Price Paid:  $2000.00 from Direct from Cinepro

Summary:
I have begun my trek into separates and I began by upgrading my speakers to Diva 6.1's, C3 and R3's. I then added a Bryston amp and then the Cinepro as these were the two I narrowed my choices to. The Bryston amp was great and I could also give it a 5. However, the Cinepro was more open and clear. The Bryston seemed a litle harsh on the upper notes but not so with the Cinepro. It sounds better and better each day. I may not have given the Bryston enough time and I really wanted to keep it with the 20 year warranty but again the Cinepro just gave me the open, clear soundstage that I was hoping for. Eric, the president of Cinepro provided great customer service as did James Tanner at Bryston. I would have been plesed with either of these amps but the Cinepro remains.

Strengths:
Clarity, Power, Looks

Weaknesses:
None that I have found

Similar Products Used:
Bryston 4B-ST

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from Quintessence Audio

Summary:
Recently, my Yamaha M80 power amp failed after 17 years of faithful service. I borrowed the Cinepro from Quintessence Audio in Morton Grove (a friend owns Quintessence) after reading great press reports. I have now used it for about a month now. I was surprised to hear what I have been missing! This amp has great power and reveals every nuance in music and movies, probably attributed to the fact that it runs in pure Class A up to 25 wpc. Even though it operates in Class A most of the time, it runs cool. Needless to say, after listening for a while, I called Quintessence and purchased it.

I highly recommend Cinepro products. They are built to last and sound great.

Strengths:
Effortless power, great soundstage, revealing.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha M-80, Rotel RB991

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from cinepro, direct

Summary:
i have the 1k2, not the se version.

my front end are adcom 750 cd player and 750 preamp. i like the detail/analytical sound. the amp sounds 'fast' and amazingly 'clear' at low level. i compare to the proceed amp, and 1k2 simply wins in terms of resolution and again, speed. i listen to 99% symphonic and piano stuffs, i don't think the sound(piano tone) is sweet, but it is accurate. strings sound is gutsy ! not smoothed out.

support is also execellent. i have a defective balanced input module on 1 channel and they sent me a replacement right away.

Strengths:
clean, fast, detail sound

Weaknesses:
???

Price Paid:  $900.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
Great amp for the money! I have the 1k2, not the more expensive SE. List is $1600, but I think they must have tremendously satisfied customers like me, because these are rarely for sale used. If you see one, grab it. Extra power for transients with 3.5db of headroom.Smooth, never harsh, with appropriate, not overbearing bass. Fairly transparent, and will show the strenghths/weaknesses of your system. I'd buy another one in a heart beat. Someone at the company told me that this amp was designed with Martin Logan Quest speakers as the reference. Electrosatic speakers can be very demanding, and this amp handles mine easily.

My system:

Martin Logan Quest speakers
Rotel RCD 971 cd player with HDCD
Classe' CP40 preamp
Cinepro 1k2 amplifier
Harmonic Technology Precision Link interconnects
Harmonic Technology Melody speaker cables

Strengths:
Powerful amp, good clean sound. A value for the power. Helpful staff to talk to at the company.

Weaknesses:
Slight low level hum. They may not have a dealer in your area.

Similar Products Used:
Denon, Rotel, Parasound

Summary:
I recently bought a Cinepro 1K2 amp and I am very pleased. It makes my NHT 2.5i speakers really sound great. I auditioned a Acurus A100 and this amp did little to impress me. The 1K2 fills the room with very clean and musical sound. I connected my amp, preamp and cd through DIY interconnects as detialed on BIG MATT's page. I give the amp 4 stars, as I've never heard the really expensive stuff and don't care if I do.