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Plinius SA201 compared with the Plinius SA102

Would be interested to know if anyone has made the comparison between these two amps. Is the class A mode on the SA102
worth the heat. Plinius states they have built the SA 201
that comes frightingly close to the sound of the class A SA100
series. What do you think. Is Class A worth the heat?
The SA201 cosmetics design clearly wins over the old work hourse look of the SA102. Any insight would be appreciated.
Lets face it when one sits and listens to music one can not
help but stare at the amp but if the class A modality of the SA102 puts out that much better sound then I guess I can turn the lights off and crank up the airconditioning.
Currently running Totom Forest. (great speakers)
jajmyers
9 responses Add your response
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,184 posts
 
I just took possession of a pair of Harbeth M-40.1's a few days ago. They are still not properly set up, as I'm about 2 weeks away from receiving Skylan stands for them... and I'm waiting for the new owner of the C4's to arrange shipping so I can get them out of my listening room.

I've put some preliminary observations on my virtual system that compares the two speakers... just keep in mind my initial observations are not fair to the Harbeth's as they won't be ready for critical listening until after the C4's are out of the way and the Harbeth's are mounted on the new stands and dialed in properly.
valinar
470 posts
 
Preher,
Out of curiosity, what is your next move after the C4s?
youngstown1969
9 posts
 
Had an SA102 ,SA50k3(monoblocks), and sa100mk3.
The sa50 series is the sweetest sounding plinius amp.I did not care @al for the 102.thought that both the sa50 and sa100 sounded better to me.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,184 posts
 
Jajmyers - The plastic housing stays on... no problem accepting spades from my experience (currently using Harmonic Tech Pro 9's, but replacing with Stealth Hybrid MLT's currently in transit). I'm confident the SA 102 (paired with a nice tubed preamp) will outshine your 9100 integrated, as it should considering the outlay of $$$ required.
jajmyers OP
7 posts
 
So true Lak My 9100 sounds good but even better when its warmed up. Hey Pdreher thanks for your response. Do you take the plastic housings off to hook up the spades. When I unscrew the plastic housings on the 9100 there is a small round hole that looks only big enough to place bare wires not spades. Am I missing something here. For the Sa102 do you simple unscrew the plastic housing and place the whole spade inside the hole or do you remove the plastic housing altogether.Wanted to use some stealth cables. Maybe the sa102 has bigger holes when one unscrews the plastic houseing.
By the way amazing system you have. The room is to die for.
lak's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
lak
4,529 posts
 
With the Plinius line of amps in general (to my ears) running in class A always sounds better. The class AB is no slouch either!
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,184 posts
 
The SA-102 has bolts with transparent plastic housing.... very sturdy... and yes it takes spades.

I've owned solid state amps from BAT & Sim Audio... and in my experience, neither came close to the SA-102 in regards to musicality, warmth, build quality, value and listener satisfaction.
jajmyers OP
7 posts
 
Thanks Pdreher does your 102 have the plastic connectors or the bolts for speaker cable connection. My plinius 9100
has the plastic connectors and not sure if they can take spades or not. Would prefer to use spades.
pdreher's avatar
pdreher
1,184 posts
 
I've had the SA-102 for approx. 2 years. Yes, the amp gets hot to the touch, but never to the extent that it heats up the listening room by more than a degree or two. Also, the manufacturer stating that the sound quality of the 201 comes close to that of the 102 would make me choose the better of the two. Go with the 102... it sounds great, reasonably priced in the used market, good resale value, has a mute switch & a switch to play in either class A or A/B . If you want a newer / more current version of the SA-102, there are plenty of used SA-103's popping up in the classifieds... a bit more expensive than the 102, but also newer.
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