Classe Omega Amplifiers

Classe Omega Amplifiers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-9 of 9  
[Jun 28, 2022]
highfalutin


Strength:

No fussy circuitry, simple solid amp with high end components. Fantastic soundstage vinyl sounds amazing, you would struggle to find an amp today that sounds this good. | San Diego Concrete Driveway Company

Weakness:

none . .

Purchased:
New  
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Apr 24, 2008]
William Stevenson
AudioPhile

Strength:

Once warmed up the sound is detailed and clear--may be a littel on the analytical side compared to their less expensive stuff like the CA series but it mated very well with a CJ 17LS.

Weakness:

My two complaints with this amp are the weight and the fact that it blew up on me and will be horribly expensive to repair.For what this retailed for originally I expected greater reliability.

This review is for the Omicron single chassis 350 wpc amp. This is a wonderful amp if you can heft 250 pounds with ease. I mated this with a CJ 17LS and a pair of Aerial 10Ts and the sound was wonderful until the terrible day when the fuses both blew when I went to turn it on. I'm now looking at a $2,500 repair bill and am a little disenchanted with the monster and Definitive Audio in Seattle. I've bought many used amps over the years and they've all run well for me till this--the most expensive of the lot--and the most unreliable.

Customer Service

Classe got bought up and is tough to get a hold of anymore. It increases my appreciation for smaller companies like Aerial who will give you personal attention.

Similar Products Used:

Hafler, Amber, NAD, Harmon Kardon, Adcom, Creek, Parasound and Bryston.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
2
[Jun 15, 2003]
Pascal
AudioPhile

Strength:

All qualities required from a beast of that kind. Very subtle medium and highs. Bass is clean and when it pushes, it pushes. Some friends thought it was a tube amp.

Weakness:

Expensive and heavy (needs 4 persons to lift it) but porice paid worth it

I bought a Classé Audio Omega Omicron dual monoblock amplifier about two years ago (probably one of the few owners of this kind of beast in France) and truly this unit is outstanding. Smaller than the big Omega, it remains an imposing “heating device” as called by my wife, weighing 100kg but produces a sound I could never imagined possible to get at home. It feeds a pair of B&W Nautilus 802. It is pity that Classé decided to discontinue this product (replaced by the recently announced Omicron mono bloc amplifier). In past two years it represented the alternative to the Omega mono blocks (excellent – I heard them twice driving a pair of B&W Signature 800 but the price is skyrocketing). I have the feeling that this amplifier is the one of a lifetime. The system is also composed of a preamp Classé CP60+phono card, an Oracle Mk1 turntable, a Classé Tuner T1, a CD transport Oracle 2000, SuperGold XLR interconnects from Fantastic, all eqpt purchased second hand including the N802 and the Omicron, and a brand new French Audio Aero DAC/preamp Prima Mk2 32/192 (reviewed under the CD section, Audio Areo Capitole and having tube outputs). I dare say that the CD sounds as good as the analog LPs for recently well recorded CDs. I was intending to buy a pair of new Classé CAM 350 monoblocks (budget-wise) when I fell on an ad, for a second-hand Omicron; actually the unit was brand new and had the advantage of having been burnt-in. The Omicron requires a good 1.5h of warm up before giving the full sound. After three hours, it is as good as at a live concert. The above association works great on classical music. The sound stage is wide, and deep, one can detect where the musicians were seated during the recording session. But jazz isn’t bad either (great remaster of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five, original source recorded in 1959! and it rings damn good). On some good vinyls of Harpsichord concerts, I had the impression that the instrument was just there. A Great Amplifier.

Similar Products Used:

Nagra, Goldmund, ML334, Electrocompaniet, Meridian, Gryphon Tabu (listened to, not used)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 12, 2003]
rmedeiros
AudioPhile

Strength:

Detail, soundstage, highs, mids, and bass. Similar in warmth to the Atmasphere MA-1 MKII. Very powerful with 1800KVA transformers per channel. Flight shipping case for unit transportation. Very classy (no pun intended).

Weakness:

Size and weight, but I will have to admit it is awesome to look at due to the craftsmanship.

I am extremely happy with the Classe' line of products. I have looked at Levinson, Krell, Atmasphere, etc. I have always found the Classe' products to be just as comparable if not better in build quality on the Omega line of products. To give you some history, I have full range electrostats manufactured by my Uncle's company, SoundLab. First, I started off with the Classe CA-201 in 2000. I felt I was missing the detail and fullness that my speakers could produce. I then traded the CA-201 in for the CAM-200 monoblocks in 2001. Very good monoblocks with excellent bass and midrange. However, the highs seemed to be rolled off and a little brilliant and more importantly felt that I was missing the ability for this amp to point out finite details and accurate sound staging. I demo'd the CAM-350s but felt they were beefed up CAM-200's as sonics and soundstage were exactly the same. As a side note, the only difference between the CAM-200 and the CAM-350 are the power ratings and the toroidal transformer sizes: 707 KVa for the CAM-200 and 1200 KVa for the CAM-350. My dealer recommended I look at the Omega line if I was particular in finding what worked well for me and my speakers. After listening to the Omega series I was hooked! The first thing that I noticed was that all of the detail and the frequencies were represented very accurately. The Omicron mates extremely well with my SoundLab M-1 electrostatic speakers. I am hearing my CDs in a new light and again the imaging, the highs, bas, and mid are near perfection. Of note, I found no discernable differences in sonics and soundstaging between the flagship 450W Omega dual monoblock and the 350W Omega Omicron dual monoblock. I also did a side-by-side comparison of the Omicron and the Levinson No. 33. I felt they were on equal playing fields on performance. Due to phenomenal deal I went with the Omicron. Please keep in mind that Classe’ has launched their Omicron monoblocks at the 2003 CES show in January. Since the Classe factory had 4 new Omicron units left they were willing to slash prices at near cost of $5900 vs. the original retail price of $12,000 USD. In addition to the excellent price I received from my dealer (HiFi Centre) he drove from Vancouver to Seattle to personally install the unit for me. Great product and service! Since this unit is no longer manufactured, as of March '03 there are approximately 4 units left for sale according to my dealer. Contact your Classe' dealer to secure one. My system is as follows: Classe’ Omega Omicron Classe’ CAV-75 Classe’ CD/DVD-1 Classe’ SSP-75 SoundLab M-1 Full-range Electrostatic Speakers (front R&L) – 88db 1W/1M sensitivity @ 8 ohms SoundLab Dynastat Hybrid Electrostatic Speakers (rear R&L) – 88db 1W/1M sensitivity @ 8 ohms SoundLab Marquee Hybrid (center channel) – 92db 1W/1M @ 4 ohms Revel B-15 subwoofer Cabling – Audio interconnects: RSC Air, Video: Prism, Speakers: RSC Air Cinepro PowerPro 20 Power Conditioner Omicron Specs: 350W 8 ohms in stereo 700W 4 ohms in stereo 1150W 2 ohms in stereo 1175W 8 ohms in mono 2350W 4 ohms in mono 4700W 2 ohms in mono 3600 KVA total capacitance 135db S/N ratio 0.002% THD 212lbs 20.5(W) x 23(D) x 12.5(H) BTW...all Omicrons are MKII units. No MKI units were ever released for sale and that Classe decided to move to an MKII release of the product prior to public launch. This is according to Classe' customer service.

Similar Products Used:

Krell FPB 350, Mark Levinson No. 33, Atmasphere MA-1 MKII, CA-201, CAM-200, CAM-350, Bryston 14B SST

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 28, 2003]
RO106666
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

everything

Weakness:

HEAVY! PRICE

What can you say! Words fail me! Heaven! I have listened to most "Super" amps and this is the one for me. Amazing amount of power,clean,quiet,smooth!Built like a tank and Classe is a "Class A" group to deal with. This is my third Classe amp (CA 300 & 301) and I strongly recommend you take a listen to them before you buy anything! Got for a great deal as a demo!

Similar Products Used:

Current System: Revel Salons MIT Oracle spkr cable Classe Omega MIT 350 Interconnects ARC Ref II MkII pre Theta Jade & Gen Va Genesis Digital Lens

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 25, 2000]
tom russell
Audiophile

Strength:

Transparency,sound stage,bass,effortless,quiet,realism

Weakness:

size

I own a Classe' Omicron amplifier which is the less power
version of the Omega.I have a Wadia 270&27i cd system
with Hales t8's,and Cardas power cables,interconnects,and
speaker wire. This is by far the best amplifier I have ever
owned it's musicality and realism are superior in every
sense.It is a big beast 22x20x12(212 lbs.)This amplifier
is exactly the same technology as the Omega just less power
350 wpc to 500wpc. This amplifier was superb right out of
the box,soundstage was the first thing I noticed then bass
extension and control and it has gotten better since.
This amplifier is also a work of art in appearance, beautiful and all of the edges and surfaces are smooth,
the looks of this amplifier made me buy a new stand so that
it could stand alone an not be hidden in a rack.

Similar Products Used:

classe ca300,BAT vk500,vk1000's

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 18, 2000]
Symonds Wong
Audiophile

This CLASSE OMICRON amp is : Great soundstage ,Imaging, Dynamics & Wounderful sound ...........

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 25, 2001]
Tom
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Omega Omicron amp: High current power, dynamics, excellent soundstage and resolution, richly defined midband, overall a very musical and powerful solid state amp

Weakness:

Excruciatingly long break in period, weight, heat generated by amp in warm weather

This review is for the Omega Omicron, the less powerful version of the Omega. Simply the best amp I have owned to date, and a keeper for the foreseeable future. Although I did not audition the Omicron before purchasing on the web (new @ nearly half of retail), I based my decision on an audition of Classe's CAM 350 monos. While the CAM 350s have a smidge less refinement then the ML No. 336s I thought the Classe was better balanced in its overall presentation. I wrote a review of the CAM 350s under the CA401 review section. The Omega Omicron shares a similar family sound to the CAM 350s, yet is more refined, has a fuller and richer midrange, higher resolution, the highs are better controlled (not rolled off, but less piercing then the CAM 350's), and though they share the same power ratings the Omicron sounds significantly more dynamic/powerful. The soundstage is large and well defined, like the ML No. 336's, yet retains a better top to bottom perspective. The ML No. 336's mids are recessed sounding compared to to the lows and highs. Some may like this more distant perspective, however I don't find it as natural or real sounding as the Omicron's.

If you buy this amp new be prepared for an extended break in period, not just the normal 100 to 200 hours, but more like 400 - 500hrs.

The Omicron is a large and heavy (212lbs) amp, and can run quite warm. A well ventilated area is recommended. Mine sits on a Polycrystal amp stand. The Omicron also comes standard with two JPS Power AC cords, one for each channel. I have a dedicated 20 amp line for each channel which does make an audible improvement.

System:

Thiel CS7.2s
Classe Omega Omicron
Sonic Frontiers Line 3
Meridian 508.24
Transparent Audio Ref ics and Ultra speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

Previous amps owned: Bryston 7B ST, McCormack DNA-1 dlx, PS Audio Delta 100, Adcom GFA 555
Amps Auditioned: ML No. 336, Krell FPB 300, McIntosh MC602, Classe CAM 350

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 22, 2001]
mario
Audiophile

Strength:

Powerhouse bass, soundstage, 3-D musical midband.

Weakness:

Only one, it weight's in at 250 , out of crate..

This review is overdue , I've had many tube and SS amps
including those above. What this amp does is make music
in a way I have yet to hear from any other Tube or SS amps,
at any price. I've been in audio for over twenty five years
and can say with respect to all the amps I've owned that
this one is as good as it get's. Yes the tube amps have a
very musical midrange, however so does this amp, but with
it's super high current and output power , it just makes
music sound real. It now list for $17000.00, which is a
bargain when you look at other amps costing many times
as much. Those who can aford this beautiful work of art
will not want anything else ,once they see and hear this
Powerhouse...

Similar Products Used:

Krell Kas 250, Classe 400, Conrad Johnson Ev 2000, AR 200

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-9 of 9  

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