SAE 2HP-D and 8300 Amplifiers: Conclusion That brings us back to the beginning of this review: One amplifier to rule them all. There’s nothing more I can say really. You could pay more for an amplifier, a lot more, but I can’t see that getting you any- thing material in terms of what is coming out of your loudspeakers. These are the quietest, noise-wise, amplifiers I’ve ever experienced. The SAE amplifiers also have more detail, texture, and color to the music than any amplifier I’ve experienced before. I know I said some of the same things about the Datasat amplifiers. But these SAE amplifiers are still a bit better than my memory of the Datasat ampli- fiers. Interestingly, the...
I spent some time listening to systems from two companies of which Brian Barr is President: SAE (Scientific Audio Electronics) and CAT (California Audio Technology). In the first, two SAE 2HP-D amplifiers ($20,000/each), which graced the cover of Stereophile when Michael Fremer reviewed the amp in the October 2016 issue, drove new bi-amped Eggleston Works 20th anniversary Limited Edition Andra Viginti speakers ($40,000/pair). Michael is currently reviewing these speakers, whose 4 ohm nominal impedance indicates that they were driven by a mere 1200Wpc of SAE power… (Read more)
As reported on Stereophile’s web site: Back inside the Sheraton Gateway hotel, I visited the Source Audio/Video Design Group’s room, which contained a VPI Avenger turntable ($10,000), a McIntosh C52 preamplifier ($7000), two SAE 2HP-D power amplifiers ($19,995 each), and Pearl Evolution Victor Ballerina 401/8 DPG loudspeakers ($14,000/pair). The digital source was a McIntosh MCD550 SACD/CD player ($6500). The entire system was completed with McIntosh loudspeaker cables and Kimber Kable interconnects. The SAE 2HP-D celebrate SAE’s (Scientific Audio Electronics) 50th Anniversary! So of course we also had to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was my first time experiencing SAE after reading Michael Fremer’s review of the 2HP-D published last fall in Stereophile and...
