2. amps-preamps
  3. 1116956061

Verastarr SSA-64 better than the Cinepro 3K6SEGOLD

My brother, Randall, just purchased the Verastarr SSA-64 from Mike Powell and it is one beautiful amp inside and out. Bravo!

This amp is powerful, musical and transparent. No evidence of it being bright and harsh. It has a warm tube like character.

The SSA-64 is a medium input impedence amp and we set it up with 3 pairs of MIT SHOTGUN MI-330 Medium Impedence one meter RCA cables. The RCA's were attached to the preamp outs of a Yamaha RX-Z9. The speakers utilized in this home theater setup are 2 pairs of Paradigm studio 100's version 3 and matching identical front and rear center channel speakers.

The speakers came to life with the Verastarr SSA-64 amp. All of a sudden, the speakers became much fuller. The bass noticeably deepened when playing music. The high notes were more clear when playing music. This amp rocks. There was a night and day difference between the Verastarr SSA-64 and the Yamaha. The amp section of the RX-Z9 was simply no match for the Verastarr SSA-64.

We also solved the overheating problem of the Yamaha RX-Z9. By using the pre-amp outs of the RX-Z9, the extremely high heat output of the RX-Z9 vanished when we bypassed the internal amps of the Yamaha RX-Z9.

On the other hand, the Verastarr SSA-64 runs cool. To have 400 WPC at 8 ohms for 6 channels running cool to the touch is impressive.

After the Verastarr SSA-64 was hooked up via the MIT MI-330 cabling, we checked for speaker hiss. We could detect none. We checked for system hum and found none. More impressive results.

A direct comparison with a Cinepro 3K6 SEGOLD (I own one) revealed subtle differences. The Verastarr SSA-64 is warmer and more tube like. The Cinepro 3K6 SEGOLD is a tad brighter. This is probably attributable to the upgraded power supply and the upgraded and vastly larger REL-CAPS (6)connected externally to the 3 output boards. The Cinepro had much smaller REL-CAPS attached directly onto the 3 output boards. Both are extremely powerful amps and dynamic headroom is a tossup.

The Verastarr SSA-64 is an incredible solid state amp. It is powerful, musical and transparent. It is a step up from the Cinepro 3K6 SEGOLD.

We were fortunate to be able to purchase one at approximately half the full retail price of $9,995.00

clazzaro
rlazzaro
1 posts
 
I have not responded to my brother's post after I purchased the Verastarr SSA64. It has been about 7 weeks now and I must say that this amp rocks like no piece of stereo equipment that I have ever owned. My Paradigm speakers, which I loved before, now incredibly sound far better. The amp delivers clean effortless power and emits no heat. I am hearing sounds that I have never heard before.

I also purchased bi-wired speaker cable from Verastarr and I have to say that once you look at it, you realize that it is superior craftsmanship. Once you feel it you know that it is something special. Once you hook it up you are blown away. It is far better quality that the MIT shotgun cables from a quality standpoint.

What is clear is that Verastarr is making superior products. I suggest to anyone who is interested in the finest audio upgrades to look into Verastarr. From my perpective, you will not be able to find anything better at any price.
More to discover