I have a Cairn 4808 70 wpc integrated amp that I bought second hand. It was still about $1200 US currency, and it was originally more expensive than the current line of 30 wpc class A/B, and the 100 wpc class B. They stopped making the 70 watt version because it was too expensive for them to make, so I heard. The build quality is superb. Unfortunately, I never got to test it against other amps with the variables of the source and the speakers unchanged, but needless to say it easily took out my Mission Cyrus One. The high end is really nice - I would say it's the most notable attribute, but overall, cleanliness abounds. I don't think it's an overly aggressive amp, but rather smooth, sweet, and clean. I've noticed a sort of separation between instruments that I never heard with the Mission - it seems to define the instruments much better. I'm really happy with it. My speakers are not in the same league, so my perception of this amp could be better.
Cairn integrateds and amps
Anyone know anything about these besides what was reviewed this month in stereophile? I found their webpage but it is in French. I'd be interested to hear respones from anyone actually owning the equipment. They have quite a selection of gear it looks like, have they been around a while?