Review: Chiro C-200 Amplifier

Category: Amplifiers

Jazz, New Age, and female vocals are what I listen to the majority of the time. The most important aspect of reproduced sound is getting a sense of being "there". My pet peeves are too much bass and upper frequency "shrillness".

The Chiro C-200 has been my primary amp for about 6 months. I got a great deal on a used piece locally and jumped on it. It replaced an Acurus A150 which was in the same league.

The Acurus is a great amp. It has better bass "slam" than the Chiro but is inferior in all other areas. The Acurus tried too hard to be clean, and has an over sterile quality that I do not apprecaite. It does not convey the music with the same sense of realism thast the Chiro does. The biggest difference I found is that the Chiro has better resolving power. There is simply more music with the Chiro, and it seems to be more in control. Imaging ans sounstaging are more focused and deeper (instruments and voices do not jump around anymore). The Chiro handles the high notes with significantly more "naturalness" than the Acurus, which I sometimes found a little foggy.

All in all, the Chiro was the amp to beat for <1k. It is a few years old now, and Kinergetics is no longer in business, but great deals can be had on second hand units. (If you do a search in audioasylum.com there is some info about guys that are servicing these, however it has become a little dated) Build quality is top notch, and the unit runs fairly cool even with the 84db sensative Solos.

The conclusion is this; The Acurus are great amps. It is neck and neck with the Chiro in many areas. The difference is in overall resolution and the upper frequency presentation, the stuff you pay the big bucks for. The Chiro does it better, significantly.

For under $400 bucks, this is a great amp that gives the listener a taste of the high end.

If money was no object, would you still own this?
Are you kidding me? I am a grad student on an an ultra tight budget, if money was no object I would be listening to ML#33s or a pair of Halcros.

Bottom line;

The Chiro C-200 is a sweet amp that can be had for next to nothing. (I got mine for $250)

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Platinum Audio Solo's
Rotel Preamp
Ixos biwire speaker cables
Ixos gamma 1000 interconnect for pre-pow
Tributaries sca-300 for cd-pre
Marantz cc-52

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