This solid state power amp by Conrad-Johnson is, by far, the best $1000 amp I have heard (out of perhaps two dozen or so). It is utterly neutral, unbelievably transparent, and simultaneously powerful and delicate. Its microdynamics are exemplary, conveying the nuances of phrasing and the overall emotion of the music. If you hear it paired with any similarly priced solid-state active preamp, you will not hear anything like the amp's full potential. Try it with a passive preamp or perhaps a good tube preamp.
I have heard three of these amps, in various good systems with a variety of active, solid state, tube, and passive preamps and driving either Fried or Thiel speakers. I distinctly prefer it to the somewhat more expensive Classe CA100 or even many amps over twice its price. It reveals more detail in A/B comparison than the Audio Research VT60 or the Audio Note PS4, yet sounds relaxed and not analytical or etched like some hi-rez solid state amps. It trounces similarly priced Rotel, McCormack, and other highly regarded gear, many of which add artificial sweetening in the highs among other faults.

Its worst (and practically only) fault is a somewhat dry sonic character that persists even when driven by a tubed DAC such as the liquid-sounding CalAudio Alpha. This dryness comes through more obtrusively on Thiel CS1.5 speakers than on the less expensive Thiel CS.5 model, which is therefore a better match for the Sonographe.

Well done, C-J!

Ok, I finally decided on a power amp for my system: Martin Logan
SL3, NAD 1240 (active) preamp, Carver TL-3200 CD player, and some home
theater stuff (out of the music signal path). Subwoofer used only for
movies now.

I auditioned the Counterpoint Solid 1 ($1295 new/used $450),
conrad-johnson Sonographe SA250 ($1195new/Demo $750), McCormack DNA
0.5 Deluxe ($1795 new), Parasound HCA-1000A ($595 new), and used a
friend's Classe 70 as a reference. I also used memory (very poor I
know) to compare with an NAD 2240PE 40 wpc power amp I sold a few
weeks ago.

Test setup was with a sine wave 0.03% distortion off a test disc
(forgot the freq) and level matched to 70 dB. Upon completion, I
realized that pink noise would have been a better levelling signal.
this is all in-home, with the SL3 as speaker.

Auditioning selections included Keb 'Mo (self titled) track 1 (guitar
strings), Fairfield four (Standing in the Safety Zone) tracks 6&7
(Roll Jordan and title track), Paula Cole's latest CD, Track 1 (Bass),
and a few other CDs Holly Cole Trio, Black Crows, a Chesky Sampler,
etc...

Testing was not blind...I don't want to hear about the caveats of ABX
testing, psycho-acoustics, or powers of suggestion. The differences
were so gross that I could walk into a room and tell which of 2 amps
were hooked up. My wife (who prefers the TV speakers to surround
sound) sitting 90 degrees to the speakers, not paying attention, could
detect the gulf of quality between the Parasound and the others.

Here goes:

Conrad Johnson Sonographe SA250 ($1200)
Dead quiet, wider soundstage than the Classe, treble was more detailed
Bass had a weightier feel than the Parasound. High end almost rolled
off (tube like?) in a laid back way. No loss of detail however. not
fuzzy either.

Classe 70 ($1300/$700)
Far more detail than the Parasound, wider stage, more detail. Treble
is more laid back than the Parasound. Recordings that sounded forward
or close miked on the Parasound were normal sounding on the Classe.

Parasound HCA-1000A ($595/$475new)
(Floated ground to get rid of Hum)
Boosted bass and more forward treble. Less detail than the Classe and
Sonographe. "air" off guitar string in Keb 'Mo CD decay was a lot
faster than the Classe/Sonographe. I was disappointed after all the
RAVE reviews. I put it in the same class as my older NAD.

Noisier than the Classe/Sonographe as well, not in an overt way, but
the other two were noticeably quieter. VERRRY mild buzz/hum



Evaluated in-store with
Gallo Acoustics Nucleus (the 2 ball version) speakers, Sony DVD/CD
player, and a nice (forgot model) preamp. It had 2 dials ganged to
move together fo R and L channel gain. Ayre?

Counterpoint Solid 1 ($1595/$450)
Also dead quiet. Treble was more pronouced than the DNA 0.5, and
there was slightly less detail. Less revealing overall when compared
the the DNA 0.5

McCormack DNA 0.5 Deluxe ($1750/$ 1000)
Dead quiet. Detail!!! Treble was more laid back than the
Counterpoint. Metal strings on Keb 'Mo were "you are there" quality.



Then I took the Counterpoint home for a listen. I would place it on
par with the Classe 70, with the differences being mainly personal
taste. the classe has a more pronounced "sound" to it than the
Counterpoint. both are very revealing. Counterpoint's treble was
more emphasised than the Classe.

I have owned the Sonographe SA-250 for about two months now. I am very pleased with its performance, as it is very transparent, detailed, neutral, images well, and provides good soundstaging depth and width. I also own a CJ MV-55, which provides more body to the sound and is a bit smoother, but doesn't have the tight bass of the Sonographe or soundstaging abilities. I love both and use them for different types of music. For the price, the Sonographe provides plenty of power and refinement. Overall, I would give it 4 stars, but factoring in price, I don't think you can find better for $1195.
Associated Equipment:
Cal CL-15 CD player
Sound Dynamics 300ti speakers
Rega Planar 3 turntable
Conrad Johnson PV-5 preamp
Conrad Johnson MV-55 amp
Conrad Johnson Sonographe SA-250 amp
Rotel RT-940AX Tuner
Transparent Music Wave Speaker Cable
Audio Quest Quartz interconnects

I've owned the SA250 for over 2 years now and since have upgraded my amp to a levinson #27. I agree with Mr. Shaffer in all the points he has made concerning the amp. A slighly dry character being the only real downfall of the amp. But, the reason I upgraded is this. 1.) The bass is better, not quantity, but better definition. 2.) at night I leave the music on(very softly) and listen for an hour before going to bed. THe change in sound was most extraordinary! The dry characted noted before was gone, making it much more involving and not to mention relaxing! At high vol. however, there is not really any noticeable differences between the excellent SA250 and the ML 27 at moderate to high vol. although the SA250 will putter out faster. So truely, this is a deserving amp of worthy of high praise! both mine, and if you listen, probably yours also.

I have owned the SA250 for quite a while but I did not really find it exciting until I change my CD player from a bottom line Sony ES to the top of the line XA7ES. I do not use a preamp and the amp's input was connected straight to the variable output of the player. From then on the music really comes alive. (Actually, I also owned a Sonographe SC26 preamp but the music sounds better without it. In my opinion, you need an active preamp that costs at least $3000 to improve on the sound). The details and sound stage are simply amazing. But most important of all is this amp's ability to play "unplugged" string and tube instrument naturally, giving an outstanding illusion of the musician in front of you. The naturalness was not impeded by any artificial sweetness. The bass is solid and tight but not deep enough for my taste.(Maybe, this could be the limitation on my speakers' part) The only weakness of this unit seems to be when playing electrically enhanced music, which seems a bit off tempo to me. Well, there might be a very slight glazed present, and the details and soundstage cannot compare to say a, Krell KAV-500 ( which is on my upgrade list) but at the time I bought the amp it retailed at $995, so I think it is an absolute bargain.
My voting was for comparison with products in its price range, as for absolute sound it might get at most a 4, but even at $1200 it is IMHO a 5. It is so good in this price range that, unless you go for product that has twice the price tag you won't hear any significant difference. In fact, I was planning to buy a better amp after I upgraded my CD player but it so impress me that it stays with me a whole lot longer than I intended to. Or if you found an amp that sounds significantly better in this price range feel free to let me know.

Source : Sony XA7ES
Interconnect : MIT Terminator 2
Amp : Sonographe SA250
Spkr Cable : MIT Terminator 2 Bi-wire
Speaker : Snell Acoustic E IV

I have owned the Sonographe for more than 3 years, which is longer than I expected. I'm using the amp to drive my Apogee Stage, and it seems to have sufficient power and current to provide a dynamic sound. However, I feels that it lacks the power rating to drive the Apogees to their full potential. I have considered upgrading to Krell amplifiers, but the only benefits is better dynamics and bass slam. For the price it is selling, it is truly and excellent value.

Very stylish design, powerful, natural sound

Runs hot

I actually have the Sonograph SA-400, the big brother to SA-250. I presume the sonic characters of these two amps should be very similar, though the SA-400 is a bit more powerful (200 watts/ch). Currently, my SA-400 is mated to an NAD 116 preamp, a Nakamichi CR-7A cassette deck, a Sony C75ES CD changer and a pair of PSB Image 2B speakers. The speakers are clearly the weak links in this system since the Image 2B definitely cannot handle the full blast of power from the SA-400. The Sonograph amp sounds very similar to my Tandberg 3003 (still in great shape after 20 years) and the latter was described to deliver a tube-like sound in audio reviews made in the early 80's. I have played all kinds of music on this amp and the results are always very satisfying. My next step is to replace my bookshelf Image 2B with a pair of high quality floor standers in order to take advantage of the enormous power of this amp (actually my NAD 218 THX is more powerful and mated to a pair of Definite Tech BP20). I am also considering mating the Sonograph SA-400 with my Tandberg 3003 and the NAD 2200 to create the amplification for my first home theater system. This system will be awesome and will handily surpass any mass produced HT receivers. To summarize, the Sonograph SA-400 is an excellent amp and I also got it at a great price.

Similar Products Used:

Tandberg 3003, NAD 218THX

Excellent Value Outstanding Sound

None

Out of the box "A little piece of Heaven" and as I continue to listen to my music collection it just gets better and better... Very but very musical and excellent details. The bass is there and the highs clear as water with no brightness.

Good Job CJ !!!

Similar Products Used:

Nad, Acurus, B&K and EAD

I auditioned this amp with B&W's lean and revealing CDM1SE speakers, as well as a Resolution Audio CD player. I was curious about how the Sonographe's low feed back design and excellent build quality would translate into sound quality.
Listening to orchestral pieces by Schubert, the combo sounded extremely 3-D and holographic with orcestral strings. The effect was like putting on a pair of acoustic 3-D glases. I found this thrilling and riveting, but not quite accurate and sometimes upsetting. The instrumental textures sounded exaagerated. The extreme resolution was like noticing individual points of pigment in a Leonardo Da Vinci painting. The emphasis on acoustic structure and tone color did not seem to benefit the music as a whole.

The astringent, lean, and explicit tone of the CJ Sonographe SA-250 proved too close a match to the B&W CDM1SEs. This amp might be better suited to darker, less detailed sources and speakers, which are in need of greater musical insight and detail. The Sonographe's emphasis on upper harmonics proved irritating with the CDM1s, whose metal dome tweeters tend to emphasize the same harmonic.

I was impressed with the amp's level of fidelity, as well as it's excellent loudness and dynamics and strong imaging. Overall, the CJ Sonographe SA-250 provides above average fidelity and might be just the thing to add life and insight into a smooth, or over-polite system.

Imaging****

Soundstaging***

Fidelity*****

Treble Finesse***

Build Quality*****

Detail and soundstaging, very musical not analytical

Perhaps a bit dry for some tastes, as noted in reviews below

I've had the pleasure of owning this superbly engineered piece from Conrad Johnson for about two and a half years now. The presentation of this amplifier when I first installed it was so involving compared to my previous Adcom, that it practically bowled me over. No listening fatigue here, lots of toe tapping. Specifically, details galore without sounding overly analytical, soundstaging width and depth also commendable in such a bargain priced unit. I initially heard about this amplifier in the pages of the now defunct Fi magazine (RIP) which prompted me to go give it a listen. Boy was I impressesed! Bought the demo the dealer had and never looked back. Build quality is good and its looks are spartan to say the least, but nice (champaign front panel). I find it odd that Stereophile basically has ignored this amp, along with the Sonographe line in general, up until just recently in the current issue. And then, it was only a side article, not even a full review. Anyway, what they say (and Fi said) is true; this is one beauty of an amplifier and quite probably the best buy right now in a $1000-range solid state. This amp allowed me to rediscover my music collection, some things sounding new and previously hidden facets now exposed. Tube lovers should stick with valves, This unit doesn't color the music, just gives an honest presentation of what's there.

Have used it with a Forte Model 40 preamp until just recently, when I bought a Sonographe SC26. Nice combo, also very revealing. Plus remote control is a major convenience. I understand that the Sonographe line may disappear soon, so word to the wise: get one while you can.
I give it four and a half stars out of five, because it's not perfect, but damn good and a bargain too.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFA-555II