Unlike other areas of the consumer electronics industry the product evolution of amplifiers turns at a much slower rate.

When the news of new products do hit the market however, they are often well received by the audiophile and dealer communities.

A good example of this phenomenon can be found in the latest news emanating out of Montreal, where the Canadian company Classe has just announced four new amplifier products. The company says the new products address two-channel and home theater applications and they feature three key upgrades:

• A new miniaturized driver-stage circuit, which is said to provide noise-free signal control
• The amplification process is now centralized on a single six-layer circuit board, which is said to shorten the lengths of the amp’s internal signal paths
• The company is now implementing its ICTunnel active cooling system to help ensure the amps operate at a temperature that’s conducive to their best levels of performance.

Some of the other features the company is incorporating in the amps include RS-232, USB, CAN Bus, IR and DC trigger controls, and monitoring provisions to ensure the amps run within a range of safe operating parameters.

Here is a synopsis of the four new amps:

• the monoblock CA-M300 is rated to deliver 300 watts (MSRP is $5,500)
• the monoblock CA-M600 is rated to deliver 600 watts (MSRP is $7,000)
• the stereo CA-2300 is a 300 wpc amp (MSRP is $7,000)
• CA-5300 is a five channel amp that offers 300wpc (MSRP is $9,500)

Robert Archer - Senior Editor, CE Pro

Bob is a dedicated audiophile who has been writing about A/V for Electronic House sister publication CE Pro since 2000.