Your Classe Omega Impressions 1999 stereo version


Hi Guys
Ever sice my first Classe amp,the CA-400,I have loved their older style build quality.I have always dreamed of having this older version and may have a chance in the near futer.I would love to hear your experiences/comparisons with these babies as there were not many made(somewhere a little over 100).
I love the pre 2003 series of amps as I believe alot of workmanship went not only into the sound but the looks also.
thanks.
mclsound
Hi MCL
I had the pleasures of looking and listening to one of these bad boys about 5yrs ago on some B&W 800D and it sounded amazing.I am not a B&W fan(I like ATC/PMC sound) as they seem quite coloured to me....BUT,they did however sound good.The amp seemed to be very unlimited and very refined in both macro and micro dynamics.It is also quite a stunning piece of eye candy when you are truely looking at one.
I have a pair of Omega monoblocks, and I will say they are neutral, effortless, manage to represent both micro and macro dynamics. They have no aggressiveness to them. The best of solid state.
I heared them a view times with my own music. This was with the Nautilus 800S which I owned as well at that time. I missed a lot of quality what highend should give. It depends what the price is of a used pair. To be unnest it does not come near the better Pass labs poweramps. I would not even want them for free in my system. Pass Labs is a lot better in realism in sound. Has more depth, wide and more focus on the instruments. Only people with less knowledge of audio would buy them I think. I sold Classe for many years. It is okay, but not you never will win any war with it. You can get a much higher level of sound in all the parts were you judge Highend Audio for. Yess it is that simple!
Thankyou for your posts.I found out there were just over 100 of these 250lb stereo units sold in total...So they are rare.
Hi Bo
Not the monoblocks but the stereo version.You are very ""PRO PASS"" I see.Ilike my Krells on my bass/mid bass compared to the pass gear and want to try the Omega on the top end.
I have had pass x-250 in my home and found the bass to be no different than a Classe CA-400 and the mid/hi was very SOLID STATE sounding...But the pretty blue meter was great with the industrial look
We are talking about properties/ talents an amp has. I did not like the X series of Pass at all. 0.5 makes a big difference. There are a few Krell amps I like as well. I like stunning quality. Name of brand is not everything. The X and XA .5 series I like, cause of there properties/ talents. I want a wide and deep stage with a sharp individual focus. The thing I also like about the latest Pass amp's is how they can let you hear easilly the different in sound of instruments. This is a big difference with Classe. Classe is a brand what does not do anything wrong. But it are the special parts what can make an amp more involving/exiting. Pass labs gives a wide and deep stage but individual focus is quite big like most US brands. In real an instrument or voice is very small in dimension and very direct to locate. You still need the right tools ( cables, source etc.)to get this right. Nothing is perfect, like we humans are not perfect.