Tubes Asylum: REVIEW: Copland CTA 501 Amplifier (Tube) by James

Appearance:

This is one of the rare designs which doesnâ€™t show off the vacuum tubes. Instead this amplifier is mounted on a rigid chassis with a brushed aluminium faceplate and a black steel cover, vented on the top. Three knobs on the front panel serve as a CD Direct switch, a Gain control and the On/Off switch. The rear of the amplifier accommodates two imputs and speaker terminals allowing a choice of 8-ohm or 4-ohm tabs. The Copland looks elegant, stylish and very Scandinavian.

Technology:

A pair of EL34s are employed in the output stage. The circuitry is an ultra linear push-pull design. However, these pentode tubes here used with the associated gain in the output muscle and the feedback inherent in the amp forces the EL34s to act like triodes. The input stage employs two E82cc and one E83cc tubes, the layout is pristine, the workmanship excellent and the soundâ€¦

The sound:

The first thing I noticed by all, was the breathy delivery of the midrange and high frequencies. Voices sounded not just good and natural, they sounded excellent. In this area the amplifier has little competition. Bass information is full-bodied with a nice glow together with the mids and highs it creates a three-dimensional image, with the front-to-back layering the most noticeable characteristic. Inner detail is reproduced delicately and with all the wanted information. The all-round sound of the CTA 501 is best described as revealing, full bodied and seductively musical.

Synopsis:

This amplifier sounds wonderfully musical and handles the most complex passages as expertly as one could wish to hear from a very expensive single-ended triode amplifierâ€¦the hot stuff in audio land.

REVIEW: Copland CTA 501 Amplifier (Tube) Review by James at Audio Asylum