I have a DR-3, which I think is a predecessor of the DR-25. The amp has excellent clarity and liveliness. To find is sonic competition, among amplifiers I'm familiar with I'd have to step into at least the four grand retail ballpark (and maybe more). The DR-3 sounds better than most amps I'm familiar with that retail for under ten grand - but then most of those other amps are considerably more powerful.
I asked a technician who's familiar with both the DR-25 and the Scintillas if the combination would work, and he said no way. The Scintillas are under 1 ohm over most of the spectrum, including the bass, and are only 79 dB efficient. They'd murder the little Classe'. Sorry!
My three year old Orion Bluebook lists the DR-25 at $1,638.00, to give you a data point. |
I bought one of them when they first came out.....David Reich design and I thought at the time it was one of the best amps out there for the money. Built like a tank.....if you can get it at a reasonable price....sonically I don't think it would be a bad move..... |
Probably responding too late to help, but just in case. The DR-25 will drive the Scintilla's to perfection, it is an extremely high current design, and stable into almost any load. I have personally seen the Scintilla's driven to perfection with a Classe Audio Fifteen, the smaller sibling to the 25 (or the later Twenty-Five). There are few amps that can claim the current capability or the stability into low impedances that these amps can.
Don't know where Audiokinesis gets his info, but he has gotten his info very wrong...just describing the 25 as little leads me to believe an unfamiliarity with this amp. |
Thanks for your response. Do you know how many wpc the Dr-25 was rated? How would they rate sonically to today's modern amps? Bob |
The DR-25 is 250 watts per channel, sonically it would rate very highly against the majority of todays amps. If you find a Model Twenty-Five amp my suggestion would be to make that purchase rather then the earlier DR-25. After Reich left the company Glen Grue and associates made some subtle improvements to the 25, my opinion of the latter amp is that it was a major improvement. The audio rags agree as well, look up the old reviews of the Fifteen and Twenty-Five and you'll find consensus that the mods were major improvements.
I have owned both the DR-25 and the Twenty-Five, and I still own a Fifteen which is to date my favourite amp regardless of company. I find these amps extremely musical, very well balanced, and when it comes to reserves they stand up very well. |
I have a Classe Model 15. This was a nostalgia purchase for me as I had a DR-15 bought new. From the DR-15, I made the mistake and bought a CA-300. CA-300 has inferior midrange, searing treble and muddy bass.
The Model 15 sounds nothing like the DR-15 I owned. The DR-15 suffered from light weight bass. The Model 15 is an animal. This amp sounds so full and rohbust it makes the CA-300 sound anemic and sick. |
What Rjhella said, I have upgraded most all my components but when I get to my amps (pair of 25) I seem to hang on to these. I have used these to drive Martin Logans and the 25 does it flawlessly. The rated power is what Classe says it is and yes they do have plenty of reserve, not true with alot of amps. Build quality is tops also. Happy Listening! |
I have the Classe DR-25 and love it.
My system:
Audio Research LS-9
Theta David
Bel Canto DAC2
Transparent Super interconnects
Martin Logan SL3 speakers
The Martin Logans require a lot of power, and the Classe never fails to deliver. Additionally, the SL3 has a poorer integration of the stat and woofer than other Martin Logans, yet the Classe has such command over the woofer that I no longer notice the variation. Also, it's incredibly sweet on good recordings and extremely detailed, yet is forgiving enough to make very enjoyable music even on my old 80's CD's. I took a chance on the DR-25 because I got a great deal on Audiogon a while back and I'm pleased I did. I paid about 1200 plus shipping, and I imagine that with power hungry speakers it would best even top-rated amps such as the BAT VK-200. It certainly beat the later model Classe CA-150's that I tried with the SL3's at my dealers. |
Wow, I didn't notice this old thread came back to life! I have been looking for an older Classe DR3 vhc for the Scintillas. That being said I am currently (good pun for Apogees) using a pair of Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000's which power the Scintillas well. Bob
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In excellent condition and amazingly musical Classe audio DR 25 power ampliier with silver face plate
Designed by legendary Glen G
Though rated at 250w rms output its high current doubles into 4 ohms and power consumption is at max 2000w -
Currently set up for XLR balanced connection but can be changed to RCA inputs - by moving the jumpers inside
Sounds incredible driving Rega R9 s or NHT classic 4 s with Audionet MAP pre/pro running in pure analog balanced xlr mode thru Transperant super music link XL s
Audionet MAP has the award winning Audionet pre1 g2 full analog board in it and Classe dr 25 clearly distinguished the sonic improvement s across the spectrum from the Arcam c31 ( also in the pic) when compared - which proves how truthfully it amplifies the signal !!
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baranyi
Classe DR-25 worth buying? I had one, tried to give it some "life" for want of a better words with some mods, improved it a little but still sounded a little dynamically lame. Plenty watts and current, would drive anything just a little "lame". Too smooth a bit like sacd sounds to me, lacking in boogie factor and bounce. Cheers George |
The DR-25 is a great amp, just slightly dark sounding which is a plus with current hungry speakers that tend toward the bright side. I still own the one I bought new in 1989 and have used it with great success with Apogees and Thiels over the years.
It will sound much better using the SE RCA inputs rather than XLR as it is a single-ended design and the XLR inputs used a cheap opamp to convert the signal to SE since its designer, Dave Reich never intended for it to be used in this fashion. This is why it has a reputation among some for lacking sparkle and dynamic drive.
No need to change any jumpers on the inside of the DR-25 to switch from SE to XLR (or from stereo to bridged mode) as on the earlier DR amps. There is a toggle switch on the rear panel for that.
BTW - The DR-25, its siblings, and its predecessors were designed by the great Dave Reich. Glen Grue was the marketing guy that joined Classe about the time the DR-9 was released and "participated" in design decisions for the DR-25’s successor, the Twenty Five and its siblings (minor changes to the output stage from the DR series) after Dave Reich was ruthlessly driven away from the company that he founded.
Dave |
