Sugden Amps

Sugden is really nice, some also like Belles. I don't know what your budget is, but the Sugden Masterclass integrated is a really wonderful end-game piece. 

Another option is the current "amp-of-the-month", Musical Fidelity A1 integrated. Runs in class-A (like the Sugden) and costs $1700. May be hard to find.

I was thinking the Sugden A21..I watched the video Kevin Deal made on the Musicsl Fidelity A1 integrated….don’t really trust his salesman words..

Well, I would definitely describe the Sugden as being on the 'not fatiguing' side of the spectrum for a solid-state amp and it does sound warm, BUT ideally I think you should try to hear it with your speakers. It's got a very rich, syrupy warm sound that may or may not work with your speakers. Perhaps one piece of information that might be useful to have is the type of music you prefer and the sound quality you prefer in audio equipment. 

The Belles has a tonally more neutral sound than the Sugden. A more expensive option might be the Pass 25-watt Class A INT-25 integrated.

I mentioned this in another thread earlier this evening, that along with my beautiful-sounding Paul Birkeland (of Bottlehead) designed and built 812 tube amp, I really enjoy listening to my kit-built Hypex Class D amp.

Kit was only around $600, easily built, and sounds great. Something to think about..

Regards,

Dan

I'm a Sugden dealer and absolutely love the brand.  

I have several customers running both A21 and A21SEs with Heritage speakers.

Check out the Heed Obelisk.  50/wpc, smooth but detailed and the distributor recommends you always leave it on. A very good amp. I think it’s about $2k. 

A somewhat below the radar audio manufacturer is Odyssey.  I own a couple pieces, Tempest/ Kismet combo ... always a rarified listening experience ...

https://odysseyaudio.com/

I feel you.  I've  owned lots of high end tube gear.... enjoyed it all.  But, for me, enough with the hassle and cost of tubes.  I also converted to active speakers and the tubes were simply too slow for my appetite for dynamics and immediate attack.

That's my taste in musical reproduction, not to be inflicted on others.  Sugden pieces tend to be quite dynamic and blindingly fast on attack.  Bass is quite controlled, but not rumbling; black background, imaging respectable, not disappearing and holographic.

I've owned/own several Sugden pieces and they all perform very well.....for me.

Hope that helps.

Yes every response is very helpful…

You should also consider unison research their unico line are hybrid amplifiers with tubes in the i put stage with a Mosfet output stage

Their amplifiers are outstanding extremely musical good detail and affordable 

Please contact our store we sell musical fidelityand have experience with many of the products discussed here

Dave and Troy

AUDIO INTELLECT NJ

Unison and musical  fidelility dealer 

Thanks Troy…

Lots of hybrids in the market these days.

McIntosh

Cannor

Circle Labs

Unison

Pathos

Rogue

Mod Wright

https://unisonresearch.com/en/type/unico/

Yes but unison are affordable 2100 to 6000

Mcinrishs hybrid s are not very good sphinx class d output stage

Unison has an excellent importer and has service established can you say the sa me for circle or cannor?

They also have the due which has an excellent dac built incannot?

Dave and Troy

audio intellect nj

I have Altec 620A speakers with an efficiency close to your Klipsch, and I've been looking for the same thing as you... for several years, I used a Sugden A25B (class A/B) which was warm sounding but lacked transparency... I replaced it last year with a Belle Aria integrated which is superior on every aspects, which is normal since the Belles cost more money... Before purchasing it, I thought about getting a Sugden A21 (class A) but I didn't want to deal with the heat since my amp is on all day and my place gets very hot in summer... in SS, you'll probably have the best results with a class A (Sugden, Pass Lab or other brands) or a class D, but the choice is limited in class D integrated ...  

Thanks alaindexe

See if you can find a cayin h80a hybrid amp. 
Yes it’s chifi but it’s very well built and only has 2 tubes in the preamp stage. 
Probably won’t bust the pocket book used as well. 

Definitely look at the Sugden A21 (Signature or SE). My signature has a phono amp---I don't believe the SE has a phono amp. It runs warm but not hot. Extremely musical and well built. It's my first class A and I love it!! Go through @goldprintaudio Great customer service.

Love my Sugden LA-4 pre, with those Klipsch I’d totally think a Sugdan amp would be for you, I absolutely love the Canor Virtus i2, but being tubes... ugh that’s a phenomenal amplifier now with pre outs. Lastly what about a Cambridge Edge A. I have my Azur 851a and it’s an amazing integrated (discontinued) and the edge line just notches all that goodness up a level.

So many choices!

My absolute favorite integrated amps as of now are my Riviera Labs Levante and Technics SU-R1000.

Would love to try a Pathos InPol amp which again sounds like it would be a great choice for you.

Good luck and happy hunting

Let us know what you find.

So many choices, everyone’s suggestions really help me think and do research…my local Sugden dealer says the Audio Note Cobra should be my first choice the the Sugden second…I was trying to get away from tubes ….the Sugden has a 6 to 8 week build… he has a demo Audio Note Cobra at a reduced price…my tube amps have been really been giving me problems…hard decisions….

My Belles Aria is $1500.....Mint condition....It's not listed anywhere.

For clarification, the Sugden A25B one poster referred to, is an over 30 year old design and was Sugden’s entry level piece.  Not really a fair reference to present day performance of the line.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650029274-for-sale-is-my-special-edition-sugden-a21se-signature-integrated-amplifier/

On US Audio Mart right now. 

That is a very good buy!

Others besides Kevin Deal have reviewed the Musical Fidelity A1 (new version) very favorably: Taron on the YT channel A British Audiophile. As far as I can see, he isn't selling the amp, just reviewing, He gave it an "outstanding" rating, which he does not do often. It apparently is toasty, despite being only 25W. The form factor is attractive.

The benefit of Klipsch Heritage speakers, aside from nice sound, obviously, is the loudspeaker efficiency and the opportunity to experiment with confidence when it comes to lower power-rated amplification. If you aren’t going with a pure class-A amp (something about that "all-day, everyday" desire and the reality of significant heat generation from pure class-A makes me wonder if that is a good thing long-term), there are good hybrid options in Class A/ Class D. (NuPrime’s IDA-8 is Class A-Class D and has a low noise floor. Very compact. 100W.) The JBL SA750 has A/AB ("Class G") topology with a streamer, DAC and remote, 120W.

That's precisely why I bought some Klipsch Forte 4s (to experiment). I'm having difficulty deciding between class-A SS amp and tubes. Heat isn't a problem as I would use (whichever) only in the winter. I've owned tubes but never had a first-class preamp (like my current BAT VK-33SE) to show off their potential. On the other hand, I've never owned a class-A SS amp but my BAT VK-255SE is so good (IMO) that a class-A SS may be redundant. Fortunately, there is no hurry so will keep deliberating until I receive some divine guidance/inspiration.

At the risk of offending those gentle readers who do not prefer direct-to-consumer products, you might also consider the Schiit preamps and amps for your Klipsch Heritage speakers. The Freya+ (ss/buffer/tube-selectable and rollable) and the new Kara (ss) are balanced-output and the Schiit Gjallarhorn and Aegir "continuity" amps can be run in monoblock or stereo (more power with mono, obvs, and with the Aegir, balanced input is only with mono). U.S.-made, as with all Schiit products, if that is important, and power output would be adequate: 80WPC with Aegirs and 30 WPC with the Gjallarhorn, either greater than the Sugden, FWIW, and less expensive as well, all-in.

@chenry Any opinion about sound quality regarding the Schiit gear? The Sugden is supposed to be musical as all get-out. Thanks. 

I have the Schiit Freya+ preamp, using it with an active speaker pair at the moment, and it is an excellent preamp. In tube mode, (with 6SN7 x 4 ) it gives 12dB gain and gets fairly warm, less so if using the LISST solid-state "tubes"  I have not tried it yet with Schiit's amps, mono or stereo. (I'm tempted, I have a pair of ELAC speakers that might benefit.)

I was just looking at Youtube reviews of the Sugden A21SE and the Musical Fidelity A1 (newest version). It was interesting to see the Musical Fidelity had twice as many output filter capacitors in its circuit (all of them 10KuF in both), although the Sugden seemed a little more robust overall. I'm not sure what to make of that.

I am looking at integrated amps now as well and have my choices down to a couple on the list above. Anyone have experience with the Musical Fidelity A1 and the Unico Primo? Trying to find a warmer integrated and these two seem to fit the bill. Wish I could demo both but thats not an easy option. 

I found my end-game amp in my Sugden IA-4 Masterclass integrated.

I have owned it for two years and have no intention of changing it.

@rizzo1234 

That is truly a great amp..