Bedini Class "A" 200/200 vs MC 2205

[mozcho]

I was checking out info on the MC2205 that I have just purchased not too long ago, and this page caught my eyes:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/bedini-class-quot-a-quot-200-200-power-amp-vs-mc-2205

Since this is Mac forum, I'd like to ask you guys, from the point of view of Mac owners: how true is the claim made in that page?

 

[4-2-7]

Don't know, I'v never heard of Bedini, but there is lots of little boutique companies that might make something someone likes the sound of better. Have you ever heard of Bedini prior to reading that?

I have some VAC mono and stereo amps that I like the sound of sometimes. I say sometimes because of mood change and it depends on the music.



This company wasn't to well known when they did the mono blocks under the name Valve Amplifier Company. They gradually became better know when they did the 100/100 PA and known today as VAC. They are now one of the best small boutique companies around and have made a good name for themselves.

I like these tube amps and their SQ is on par with my mac stuff. I feel they are a lot more
finicky, they need to be biassed all the time. I'm also not as convinced that they are as robust as the MC275s in my system and worry about them driving my Martin Logans that dip to 1ohm loads.

People buy mac for more than "Just Sound Quality"
You can have a drag car that can make the fastest run on the day, and not finish the day to win your class. You can also have a consistent car that the engine runs consistent all day long and from week to week to win all the time.

 

[damacman]

The Bedini is a somewhat legendary amplifier. My boss in '90 had one of the 100/100 amps and swore by it. I have no reason not to believe the a-gon posters findings.

Case in point. As much as I revere the MC2505, the Spectral DMA50 is the finest 50wpc amplifier I've ever owned.

 

[TSmith8605]

I do have some experience with Bedini and recall them being great sounding amplifiers.

Sometime around 1980 I went to an audio show at what is now called the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium in San Francisco. I had a great time partially because Pacific Stereo (a large SF stereo store at the time) had set up a bar and mostly because of the large number of cool displays and people. (E.g., I actually met and talked to Saul Marantz who was helping Jon Dahlquist get started at the Dahlquist speaker display.)

At that show, Infinity was demonstrating their new, flagship IRS speaker system. They were in a very large room and so required a large amount of power and it was the best sound I'd ever heard to date. Infinity was using Bedini amplifiers for the display and that was my first exposure to that brand.

(The above two paragraphs about that show are based on 40-year-old memory and so if anything is not correct, please post corrections. I don't even recall the exact year of the show.)

Later in the mid-'80s, I became friends with a person who was bi-amping Vandersteen speakers with a Bedini 25/25 Class A amp and a bedini 100/100 Class A/B amp and a Spectral preamp. The sound was excellent. I also recall that both amps failed and he never got around to or never was able to get the 100/100 working so for awhile he ran full range with just the 25/25. I was very impressed with the sound but not so much with the reliability nor the availability of service support.

Class A amplifiers are pretty rare as they are not efficient, consume a lot of power and generate a lot of heat relative to the power output (so not surprised to hear that the 200/200 required cooling fans) but Class A (in theory or with all other parameters being equal) produces the purist sound. You can research amplifier bias classes if interested.

I've never heard the 200/200 (well actually I probably did driving the IRS at the show) and I've not heard a MC2205 so I cannot confirm the conclusion of the referenced article but would note that the author did not say much about why or how he thought the Bedini outperformed a single MC 2205. OTOH I would not be surprised at all that a Bedini produced sound quality on par with MC.

I would think in 2019 finding a good Bedini amp that works and keeping it running to spec would be logistically difficult and probably not worth the effort. Analogy with an Italian sports car comes to mind.

 

[mozcho]

Don't know, I'v never heard of Bedini, but there is lots of little boutique companies that might make something someone likes the sound of better. Have you ever heard of Bedini prior to reading that?

I have some VAC mono and stereo amps that I like the sound of sometimes. I say sometimes because of mood change and it depends on the music.

View attachment 1652904

This company wasn't to well known when they did the mono blocks under the name Valve Amplifier Company. They gradually became better know when they did the 100/100 PA and known today as VAC. They are now one of the best small boutique companies around and have made a good name for themselves.

I like these tube amps and their SQ is on par with my mac stuff. I feel they are a lot more
finicky, they need to be biassed all the time. I'm also not as convinced that they are as robust as the MC275s in my system and worry about them driving my Martin Logans that dip to 1ohm loads.

People buy mac for more than "Just Sound Quality"
You can have a drag car that can make the fastest run on the day, and not finish the day to win your class. You can also have a consistent car that the engine runs consistent all day long and from week to week to win all the time.

No, I haven't read about the name Bedini prior to that. "Boutique companies" - I like that description.

 

[mozcho]

I would think in 2019 finding a good Bedini amp that works and keeping it running to spec would be logistically difficult and probably not worth the effort. Analogy with an Italian sports car comes to mind.

Thanks for the sharing. The last response from that thread seems to echo your thought:

"
04-27-2016 12:58pm
Ah no. I will no longer try to get in touch with Bedini. I've been trying for 3 years with emails, calls, and posting on forums. Never got a response from Bedini. My experience reinforces what has been said about Bedini...unreliable, waiting for years for amp that never got fixed, not returning calls or emails, etc. I wonder how they stay in business.
"

 

[4-2-7]

People buy mac for more than "Just Sound Quality"

"Boutique companies"

Ah no. I will no longer try to get in touch with Bedini. I've been trying for 3 years with emails, calls, and posting on forums. Never got a response from Bedini. My experience reinforces what has been said about Bedini...unreliable, waiting for years for amp that never got fixed, not returning calls or emails, etc. I wonder how they stay in business.

"Boutique companies" are the ones that are small and in many cases are not there for you down the road.
And why I said this
People buy mac for more than "Just Sound Quality"