Classe' DR-6 MKI vs MKII

I never heard of a Classe DR5, Model 5 or whatever being described as bright?

J135 and I are going to agree on one thing...try out the Capri.

J135, I am not disputing what you hear.

My former dealer was one of the original and largest Classe dealers back when Dave Reich got started. He was also a Classe dealer when Glen Grue took over the company and forced Reich out. He was my source of information, plus I owned a lot of Classe equipment.

Grue was a marketing guy who saw a need to generate publicity without incurring the expense of a complete product overhaul, therefore, he decided to re-brand the existing line with new cosmetics and leverage his advertising budget to garnish “new” reviews. He also understood the power of suggestion in that if you claim a new and improved version, people will buy into the premise.

Yes, I would recommend to the OP to audition the pre in question, but I would not get too hung up on the “version” as they all have a very very similar sound.

Luca58, IIRC there were 3 DR6 versions. Version 1 can be identified by the use of the 3-piece gold handles. Version 2 had 1 piece black handles and the Model 6 was a rebranded DR6 with a remote option. All three models shared the same topography and all 3 had single ended and balanced outputs.

You can download the DR6 schematic at http://www.hifiengine.com/library/classe-audio/dr-6.shtml

There are very very subtle changes performed to the circuitry between the original DR6 and Model Six. In some instance a few passive parts were changed to justify Glen Grue’s removal of any reference to the original designer Dave Reith (DR). The DR moniker was dropped and even Dave Reich’s name removed from the circuit board and replaced by Glen Grue’s name (who was a marketing guy, not a designer).

The whole model line was then re-released with admittedly, better cosmetics, but with the same circuit design. Classe was a huge advertiser in Stereophile, so when Stereophile did a review on the Classe Model 15, they had to really “reach” for design differences, most notably; changes to some impedance matching, input regulation and a resistor value change which are very minor revisions. Surely, not justifiable for a complete review unless you are a huge advertiser that just went through a change in ownership.

A quick call into Classe and they will tell you that there are insignificant difference between the DR and Model X series. It was a marketing play, not a design upgrade.