[Jesterphile]

Quote:

Stop acting like you know something

Stop being jealous

 

[karmanfamily]

Anyone selling his/her Corda Jazz or Classic?
Please pm me.

 

[mentt]

Can anybody comment on Classic/LCD2 combo?

 

[Argo Duck]

It's a very competent combination. It has a well-distributed and focused sound-stage (width and depth - crossfeed off), and I appreciate its balanced tonality and natural decay. It's neutral, but not boring (i.e. it doesn't add nor take away from the music as far as I can tell). Of the SS amps I've owned, I much prefer it to the Concerto and Violectric V100; and prefer it even more over the Schiit Lyr with 'good' performing tubes such as Matsu 6922.

DACs in these cases were Eastern Electric Minimax; Schiit Bifrost; Beresford Bushmaster; Meier Stagedac (my preferred dac).

I've since bought the BMC PureDAC which performs at a very different level from these others. Once I've tried it with the Classic/LCD2 I'll post a brief comment.

You should be able to find more detailed impressions using 'search this thread'

 

[emertxe]

It's a very competent combination. It has a well-distributed and focused sound-stage (width and depth - crossfeed off), and I appreciate its balanced tonality and natural decay. It's neutral, but not boring (i.e. it doesn't add nor take away from the music as far as I can tell). Of the SS amps I've owned, I much prefer it to the Concerto and Violectric V100; and prefer it even more over the Schiit Lyr with 'good' performing tubes such as Matsu 6922.

DACs in these cases were Eastern Electric Minimax; Schiit Bifrost; Beresford Bushmaster; Meier Stagedac (my preferred dac).

I've since bought the BMC PureDAC which performs at a very different level from these others. Once I've tried it with the Classic/LCD2 I'll post a brief comment.

You should be able to find more detailed impressions using 'search this thread'

 
So is the Classic a lot better than Concerto? I thought that the difference is only in capacitors... Even Meier says the difference is rather small.
 
Could you post some comparison between Classic and Concerto? Which one is the more accurate, which one offer more dimensionality in soundstage and how is the tonality? Is it worth upgrading from Concerto to Classic if sound is the only thing that matters for me? Or are those two amplifiers rather on the same level, with just slightly different approaches?

 

[mentt]

It's a very competent combination. It has a well-distributed and focused sound-stage (width and depth - crossfeed off), and I appreciate its balanced tonality and natural decay. It's neutral, but not boring (i.e. it doesn't add nor take away from the music as far as I can tell). Of the SS amps I've owned, I much prefer it to the Concerto and Violectric V100; and prefer it even more over the Schiit Lyr with 'good' performing tubes such as Matsu 6922.

DACs in these cases were Eastern Electric Minimax; Schiit Bifrost; Beresford Bushmaster; Meier Stagedac (my preferred dac).

I've since bought the BMC PureDAC which performs at a very different level from these others. Once I've tried it with the Classic/LCD2 I'll post a brief comment.

You should be able to find more detailed impressions using 'search this thread'

 
Thank you for reply, I am looking forward to your impressions regarding
Classic/LCD2. Did you tried Classic also with T1? 
 
 

 

[Argo Duck]

I hate to disagree with Jan - and to be fair what I hear might be unit to unit variation - but I have found the Classic more full-bodied and to have less apparent attack probably because of this. When you can hear more midrange and bass information and harmonics are more present, attack may seem less.

I found the Classic almost 'holographic' so certainly dimensional - the first time I understood this word, which is usually applied to tube amps. The Concerto I have found quick and dry (i.e. decays quickly, harmonics are less present), giving it great attack and analytical ability. Because of this, I have kept the Concerto (as well as the Classic) but not listened to it in some time I must admit. The Classic is an amp I am always happy to listen to.

Btw, Classic has considerably more power than Concerto - around 2W versus around 1W (rms IIRC). See the information Jan provided Skylab for his review. But then, this is only 3db and claims that LCDs need 2W plus are exaggerated in my view.

It's hard to answer what you should do of course. I think the two amps are certainly more alike than they are different. Of the amps I listed, Concerto is second only to Classic to my ears. The differences are probably small after all!

ps: again, I think you can find more of my comments with search this thread. I intended but never did do a full comparative review of the two. Life has just been too busy these last 18 months!

So is the Classic a lot better than Concerto? I thought that the difference is only in capacitors... Even Meier says the difference is rather small.

Could you post some comparison between Classic and Concerto? Which one is the more accurate, which one offer more dimensionality in soundstage and how is the tonality? Is it worth upgrading from Concerto to Classic if sound is the only thing that matters for me? Or are those two amplifiers rather on the same level, with just slightly different approaches?

 

[emertxe]

I hate to disagree with Jan

- and to be fair what I hear might be unit to unit variation - but I have found the Classic more full-bodied and to have less apparent attack probably because of this. When you can hear more midrange and bass information and harmonics are more present, attack may seem less.

I found the Classic almost 'holographic' so certainly dimensional - the first time I understood this word, which is usually applied to tube amps. The Concerto I have found quick and dry (i.e. decays quickly, harmonics are less present), giving it great attack and analytical ability. Because of this, I have kept the Concerto (as well as the Classic) but not listened to it in some time I must admit. The Classic is an amp I am always happy to listen to.

Btw, Classic has considerably more power than Concerto - around 2W versus around 1W (rms IIRC). See the information Jan provided Skylab for his review. But then, this is only 3db and claims that LCDs need 2W plus are exaggerated in my view.

It's hard to answer what you should do of course. I think the two amps are certainly more alike than they are different. Of the amps I listed, Concerto is second only to Classic to my ears. The differences are probably small after all!

ps: again, I think you can find more of my comments with search this thread. I intended but never did do a full comparative review of the two. Life has just been too busy these last 18 months!

 
Thanks very much... I got my Concerto cheap (like 300USD) therefore not sure whether Classic is worth 600+USD. I am an analytical listener but your comment on the "holographic" soundstage of Classic is for sure tempting. I have read all the comparisons but it's not possible to make any definite conclusion from it - they are not clear enough to say whether Classic is really technically better amp, or whether it's just about slightly different tonality and maybe naturalness in decays or transients.
 
Any additional comment would be much appreaciated... It seems that Concerto may be the right choice for me as an analytical listener ATM, though not completely sure?

 

[Argo Duck]

mentt, Classic and T1 is a very good pairing. LCD2 is my favorite hp and gets most of my head-time but the Classic/T1 combination is one that reminds me how good the T1 can sound. I particularly remember listening to some solo Bach violin, and finding the passion of the performance was much more apparent with the T1 (with Classic) than the LCD2 (which can be little too smooth and relaxed in the upper mids and above).

 

[Argo Duck]

I think the part in bold is a very fair summation. However, a direct head-to-head comparison can always produce unexpected surprises. If you don't mind waiting into next week, I could probably do a quick comparison. Too busy this week unfortunately...

Thanks very much... I got my Concerto cheap (like 300USD) therefore not sure whether Classic is worth 600+USD. I am an analytical listener but your comment on the "holographic" soundstage of Classic is for sure tempting. I have read all the comparisons but it's not possible to make any definite conclusion from it - they are not clear enough to say whether Classic is really technically better amp, or whether it's just about slightly different tonality and maybe naturalness in decays or transients.

Any additional comment would be much appreaciated... It seems that Concerto may be the right choice for me as an analytical listener ATM, though not completely sure?

 

[emertxe]

I think the part in bold is a very fair summation. However, a direct head-to-head comparison can always produce unexpected surprises. If you don't mind waiting into next week, I could probably do a quick comparison. Too busy this week unfortunately...

 
I will try to contact you then though PM... I own Sennheiser HD800 only but a quick comparison with various tracks using your Beyerdynamic T1 should be more than enough But even if you don't find enough time to do the comparison, I am still grateful for your responses today

 

[dryvadeum]

The classic is slightly smoother and laid back compared to the concerto which is brighter and faster. They're very similar though.

 

[emertxe]

The classic is slightly smoother and laid back compared to the concerto which is brighter and faster. They're very similar though.

 
Oh, thanks... It seems I'll stay with Concerto then

 

[Jesterphile]

   
Oh, thanks... It seems I'll stay with Concerto then

I only found the concerto to be slightly brighter while the classic is smoother and full sounding.

 

[musicmaker]

I enjoy the concerto very much with my Edition 8. Completely agree with AiDee's characterization of its sound. It is a fast amp for sure. I replaced the opamps in the concerto to the AD797BN and it took it to a whole new level. Also going to try the LME49990
 
I am curious about the classic though. Might try it one of these days. Comments about the soundstage and fuller sound have me interested.