John Darko
From Danish manufacturer Copland comes a tube amplifier called the CTA407 (that supersedes the outgoing CTA408). Under the hood, the new flagship integrated features a quad of KT88 working in push-pull mode and in tandem with a pair of 12BH7 and a single ECC83, all of which are juiced by three toroidal transformers.
Each KT88 has been set to work in ultra-linear mode but Copland’s new flagship amplifier will automatically adjust to any tube in the 6550/KT88/KT120/KT150 family with full operational oversight coming from a newly designed diagnostic system that displays each tube’s current state on a bank of front-panel LEDs.
The upshot? A circuit that’s Class A/B but high-biased into Class A for (a reportedly conservatively-rated) 50wpc into 8 and the same into 4 Ohms. THD clocks in at 0.8% and SNR at 100dB. The use of negative feedback is reportedly minimal at 18dB.
On rear-panel connectivity, we note four line-level inputs, a tape loop and an MM phono input that will also play nice with high-output MC cartridges. The volume pot is motorised, ready for the supplied IR wand’s remote control.
From the press release: “The CTA407 offers extraordinarily precise music reproduction without tiring the listener – for long-term music enjoyment with outstanding dynamics and great flexibility in the choice of loudspeakers. The vanishingly low self-noise of the amplifier is a stroke of luck, especially for owners of speaker systems with a high level of efficiency.”
Copland’s CTA407 will sell for €6900.
Further information: Copland
