Hello,
I'm into tube amps. I do not listen to SS anymore ever since I tried the CJ MV-55. Now I have been getting a desire to purchase a pair of Magnepan speakers. My CJ tube amp performed poor with other maggies I had tried before. So I decided maybe I should look into a relatively inexpensive SS to run the bass and use a good tube amp for the mids and highs. I did some research and found a review that spoke very well on the Sonograghe SA 250. I didn't mind the price but I was looking for something a bit less like the MUSE 100 for around $300. Anyway, lots of forks wrote about the SA-250 having a tube sound with rolled off highs. I was a little concerned because in the event I wanting to use the amp independently, I might be disappointed. I own five great tube amps that cost much more than the retail of this SS. When it arrived, I was somewhat happy with it's appearance over the Muse. I first listened very carefully to my set of 300b mono block amps so I could use as a reference to how well the SA-250 sounds. My system is very nuetral and is in no way bright. With this, I expected to hear what some have written about. I let the amp warm up for only 10 minutes. Then played the same CD again. To my ears, the amp has very good detail and extention in the top. Not rolled off. It was not as smooth as the tube amps. The midrange was very open and clear with great soundstaging and imaging. But once again, not as smooth. SS amps need longer to warm up at least one hour before they sound their best and I'm pretty sure this amp is not going to disappoint me. I'm very happy with the purchase.

Similar Products Used:

CJ-MV55
CJ CAV-50
Canary 301 mk 2
Consonance M500
Rogue M120

Ooooo...shiny front

- Muddy
- Too warm sounding
- Highs rolled off
- Completely uninvolving

Utter and complete disappointment is all I can say.
Second from the bottom of my long list only beat out as the worst amp mankind has known being the Carver Silver 7t

Similar Products Used:

Carver
Phase Linear
Bryston
Sonic Frontiers
B&K
Denon
Adcom
..many others

All of above

none

Its all been said before but has to be said again.What a sound.Everything is how it should be,if you can find used dont hesitate.Runs cool,plenty of punch awesome bass,clean and clear as it gets,plus it is cj,cant go wrong Blows any integrated out of the water,such as those 40 watters,no comparison at all

Similar Products Used:

Tandberg,Rotel,Arcam

Sound quality, superb engineering.

Not at this price point!

I am very pleased with this amplifier! To say it is one of audios best kept secret is an understatement. First a quick peek under the hood reveals an excellent parts compliment with superb layout & engineering. But the best part is yet to come, the sound quality! The sonundstage is expansive and deep, very transparent & refined. I tried several preamps on it, Marsh, Adcom, & Conrad Johnson, specifically the CJ PV12L. All of them sounded excellent but the CJ PV12L had taken the SA-250 to a level that would be tough to beat, alot of synergy! I have read some reviewers comments in regards to bass. Let me say this, it is every bit as good any other high quality amplifier rated at 125 watts per channel I have heard. The bass is both tight & tuneful. Anymore than this would over-shadow its superb sound quality. I strongly recommend this amp. Another quality product from Conrad Johnson!

Similar Products Used:

Other CJ amps, Musical Design, B&K, Bryston, PS Audio, any many more.

Sound !

Lack of features (nada)

This power amp lacks features : non-removable 18 awg power cord, fixed sensitivity, one pair of speakers, no xlr connection, NA-DA ! But the sound is wonderful. Bass are above average (deep and powerful), medium absolutely exceptional (crystal-clear), very good soundstage, highs non-proeminent but detailed, the Holy Graal (or Nirvana, etc.)! I am using it with a slightly bright system, and with B&W Matrix 802s2 speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Quad, Adcom, Rotel, Parasound Power Amps

Smooth-ness, MUSICALITY, runs DEAD QUIET and lukewarm, soundstage, simplistic design

detail is there, lean but NOT thin bass

This amp is typical Conrad Johnson: SMOOTH and MUSICAL.
Definately not for bass-crazed people, but it DELIVERS more than enough bass. 125wpc, rated conservatively, around 200 into 4 ohms with much stability.

Sonographe SA250 runs very, very quiet and effortless. Detail is THERE, as well as the natural sound. The bottom bass is not rock-bottom solid, but hey that's plenty of bass.

MUSICALITY is the most important characteristic of this amp. It produces enough good quality power, rather than those overkill/overrated zillions watt-per-channel, based on 'mine-is-more-powerful-than-yours' mentality amps. 125wpc is more than enough, IMHO, unless someone wants to move the ghetto-blaster type of car subwoofer into his/her living room :]

All in all, build quality is great, a champagne faceplate is the cure of boring black faceplate. Regardless of aforementioned weaknesses, this is a great amp in its price range (new, MSRP $1195)

If you can find it around $500-$600, get one and see what I mean. Be advised, it'll expose poor recording as well as other weak link (mediocre components) in your system. I use this to drive a pair of Magnepan planar speakers in a medium room, and it's kicking!! One last word of advise, Parasound stands no chance against CJ gears! (they're overrated, overprices, and has the worst customer service)

Happy listening!

Similar Products Used:

Marantz MA500, Parasound (forgot the model), receivers, NAD 304

Musicality, Power, Smooth with no harshness, Runs cool.

First of all this review is on the SA-400 not the SA-250. I must say I got lucky and found this amp on the used market. A previous posting said if you can find a used one buy it because like he said they are hard to find.

I love this amp. I previously had an Adcom GFA-5500. There is no comparison between the two. The 400 is sooo much smoother and powerful. It is the one of the smoothest SS amps I have heard. I am no expert but I think you know good sound when you hear it. There is no fatigue whatsoever and the soundstage is right there. I believe I will hang on to this baby for awhile. A friend of mine who has been in the Audio business for quite sometime said he loves it and is looking to buy some CJ products. He has owned Levinson, Krell, Threshold, etc.. and he is amazed at the value. I understand that CJ may drop the Sonographe line. A dealer also told me that the current MF series is not that much better than the Sonographe.

If you can find this amp on the used market do not hesitate to buy it. I dont think you will be disappointed. I mated this up to the CJ PF2-L preamp and Loving ever minute of it.

Bass control, accuracy (not to be confused with detail), overall musicality

none within price/power class

have to rebut the views of the b&w and magnepan users. While their opinions are worthwhile, I don't think a listener with admittedly lean speakers, the b&w, can fairly criticise the sonographe for being lean. Neither can the maggie user with a speaker that has little low bass extension and a soundstage that wanders.
With my meadowlark kestrels, which can be bass heavy (transmission line), the sonographe evidences excellent control over the woofers. Orchestral double bass is suitably growly and the attacks of the bow are clear. Electric bass is musical: the pitch is just right and the strings can be heard to be plucked. No thumping here.
The unit is accurate and musical at the same time. It allowed me to hear that the MSB Link DAC III I had on trial was adding nothing and in fact was rolling off the highs, i.e, it was acting as a filter, not a component.
My baseline for the "absolute sound" is Classe .3, Classe Omega pre and amp driving the big vonSchweikerts, about $35,000. My system with the sonographe isn't close but still very enjoyable.
You want truth and beauty for 600 to 800 dollars, get an
SA-250.

Similar Products Used:

muse 100

CLEAN amplification power
MUSICAL
DETAIL is more than satisfying
QUIET sound quality, and runs cool/warm

maybe a hint of DARK sound, but it is almost negligible
LEAN bass, not your typical bass-freak amp

I got this amp used with a very delicious price thanks to audioreview.com and my negotiation skill.

Overall, IMPRESSIVE! very quiet, smooth and musical sound, clean, clean, clean power.

Simplistic design with a handsome champagne faceplate. Very rigid build. People complains about CJ's attempt to roll off the higher frequency to mimic tube amp's sound, but I don't believe that it is THAT bad at all. As a matter of fact, this amp is among the decent quality amp in CJ's line of solid states.

Lack of bass? Get AMC or such, this amp is for musicality rather than heavy metal types of music. Does it have bass? Yes, at a sane level of musical appreciation.

The best amps out there, with much more $$$ to burn, are the higher end of Bryston and Plinius. Hear a Conrad Johnson with a pair of decent speakers, and you will appreciate the use of separates.

Two thumbs up!

Similar Products Used:

various Parasound amps, Bryston (excellent amps!), Plinius (holy smoke, it's alien technology!!), etc.

quiet, dark/rich sound, lots of power

none for the price

Just a quick question to the reviewer below:
Have you ever heard a pair of Maggies w/ your gear? (MG3.6 or MG20 model)
If not, the "soundstage that wander" and "little bass extension" description must have been inaccuracy at its best.

I heard Kestrels, and they are not that impressive, just another box speakers in the crowd. The top model of NHT is much better.

Similar Products Used:

muse 100, classe, etc.