Sonneteer Campion

Art K.

The Voodoo You Do!
Out of fairness to the Line Magnetic LM-215CD I'm starting a thread to follow the travails of my latest and greatest...the Sonneteer Campion. This is a wonderful little hairshirt amp with no remote and 33 watts per channel. It has a wonderful phono pre amp that's a clear step ahead of the one in the Rega Brio-R.

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Hi Art!

You are alway on the move!

And how it handles the Dynaudios...?

Quite well, actually. Better than I had anticipated with only 33 watts. You have to lean more on the volume control but really that just puts you in the sweet spot anyway. Lots of great music between 10:00 and 2:00 on the dial.
 
Oscar,

I said this on another thread but I want to put it on the record here. I feel honored to be the new owner of the very Campion you had in your home and took such meticulous care of. As Dale said it's like keeping the piece in the family. I will take very good care of it. It's partnered with a wonderful Line Magnetic CD player as I type and playing Beethoven to great e(a)ffect.

Peace

Art
 
Well I'm happy to say that my wife has chosen the Brio-R and we will move the NAD C326BEE and Era Design 4 speakers on. She gave me the eye and let me know that the Apollo would be partnered with the Brio-R and not the TEAC...OK:yes:. The Apollo-R moved on as part of the trade that brought the LM my way. Great to keep the Brio-R in the family and I will miss the NAD. Great little amp.
 
Nice little amp, Art. You used to have a similar amp, right? Simple and elegant works for me--I'm kind of done with all the bells and whistles, just clean power, switching, nice components and good design.

So, when are you selling it? ;-)
 
Nice little amp, Art. You used to have a similar amp, right? Simple and elegant works for me--I'm kind of done with all the bells and whistles, just clean power, switching, nice components and good design.

So, when are you selling it? ;-)

Yes I used to have the model up, the Alabaster. Very nice amp that I regretted selling. The Campion has a bit less power but has a phono stage that the Alabaster did not have...and it's a damn good phono stage. The NAD is out of her system and available as I type.
 
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Art, have you ever listened to any LFD amplifiers? I am curious about them too, I kind of seem to lump Sonneteer and LFD kind of in the same camp-only based on reading alone, so curious if they share similar sonic signatures.

Your Campion looks very sweet indeed, clean and spartan. Is the phono stage MM only or can it be bought either way? Have fun. Tim
 
Art, have you ever listened to any LFD amplifiers? I am curious about them too, I kind of seem to lump Sonneteer and LFD kind of in the same camp-only based on reading alone, so curious if they share similar sonic signatures.

Your Campion looks very sweet indeed, clean and spartan. Is the phono stage MM only or can it be bought either way? Have fun. Tim

I have not listened to the LFD amps but always been curious about them, especially since they come so highly recommended by many Harbeth owners.

The phono stage is a medium gain MM only.
 
Hi Art,

Nice! :) (due to your skyhigh enthusiasm about the Brio-R i didn't expect this though, as you already had an Alabaster once, if memory serves me well)

Still, I can imagine you like the Campion.:yes: I once had one and also like it very much. (if it had a remote I'd probably still have it)

So, the internal phono-stage is even better than the one in the Brio-R ?!
I never had the chance to try the internal phonostage in my Campion when I had one.

What I like about the Campion (and Alabaster) is that you can actually turn the volume knop to say 50% without the amp shouting at your at ear deafening levels.

Also I have respect for a company that manage to have an integrated amp in their program from day 1 in 1994/95 to now, 2013!
Imho, that says a lot about its design, both sonically as visually.

To me the Campion (and Alabaster) looks timeless, is build like a tank and sound great.

Enjoy your new purchase! :)

Cheers,
Alco
 
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Hi Art,

Nice! :) (due to your skyhigh enthusiasm about the Brio-R i didn't expect this though, as you already had an Alabaster once, if memory serves me well)

Still, I can imagine you like the Campion.:yes: I once had one and also like it very much. (if it had a remote I'd probably still have it)

So, the internal phono-stage is even better than the one in the Brio-R ?!
I never had the chance to try the internal phonostage in my Campion when I had one.

What I like about the Campion (and Alabaster) is that you can actually turn the volume knop to say 50% without the amp shouting at your at ear deafening levels.

Also I have respect for a company that manage to have an integrated amp in their program from day 1 in 1994/95 to now, 2013!
Imho, that says a lot about its design, both sonically as visually.

To me the Campion (and Alabaster) looks timeless, is build like a tank and sound great.

Enjoy your new purchase! :)

Cheers,
Alco

Yep, three posts ago I mention that I had the Alabaster.

Still love the Brio-R and am so pleased that my wife decided to swap out her NAD for it. The internal phono stage in the Campion is considerably better than the very fine one in the Brio-R.

Thank you, Alco, for adding your kind words here.
 
You know they stock LFD at Stereotypes right? The Campion is a very classy looking amp.

I think the only thing LFD and Sonneteer have in common is they're British small cottage industry amps, I believe the sound is different.
 
You know they stock LFD at Stereotypes right? The Campion is a very classy looking amp.

I think the only thing LFD and Sonneteer have in common is they're British small cottage industry amps, I believe the sound is different.

Yes, I do know that but after my experience with the Naim CD5x and how they handled it I'm not sure how I feel about them at present. The noisy transport that you could hear from the room next door. I brought discs to the store to show them and they weren't interested in hearing them. They took it back and put it up for sale as though nothing were the matter. That in spite of the fact that I was assured by folks close to Naim that they should have had it serviced before sale. When I spoke to them (the dealer) they threw it up in my face that another customer had bought it and was quite happy with it....."was" is the operative word as it is back on the website for sale again. That kind of customer service leaves me just a bit cold. It's easy to be a good dealer when everything is hunky dory but you find out who is who when the chips are down.
 
From the room next door! Wow, that's definitely not normal. My CD5x is quiet. I can hear it when it starts to read a disc, or if I have to scan to another track, but it's very faint. Can't hear it at all when it's playing. Strange behavior to want to just keep selling something and hope someone decides to keep it, when you can simply fix it and then sell it for good with nothing on your conscience.

Congrats on the amp, Art. It is almost a total system overhaul!
 
From the room next door! Wow, that's definitely not normal. My CD5x is quiet. I can hear it when it starts to read a disc, or if I have to scan to another track, but it's very faint. Can't hear it at all when it's playing. Strange behavior to want to just keep selling something and hope someone decides to keep it, when you can simply fix it and then sell it for good with nothing on your conscience.

Congrats on the amp, Art. It is almost a total system overhaul!

Thanks, Dan. I'm really diggin' the new sound. The Line Magnetic CD player brings so much to the party and the Sonneteer just lets it shine through. Even then you have the feeling that the LM has more to give. BTW this 33 watt Campion is one sweet sounding amp with a killer phono stage.
 
Yes, I do know that but after my experience with the Naim CD5x and how they handled it I'm not sure how I feel about them at present. The noisy transport that you could hear from the room next door. I brought discs to the store to show them and they weren't interested in hearing them. They took it back and put it up for sale as though nothing were the matter. That in spite of the fact that I was assured by folks close to Naim that they should have had it serviced before sale. When I spoke to them (the dealer) they threw it up in my face that another customer had bought it and was quite happy with it....."was" is the operative word as it is back on the website for sale again. That kind of customer service leaves me just a bit cold. It's easy to be a good dealer when everything is hunky dory but you find out who is who when the chips are down.

It saddens me to hear of this kind of experience, I try very hard to give people what they want even if it costs me time and money. That way there's a chance they'll still come back and recommend my services to someone else, its just plain good sense.
 
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