Conrad Johnson's Sonographe SA-250 or the SA-400?


Both of these amps unlike the MF series are Bipolar design rather than Mosfet. Although the Sonographe products are considered entry level for Conrad Johnson, there is nothing entry level about the sound quality or build quality! In fact I prefer the Sonographe sound to the MF series, maybe because I prefer the Bipolar sound now. Anyway I have owned more amps than allowable by law so when I first aquired an SA-250 I was immediately struck by the level of sound quality that it possesed. In fact this was exactly what I was looking for. This was an amp I could live with for a long time. From what I've gathered, the SA-250 was rated a Stereophile class B component, does anyone pay any attention to these ratings? Eventually I wanted more power & purchased the SA-400. Called CJ and they told me the sound of the SA-400 was identical to the SA-250 but with more power. I can now confirm this to be true. Conrad Johnson products are an excellent investment & the Sonograhe line is no different. Don't hesitate to give these amps a try, as they are major bargains on the used market.
phd
Rcziech, as an audiophile you should be congradulated on keeping one amp for two years, a true testiment to the sonic attributes of the SA-250.
YO PHD

Got a 400. Just bought a Plinius SA102. The Plinius sounds damn good, its dynamics in class A are amazing. They slam you back to the wall. But - I blew some fuses in it (my fault) and have the CJ hooked up now - backup! The Plinius is a better sounding amp - but if I ran low on cash and had to sell it, I'd be just about as cool with the CJ. Just a damn good sounding amp that I bought for $600 used. With Dynaudios + Supratek Syrah, vinyl and digital.
Hi Goatwuss, your very fortunate to have the SA-400 as a backup amp to your Plinius. My wife won't let me keep more than one amp at a time if it just lying idle unless I can hide it. Anyway I look at the SA-400 as a tube amp on steroids as it definately does sound very tubish. Connected to a quality tube preamp the magic starts there. Anyway you also very lucky to have paid only $600.00 for the SA-400 as I just recently purhased mine for $775.00 shipped. However it is in mint condition.
I bought a SA-250 a few months ago.I love it.Great sound,dead quiet,plenty of bass.Before that I used a couple int amps while they did sound good,no comparison using a 40 watter to this amp.I guess it is no comparison,but power is power and 125 watts is quite nice.Really does not run warm either.I think if you want the 400 you probably have some hungry speakers.I would consider it high end also,I think alot of products out there you can call mid fi,they sound good but dont take you to this kind of sound that the Sonographe can.
Coffeey, I am driving four large horn loaded speakers (300 lbs each) that have a combined total of eight 12" bass drivers. Although the SA-250 did a fine job driving these sensitive speakers, the SA-400 did it a little better. Your right both amps (SA250 & SA400) run very cool, even driving a 4 ohm load. These amps do offer a very respectable high end sound and are the type of amps you will have many serious listening sessions with, especially with a good front end. If you don't need anymore power than the SA-250 I would most definately stay where you at, as the the 250 may offer just a tad bit more transparency but both amps do excel in this area.