimate transparency and warmth. The Sony also edges it on "ambience", being more faithful to the acoustics or the recorded event. One could say the Sony brings you in the recording space with the musicians, while the SAE brings the musicians in your living room.

But the SAE is still a very good amplifier, dynamic and ballsy, with loads of detail and a slight lower-midrange warmth, and a very "solid" midrange. And the match here isn't even fair since the Sony is all recapped while the SAE is still in original condition with 40 years old caps and all...

On a more anecdotic level, it's funny to watch the difference in design and construction of those two amps, both being from 1976: the Japanese Sony having sleek finish, sophisticated PLPS power supply, modern design and high quality industrial finish, and the American SAE having a completely "hand built" feel, solid and heavy but quite rough on the edges and with a much more "archaic" internal layout. The SAE really looks and feels vintage, while the Sony could totally be a contemporary amplifier... I guess that's what being a giant Nippon constructor allows you to do...

As for me, I like both!

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---