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Classe vs Levinson for B&W / Delta vs CT amps

My question is really two, but, as they're related, I thought maybe both could be covered in one thread.

I recently purchased a Mark Levinson 433 amp (yet to arrive) to drive my new B&W 802Di's. After I bought the Levinson, an experienced hifi guy and contributor to these forums mentioned to me that he believes the Levinson's to be a bad match with the B&Ws, that Classe, among others, is a much better match. If anybody else has any experience with pairing either or both of these amps with these speakers, I'd appreciate whatever you could share about it.

My other question concerns the Classe Delta and CT series amps. Has anyone been able to compare them? If anyone has heard them both and prefers one to other, or thinks there is no remarkable difference between them, I'd love to hear about that as well.

It's tough when there's no way to listen for yourself, so I'm grateful for any input I can get. Many thanks.
buckdog

Showing 1 response by upgrade1394

upgrade1394
1 posts
 
My 2-bits in 3 sections:
1) I agree with "Thesoundhouse" - ML amps are very dark sounding. The 433 is a good amp but not the best match for B&W Diamond series. I have previously used ML332 with 802N and was not very happy. Things improved with the Pass Labs X150.5 so much that the 150.5 stayed in my system more than a year (thats a loooong time).

2) The CAM-400 is a far better match for 802D. You will benefit from the diamond tweeter really shining through while the overall musicality is preserved (by this I mean very little listener fatigue and a sense of just relaxing with the music). Bass is also better defined.

3) IMHO, the CT and Delta series are NOT identical (barring the SSP-800 and CT-SSP). I have owned the CAM-400 paired with the WP8 and recently replaced with the CT-M600. Tremendous improvement in the bass and more black background. And the delicate decay of treble notes is simply delightful- me and my sons revel in hearing newer and finely nuanced sounds from the same recordings. Maybe someone should look under the hood or contact Classe - for me I am content with the performance.
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