Incredibly detailed, warm, smooth, rich sound. Buit quality
is of the finest. Balanced inputs. Stylish look. Soundstage!!

I looked hard, but, could not find any!

I owned an Aragon 4004mkII for about 8years along with Vandersteen 2ce's and I thought I would never part with
them. When I decide to make a change, I decided to go
home theatre. However, I am still about 80% 2ch audio
so selling the Aragon for some 3-ch Rotel amp and 2-ch
Rotel amp was a step back. After about a month I decided
I was not happy, and would sell the 2ch amp and buy a much better 2ch amp for the front and keep the 3ch Rotel for the
center and rear surrounds. I started looking and found a few
I liked, but not totally impressed because the Rotel is very good equipment for the Money. So a local dealer offered
for me to take home the Classe CA-101 amp for a couple days
to see what I thought. I took it home and warmed it up, listened to the Rotel RB-993 and the switched to the Classe.
WOW!!! I thought I was hearing things. The voice on the recording was so much more present, so smooth, yet so detailed. (Mary Black/Looking back) The midrange was so focused and pleasing. The soundstage was so much deeper and had so much more air. I switched to Dave Grusin/The Gerschwin connection, to hear some piano, and I was very Impressed. Clearly defined high notes with no hard edge
or brightness. I had to switch back to the Rotel to see
if what I was hearing was correct. The Rotel is a very good amp for about $1200, but, It was no match for the Classe,
and I guess it was not made to be. Compared to the other Amps I auditioned, I was most impressed with the classe.
I love the sound of tubes, but I like the fast and powerful
bass you get with solid state amps, and for me, the Classe
had the best of both worlds. The warmth and mellow, yet detailed sound of tubes, and the quick bass of SS amps.
Low frequency on the Classe was very Impressive, even at
lower volume the bass was well defined and full.
I decided to buy the CA-151. And that was even a little
more musical than the CA-101. A fuller sound and even more
bass freq. Not overwhelming bass, but tight defined deep
bass. I can not recommend this amp anymore than to say,
I now listen to more music, and find my feet tapping more
than ever before when I listen. It is beautiful to look
at, and is made so well with extra heavy face plate and
parts. I know you'll enjoy it.
My system:
Classe CA-151 amp
Classe SSP-25 surround/pre
Denon DVM-3700 cd/dvd (used as a transport)
B&W CDM9NT speakers (main)
Purist Audio Aquios Bi-wire cable
Purist Audio Aquios balanced interconnect
Illuminations D-60 digital cable
Rotel RB-993 3ch amp
Energy center and surround speakers

Similar Products Used:

Aragon, Bryston, Rotel, Conrad Johnson.

Warm, smooth & liquid

Not as good as the CA 101

I had a chance to audition the Class CA 101 & CA 151 at home. I liked the sound of the CA 151 amp and thought it made the Bryston amps sound like pro gear. There was a warm, smooth and liquid sound that had good definition with decent image depth. But compared to the CA 101 it fell short. The CA 101 was shockingly good, incredibly trasparent with an abundance of low level detail, outstanding image focus, layered sound stage, extended airy treble and fast articulate bass. I guess that is why Class Audio is discontinuing the CA 151.

Similar Products Used:

Class Audio 101, Bryston 4B & 7B