simaudio w8 vs classe ca m400

[joe_s]

I have auditioned classe CA 2200 with B&W 802D, and felt it lacked a little in dynamics for deep bass....other attributes were very nice. I have heard a Simaudio W8 (250,500,1000 watts into 8,4, and 2 ohm impedance respectively) but with Dynaudio Contour 5.4 speakers, not the B&W 802D. The Simaudio W8 is a 2 channel amp, and not a lot less expense than (2) Classe CA M400's.

Has anyone auditioned this Simaudio amp (it's pretty new) with B&W ? or conducted any more formal comparison of Classe vs Simaudio ? Thanks.

[Fraise]

i'm confused...are you comparing the CA-2200 or a pair of CAM-400's?? to the simaudio.

[joe_s]

Fraise, from a cost perspective, the closest comparison is the two CA M400 monoblocks vs the Simaudio W8. I don't think the CA 2200 has the power of the Simaudio, again though this is based upon fairly limited audition over a period of time with different speakers.

[bigburner]

joe s, have you considered auditioning the Rotel RB-1090? I know it's not supposed to be in the same class as the other amps you're considering, but if nothing else it would surely be comforting to know that you're not spending a lot of extra money unnecessarily!

Having just read Ian G Masters' article "Do All Amplifiers Sound the Same?" I'm very interested in this topic.

Is there anyone out there who owns or has auditioned the RB-1090 / 802D or N802 combination who feels like commenting?

[Andrew M Ward]

Short Term Listening Tests

Auditioning amplifiers in uncontrolled environments over short time periods is difficult and rarely effective unless you're trying to determine if one is having some kind of problem.

if you're trying to actually figure out if one sounds better, that can take long periods of exposure.
just my 2 cents

[Fraise]

Fraise, from a cost perspective, the closest comparison is the two CA M400 monoblocks vs the Simaudio W8. I don't think the CA 2200 has the power of the Simaudio, again though this is based upon fairly limited audition over a period of time with different speakers.

oh ok because you mentioned the sound of the CA2200 and but the cost of the CAM-400s and that kind of threw me off. In order to make a fair comparison you really have to audition the CAM-400's, i dont think you'll be satisfied with the difference between the pair of mono's and the 2200.

[jlee]

joe s, have you considered auditioning the Rotel RB-1090? I know it's not supposed to be in the same class as the other amps you're considering, but if nothing else it would surely be comforting to know that you're not spending a lot of extra money unnecessarily!

Having just read Ian G Masters' article "Do All Amplifiers Sound the Same?" I'm very interested in this topic.

Is there anyone out there who owns or has auditioned the RB-1090 / 802D or N802 combination who feels like commenting?

The 1090, although the absolute best amp for $2000, just is not in the same league as the CAM-200, CAM-350, and now the CAM-400. I've had them all... 1075, 1095, 1080, 1090, CAM-200, and now CAM-350! Each step is an upgrade, but the biggest upgrades (in purely 2 ch testing) were from 1075 to 1095, and from 1090 to CAM-200... actually the CAM-200 to CAM-350 upgrade was surprisingly pretty significant as well, but for almost double the price, it SHOULD be.

The 1090 is not as smooth in it's frequency response, does not go as low (makes HUGE difference if you're connecting a REL in hi-level), and doesn't have that awesome pitch accuracy that the Classes have. But for $2000, hey... it's a great starter amp and you can't go wrong. Resale on Rotel is excellent, so you won't lose much if any.

[SRT-10 Viper]

jlee, Have you compared the CAM350 (which I have) to the CAM400? If so, what was the difference.

[jlee]

jlee, Have you compared the CAM350 (which I have) to the CAM400? If so, what was the difference.

I have not compared the CAM-400 in my personal system which consists now of the Musical Fidelity A5 CD player (AWESOME player BTW, I would say in the top 10 in the world along with the new Classe) that replaced my A3.2CD, and Rotel RSP-1098 pre/pro. I have heard the CAM-400 with N803, 803D, and 802D with CDP-100 CD player and CP-500 preamp and "similar" Harmonic Tech cables (but my cable setup was optimized for lengths, the best spades, etc. where the setup at the store had banana plugs and longer lengths). The charateristics are very similar, but the CAM-400 seems to have "more" low end. I say that because I've also heard in the same room at the dealer CAM-350's with N802 and that was the main difference. I refuse to say "better" low end because I am not sure whether that low end is "intentionally" added or the way the recording is supposed to sound. However, at $5000 list each, even if the CAM-400 were an improvement all around, I cannot justify the price tag. Perhaps when they come on the used market, I may consider them. Until then, I am extremely happy with my CAM-350's. Another drawback is Classe currently only offer 1 monoblock, the CAM-400 (not including the Omega line). I wish they offered a lower priced 200W version of it for rear surrounds. In that case, using 3 CAM-400's in the front and the lower powered version for rears would make good "system balance" sense costwise. Similar to my system now, which consists of CAM-200 in the rear and CAM-350 in the front.

In the future, I may ask my dealer to demo the CAM-400's at home in my personal system and report back.

I am in the middle of upgrading my N804 to N802. I've tapped the limit of the N804. It's actually amazing how good the N804 can sound with all the upgrades I've done over time. They are the LAST component I'm upgrading after 3 years of having them and upgrading EVERYTHING else but the speaker. They have now become the weakpoint in the system along with the Rotel RSP-1098... but even then, sound better than the N802 I've heard at the store with lesser supporting gear and room characteristics.