Cairn integrateds and amps

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.

I have a Cairn system constituted by 4808 integrated amp, the Ecrins HD Cd player and two K1 monoblocks to drive each of my Sonus Faber Signum loudspeaker (cables are the mid-range Transparent MusicWave). This systems sounds incredibly clear, precise and nervous. Best music to play with this system is jazz (the sound is simply so lively). For pop music, the recording better be good. Otherwise, each mistake is revealed by the system.

I really recommend Cairn 4808 (I would rather go for the Nanda preamp with the K1 blocks) that performs superbly well with any hi-fi speakers. The only system I would prefer to Cairn is the one from Naim. But there, we're no longer talking about the same price range :-(

Alph