2. amps-preamps
  3. 1428160381

Clayton Audio Class A amps. Need amp advice

Hi Guys,

I am looking to change my amps and for a few reasons.

First because I just upgraded my DAC from the great PS Audio DirectStream to the incredible Bricasti M1 DSD USB DAC. I love the Bricasti and it has shown that in my system it could offer me more with a more resolving and neutral amp IMO.

I am currently am using the wonderful sounding CJ Premier 12 mono tube amps. I love them and tubes in general but my speakers are the great Ascendo C8 Renaissance and look to present a somewhat benign load being 88 efficient and 6ohm but they are unique and have an internal firing 21 cm Kevlar Bass driver that is great but stubborn and the speakers I think will really shine with a iron fist control of that driver.

I love tubes, always have and always will but I grown tires of a flabby bottom which is exasperated by a unique and somewhat difficult to grip bass driver set up I spoke about above.

I want an amp that can give me as much tube sound as possible but with Grip and bottom end. I know this is a lot to ask for in the used $5k to $7k price range.

I have read and it seem like the Clayton offer exactly what I am looking for but wanted to hear from some of you guys if anyone has ever heard them or know of them or anything. Any info would really be appreciated. Here is the info on my speakers and I will also list the rest of my system in case you think that is helpful. Thanks

C8 Renaissance
Technical Data
Principle
• Three-Way with SASB bass unit (TOS Off)
(current damped outer driver with semi symmetrical band pass)
• Four-Way with SASB bass unit (TOS On)
Dimensions (W/H/D)
• 28 / 80 / 40 (without Base)
• 28 / 108 / 40 (with Base)
Weight
35 kg
Frequency Range
29 Hz (-3 dB) – 32.000 Hz
Power Rating
350 W Program (min)
Impedance
6 Ohm
Sensivity
88 dB / 1W/m
Outer Chassis (COAX)
• 25 mm Neodymium-fabric-tweeter
• 18 cm Woofer with XP cone
Inner Chassis
• 21 cm Chassis, Kevlar cone
TOS Chassis
• Ribbon-tweeter
TOS Function
• switchable (TOS Unit - Dipole AN / AUS)
Sockets
• Single / BiWiring Base
Dimensions (W/H/D)
28 / 18 / 40 cm
Weight
11 kg

Ascendo C-8 Renaissance Speakers (Germany) Speaker
Purist Audio Design Corvus Praesto Revision 2.5m Bi-Wire Speaker cable
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Darwin TRUTH Pure Silver Reference 1 Meter RCA Interconnect
Bricasti M1 USB / DSD / Volume Control DAC (New) DA converter
Tellurium Q BLACK DIAMOND Reference USB Cable
Decware ZSTAGE External Triode Output StageTelefunken ECC801S
Audio Research REFERENCE 1 MK II w/Rhodium IEC/NOS Tubes Tube preamp
PS Audio PowerPlant Premier AC Regenerator
Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono's 140 Watts Tung-Sol KT120's Tube amp
Salamander Amplifier Stands (2) Synergy System AV Furniture Stand
BMI Shark Jeweler Grade Platinum 9 AWG AC Power Cable
Mad Scientist PC-NEO with Power Purifier 11 AWG Power Cable
Sablon Audio Petite Corona 2.0M 7 AWG AC Power Cable
JPS Labs The Power AC+ 2M 8 AWG AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series SE T1 AC Power Cable
Synergistic Research Labs Tesla Series T1 AC Power Cable
PS Audio Noise Harvester (5) Converts noise to light
OYAIDE RI Beryllium Power Outlets (2)
Blue Circle Audio The Yalu Balula Industrial Surge/Spike Protection
JPLAY v5.2 hi-end audio player turns PC into a digital transport.
Fidelizer Pro Version 6.1
JRiver Media Center 19 Music Software
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xfsmithjack

Showing 5 responses by bill_k

bill_k
885 posts
 
Rdoc - good point that should definitely be considered! Your Pass amp put out about 30 watts in Class A, only a tenth of what the Clayton claims to. As such if they're biased similarly in Class A according to their power ratings, the Claytons would put out ten times as much heat! I had a friend that used to run Atmasphere amps, and while they sounded superb he would listen in his underwear since it got so unbearably hot in the listening room. I'm not kidding.
bill_k
885 posts
 
Fsmithjack - With all due respect, you need to keep in mind that Class A operation is just one operating specification of a given amplifier design. I have found myself caught up with this in the past, searching for a product that meets a checklist of several desired design characteristics (i.e. Class A bias, fully balanced circuitry, all discrete components, linear power supply, etc.) In the end I found that the best amp for my setup was the Rowland 625, which is not fully class A and uses a custom switched mode power supply. What really matters is how all of the design aspects work together and how the resulting amp works with your speakers to best meet your desired system objectives. Unfortunately the only way to know how a given amp will all work with your setup is to try it. Other users' experiences will vary as do their systems from yours. If you are unable to audition amps in your system before buying them it can be a costly learning process. However as you previously stated buying used gear will help in this regard as you can often resell and recover close to your cost. Good luck as your search continues!
bill_k
885 posts
 
I believe Zd542's post was suggesting that at those prices making a trip to hear the amps would be justified, whether possible by either car or plane.
bill_k
885 posts
 
Since your Bricasti M1 DAC is a fully balanced design as well, I think it would be foolish to use the RCA outputs and an adapter to feed the Clayton amps. If you already have expensive RCA cables I would recommend selling them and getting similar quality XLR cables. It will be well worth it for the performance gain. Bricasti uses their DAC with their amps wired directly with XLR cables and the resulting performance is superb!
bill_k
885 posts
 
I would strongly suggest that you audition such an amp with your speakers, as they sound very different from the Class A bias amps that you have so far seemed to have a preference for. Not that they sound bad like some older Class D designs, just that they're different than Class A.
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