SETs vs. Push/Pull

One thing that has always struck me about Classe, and I have heard a whole lot of their amps, was that they ALWAYS underwhelmed me.

First of all, even those that tend to be quite large sound a lot whole lot less than their power rating suggest.

Secondly, and more important, in every situation I have heard them in they were cold, clinical, analytical, with quite a bleached out sound.

Of course, if the Proacs sound overly lush, than I might think the match would be good.

D_edwards, I am not at all confused about Classe.

As you mentioned, they have sounded pretty much the same for the past decade. We are totally in agreement here. Where we differ is in what we hear.

What I was expecting to hear was power and assuredness of the large, muscular, solid state amps it has competed with when I have listened to them. The Counterpoints, Krells, Levinsons, and Rowlands of the respective time. They do not. Like I said, they ALWAYS sound a lot less powerful than their size or power ratings categorize them as. I was expecting sound along the Jeff Rowland line, powerful and assured, but on the refined and relaxed side. Again, not so. Instead I hear a nervous, threadbare, thin sound.

The speakers I have heard them with have not been cold, analytical, or bleached out. They were Maggies, Vandersteens, and Egglestons, all of which I would argue are the opposite of what I heard.

Again, we agree that these amps have been consistent, we diverge on what we hear.