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Top Ranked Products from Sugden.
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Rating
Reviewed by:
philjul
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
November 18, 2008Overall Rating
 5 of 5
Value Rating
 4 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
1.00 votes
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Review 1 of 23
Price Paid:
$850.00
from Loud & Clear Summary:
This is an excellent machine. It has a beautifully smooth sound and a fantastic soundstage. Certainly at this price range it has some limitations. Perhaps it lacks a bit of detail at times, it can be a tad slow, and it runs hot! However, it paints the music in such a wide palette of colours and provides a beautiful soundstage which makes it wonderful to listen to. It ialso is extremely musical. Previous to owning the Sugden I had a Nad C370 which although punchy sounds incredibly bleached compared to the Sugden.
If you like your music to be painted with authority this is a player for you. Strengths:
wide soundstage, warm and smooth sound, tonal clour, musicality Weaknesses:
can be a bit sluggish but still very musical
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Valve - Nut
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
July 31, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5,
8.00 votes
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Review 2 of 23
Price Paid:
$2100.00
from Electrades Audio Sin Summary:
I owned several SS integrated and pre-power before I switched to valve amp. I was especially particular in the mid and high reproduction, where most of the mid price SS gears failed to deliver what I want. One day in the showroom I heard the Sudgen driving a Spendor classic loudspeaker and I was very impressed with the sound - delicate, smooth and brilliant. I bought it home and compare to my valve pre-mono block which cost at least 4 times more. The A21a can do most what my valve amp does, only slightly lacking in authority and slightly thinner mid band. I was particularly impressed with the treble reproduction of A21a, which is the best I have come across, so sweet! Strengths:
Very sweet treble, relaxed presentation. At least 30 mins warm up before it sings.. Weaknesses:
Run very hot. Similar Products Used:
Musical Fidelity
YBA DT Integre
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Paulallan
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
July 23, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
5.00 votes
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Review 3 of 23
Price Paid:
$1000.00
from ebay Summary:
This amp has a soul. You can tell cos it not only gets warm, but lights up inside if you look through the small vents on the top plate. Forget hifi, it is a great communicator and makes acoustic music and voice sound 'real'. The new cost is a very reasonable 1000.00 but thank god for ebay, I got a 5 year old one for 600.00. Unfortunately It arrived broken due to a bump in transit, but the guys @ Sugden sorted it out and without charging me a fortune!!!
I read a lot about speaker matching and it kind of put me off, but a call to the factory put me dead straight and they were spot on with some sensible advice. I had some old Rogers LS6 that were used and abused but worked quite well with the A21. I knew they had to go and invested in a pair of Proac One SC (ex dem) and I'm mega chuffed. Strengths:
The best amp Ive ever heard that Ive been able to afford. Massive sound stage that makes music sound like......music. Hand made in the UK and you can get it fixed if need be. Superb Phono input. Low power output means cheap electricity bills but it keeps the room warm!! Weaknesses:
No remote control!!!!! Phono stage has internal MM and MC adjustments that are difficult to get at unless you have a tool box and sonic screw driver. My room is 14 x 16 and it runs out of power when I get over enthusiastic (drunk) and play it very loud. Similar Products Used:
Heart 300B
Leak stereo 20
Audio innovations alto
Naim Nait
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Jaeoh Park
(Casual Listener)
Review Date
March 19, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1.00 votes
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Review 4 of 23
Price Paid:
$1700.00
from eBay Summary:
Everyone has mentioned how good this amp is, so I'm going to save my words describing how good this amp is. After some research I just felt like I had to get this amp and I did so by getting it 2nd hand from eBay (This amp doesn't seem to be on sale here in Australia). Gosh, was I amazed. The sound is smooth as silk and it's pretty much awesome in every respect of the sound. People tend to say this amp is not really flat sounded but no matter what, it sounds great after all - with all types of music.
So why did I decide to leave a comment here?
I thought I had to warn people about the amp's stability.
There is a person down below who mentions about their reliability problems.
I didn't want to believe him but I have to admit that I agree with him now.
When this amp arrived it had already broken its knobs at the front panel.
That was something I can understand, since it wasn't well-boxed.
But now, after using it for a year, it is showing some problem.
I have to say that they are in fact amplifiers strictly for music listening.
These days, after turning it on for a while, it's failing to properly output
the sound to the speakers, as the sound sort of jiggles, fading in and out rapidly.
I think the problem was that I left it on for a long time every now and then,
and I suspect that its circuits have been damaged, may be due to extreme heat.
There was no problem with ventilation so I don't think I did something seriously wrong. I connect my amps to the computer and leave it on for hours every single day.
Don't get me wrong, I love this jewel of an amplifier, as can be seen with my ratings on it. But people, please be careful on its maintenance. People like me who like to turn them on most of the time should especially be aware of this. I am wondering if I should upgrade it after a few months when I have some budget saved. I don't think there are many amps out there which can match its sound qualities at this price point so I'm a bit hesitant though. But if I have to worry about it being turned on, I don't think it's such a great situation. Even though it is better than having to listen to crude sounding amps. I guess I'll probably change it if a similar problem occurs within a relatively short time period.
I won't be so definitive on their stability problems since there seem to be people who enjoy this amp for a long time. But just be warned that it can happen, and be careful with the maintenance.
Oh, I have to also mention that they do sound better after being turned on for 30 minutes~2 hours or so. No doubts on its sound quality. Strengths:
SOUND Weaknesses:
stability/reliability.
Runs really hot.
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Rating
Reviewed by:
holbob
(AudioPhile)
Review Date
February 5, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
1.00 votes
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Review 5 of 23
Price Paid:
$500.00
from Acoustica - second h Summary:
This was the holy grail for me when I bought it - the component that I was gonna build my system around for years to come. The one "sticker". But as always in the case in hi-fi, there are no stickers due to the peril's of upgraditis! Today I put this amp up for sale on ebay - not because I don't love it - I do. But because I got a Benchmark Dac1 2 weeks ago what kind of makes the Sugden redundant - the Benchmark has a volume control meaning a straight power amp can only improve the system. A testement to the quality of the Sugden though is the fact i'm searching for a used power amp version of the a21a - the a21p!
Onto the a21. It's strength lies in the coluration it adds to the sound - it's lovely, sweet, musical, valve like, analogue like, whatever you want to call it. It's too sweet for words, takes away all the harshness without losing the detail. I'm really hoping I don't regret selling this. Worried about the low wattage? - don't be, Mr Sugden himself says this amp loves to be pushed - the more inefficent the speakers the better. I use it driving Dynaudio 52. It doesn't struggle at all. If you like music to sound sweet and layered - this is the amp for you. There isn't an amp to match it in the same price point IMO - though Unison, Copland and Primare all come close. Strengths:
Sweet, Valve like sound - without the annoyance of valve amps. Weaknesses:
Runs absurdly hot - if you have children - dangerously so. Similar Products Used:
Marantz PM7200
Denon AVR3803
Sonic Impact T-Amp
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