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Sonneteer Campion

Sonneteer

Art K. said:
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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I was looking at one of the units made by them before getting my Croft and they look very nice . I love the small British amp builders as I think they are often overlooked in the us where I am from. Way back...
 
The styling reminds me of Creek, a company I am fond of. I love it! And as you probably already knew - but many don't know - a solid "low" powered amp will outperform a ragged high powered amp anyday. If you are at 10 and 2 for the sweet spot I would guess your speakers are in the mids 80's for efficiency? In any case, you listen near field so it's not really an issue. The Brits know how to build phono stages...

Boy I miss the days of having my TT out in the open. My kids just see bullseyes...
 
poppachubby said:
The styling reminds me of Creek, a company I am fond of. I love it! And as you probably already knew - but many don't know - a solid "low" powered amp will outperform a ragged high powered amp anyday. If you are at 10 and 2 for the sweet spot I would guess your speakers are in the mids 80's for efficiency? In any case, you listen near field so it's not really an issue. The Brits know how to build phono stages...

Boy I miss the days of having my TT out in the open. My kids just see bullseyes...
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I haven't yet listened to this system nearfield. It's in the living room at present. Sonneteer designs their amps to to use more of the volume pot so that you can get to that sweet spot. The LM and MasterSound amps are similar in that respect. The Campion is definitely not a powerhouse but has enough power to sustain the volume that I listen at and to handle the dynamic swings that are demanded in classical music playback...and yes the phono stage is sublime!
 
Congrats on the new gear Art! I see you're keeping the Brio R though. I was sure you were 100% converted.
Beautiful, no nonsense gear that couldn't get more basic. Great reviews too!
I was looking at your Brio thread and early posts make mention of Sonneteer. I hate it when i cant get my mind off something i hear that i really like. :D Was it the phono section that sold you on the Campion?
Congrats again.
 
mtaudio said:
Congrats on the new gear Art! I see you're keeping the Brio R though. I was sure you were 100% converted.
Beautiful, no nonsense gear that couldn't get more basic. Great reviews too!
I was looking at your Brio thread and early posts make mention of Sonneteer. I hate it when i cant get my mind off something i hear that i really like. :D Was it the phono section that sold you on the Campion?
Congrats again.
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Yep, the Brio-R stays. My wife will really enjoy it. The onboard phono stage is really quite good and did indeed make it an easy choice. So also did having the Line Magnetic CD player. Having tried the LM with my Marantz AVR and Rega Brio-R and hearing how much it bettered the other CD players I had in those systems (Apollo-R, Apollo, Naim CD5x, TEAC PD-H600, various NAD's and CA's) made me ever the more curious about how the LM would sound with the Campion. In a word, fabulous. The additional resolution that you get with the Campion over the other amps is met and filled entirely by the LM 215CD. Now for some Auditorium 23 cables!...dream on!
 
Art K. said:
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
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Hi Art,

Thanks for the very kind and touching words - as that means a great deal to me coming from you. Once again - I'm super anal about said items in general, and I'm touched even more so to see that she has found refuge with my younger brother - as Dale pointed out - it's about keeping something's within the family.

And - I'm happy knowing she's with you, as well as in great hands and enjoyed by someone whom understands her understated charm if you will.

Family is all we have - take care of one another - or I'm telling Mom.

Peace and Love to you my Brother.
O_oh
 
Art K. said:
I haven't yet listened to this system nearfield. It's in the living room at present. Sonneteer designs their amps to to use more of the volume pot so that you can get to that sweet spot. The LM and MasterSound amps are similar in that respect. The Campion is definitely not a powerhouse but has enough power to sustain the volume that I listen at and to handle the dynamic swings that are demanded in classical music playback...and yes the phono stage is sublime!
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Glad you mentioned that...I think I read where you said you listen at low levels often.I assume its fine. Its a nice clean looking amp. Is it very different from the Brio-R?
 
slippers-on said:
Glad you mentioned that...I think I read where you said you listen at low levels often.I assume its fine. Its a nice clean looking amp. Is it very different from the Brio-R?
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I generally listen at low levels. My wife often thinks it's loud. However, most of the folks who I know in the audio biz think that I listen at low levels most of the time. With CD's the Campion is usually between 9:00 and 11:00 and with the onboard phono stage between 11:00 and 1:00 most of the time. I'm listening to the Heed Questar today and it is a higher output phono pre amp and so the volume knob is about where it is with CD's.

The Campion is quite different than the Brio-R. I love the sound of both of them. The Brio-R is a wonderful statement of what can be done on a very reasonable budget and with a very small unobtrusive case. It's a joy to listen to. The Campion is much clearer and more open. It makes better sense of more complex music and expresses the emotion in each piece "as is". Where as the Brio-R tends to make nearly every piece bouncy and alive the Campion is every bit as expressive but far more able to communicate different moods.

I'm also still putting together my thoughts on the Line Magnetic CD player...it's quite a revelation.
 
Art, this move to the Sonneteer is quite a coincidence. I have the x12's and only yesterday I emailed Sonneteer to ask about the match with the Dynaudio. Got a reply from Haider one of the engineers who stated that the Campion should easily drive 4ohms as it can drive down to 2ohms. Haider recently visited and gave a talk at my local Hi - Fi shop Frank Bradys
http://www.dougbradyhifi.com/blog/meet-the-designer-20022013/

Bradys also stock the Alabaster as well. They have matching CD players as well which are highly regarded.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts about the ability of this amp to drive the speakers but also your overall thoughts about the sound and how it compares to the Rega.
Best wishes and happy Easter!
Paul
 
Art K. said:
I generally listen at low levels. My wife often thinks it's loud. However, most of the folks who I know in the audio biz think that I listen at low levels most of the time. With CD's the Campion is usually between 9:00 and 11:00 and with the onboard phono stage between 11:00 and 1:00 most of the time. I'm listening to the Heed Questar today and it is a higher output phono pre amp and so the volume knob is about where it is with CD's.

The Campion is quite different than the Brio-R. I love the sound of both of them. The Brio-R is a wonderful statement of what can be done on a very reasonable budget and with a very small unobtrusive case. It's a joy to listen to. The Campion is much clearer and more open. It makes better sense of more complex music and expresses the emotion in each piece "as is". Where as the Brio-R tends to make nearly every piece bouncy and alive the Campion is every bit as expressive but far more able to communicate different moods.

I'm also still putting together my thoughts on the Line Magnetic CD player...it's quite a revelation.
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Hmmm, romantic...not in warmth tho it may have warmth, but romantic in that it is able to get close to the listener.... draw and move that passion and emotion within you. That's what its all about....I love that in a system...makes that system very personable to you alone. That's why I say "music...let it move you." Sounds like you've made a very good choice...a unique system indeed.
 
evertonian said:
Art, this move to the Sonneteer is quite a coincidence. I have the x12's and only yesterday I emailed Sonneteer to ask about the match with the Dynaudio. Got a reply from Haider one of the engineers who stated that the Campion should easily drive 4ohms as it can drive down to 2ohms. Haider recently visited and gave a talk at my local Hi - Fi shop Frank Bradys
http://www.dougbradyhifi.com/blog/meet-the-designer-20022013/

Bradys also stock the Alabaster as well. They have matching CD players as well which are highly regarded.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts about the ability of this amp to drive the speakers but also your overall thoughts about the sound and how it compares to the Rega.
Best wishes and happy Easter!
Paul
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Post 29 you will find a bit of comparison to the Brio-R. The Campion drives the X12's with ease. Feels more powerful than the Brio-R. Sonneteer builds a high quality amp.
 
Goodness indeed, Art! :) That's looking fab! :yes:

Everytime I see a Sonneteer Campion (or Alabaster for that matter) I love their timeless, symmetric, stylish looks. Simple and pure!
 
Cables

Art K. said:
Yep, the Brio-R stays. My wife will really enjoy it. The onboard phono stage is really quite good and did indeed make it an easy choice. So also did having the Line Magnetic CD player. Having tried the LM with my Marantz AVR and Rega Brio-R and hearing how much it bettered the other CD players I had in those systems (Apollo-R, Apollo, Naim CD5x, TEAC PD-H600, various NAD's and CA's) made me ever the more curious about how the LM would sound with the Campion. In a word, fabulous. The additional resolution that you get with the Campion over the other amps is met and filled entirely by the LM 215CD. Now for some Auditorium 23 cables!...dream on!
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No offense but I don't think Auditorium 23 were made with ss amps and Dynaudio in mind. IMO.
 
riversideguy said:
No offense but I don't think Auditorium 23 were made with ss amps and Dynaudio in mind. IMO.
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You are correct but I have it on pretty good authority that they would work well in my setup. That said I can always demo and if they don't work out then so be it. That's the good thing about building a relationship with a dealer, I don't have to buy "sound unheard".
 
Great looking room Art! I see you have taken the low to the ground approach with your equipment stand that's discussed elsewhere. Is that a "Caddy Shack" gopher guarding your equipment?
 
Lee Harvey said:
Great looking room Art! I see you have taken the low to the ground approach with your equipment stand that's discussed elsewhere. Is that a "Caddy Shack" gopher guarding your equipment?
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Thank you. Just needed an inexpensive solution that block cover the window. The rodent is one incarnation of the Oregon State University Beaver (I'm an alum).
 
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