Classe CAM 350 Monoblock Amplifiers - 350W!!

Free Shipping on *ALL* Electronics (Excluding Speakers, Contiguous 48 US States Only)

General:

Sweet sounding solid state monoblocks from Canadian company Classe Audio. 

Second set of CAM 350's to arrive at our shop *ever*.

Most folks just hang on to them since they are hard to beat. The gentleman we acquired them from just upgraded to a set of beefy Quad-Balanced McIntosh Monoblocks that don't come up for sale often.

Power output equals:
8 Ohms with 350 watts...
4 Ohms with 700 watts...
and 2 Ohms with 1200 watts - FROM EACH MONOBLOCK!

First thing we noticed when testing these beasts is the unique internal component layout and parts quality. Instead of using a small number of storage capacitors, it utilizes a large number of of them with the hopes of improving reliability and speed. 

Parts quality is of the highest level, utilizing resistors and passive components of the tightest tolerances, and a power transformer capable of driving an arc welder. There are several high quality epoxy PC boards stacked in what is a manageable and compact cabinet without overcrowding.  

In the listening room these amps drove our reference EgglestonWorks Andras with ease and articulation. Not a hint of strain even at the loudest levels.   

They're also simple in design and also operation. There's a single power button on the front and an LED that blinks red while warming up, then turning to solid when ready. On boot up you hear lots of protection relays engaging over its warmup period, indicating this is a well thought-out design with great protection circuitry.   

The test bench is where these amps showed their true capabilities. While we were not able to drive these to their full power as our test gear maxes out at 300W, they went right to our limit without any distortion or significant increase in THD. 

All caps are healthy and there are no signs of them ever being over worked or abused.  

Cosmetically both amps are great, just the occasional light scuff or scratch from handling. Nothing noticeable unless you are closely inspecting. The faceplates are near perfect.   

More from Classe:

CAM-350 - 350W MONAURAL AMPLIFIER
One chassis - One channel. The monaural Classé CAM-350 is developed using the knowledge gained from the development of our spectacular OMEGA Series amplifiers. Now you can place each channel right at each speaker.

This enables you to have very short speaker wire lengths to each speaker, no matter whether it is driving a center channel, or a fine two channel system, or all the channels of a five or six or more surround sound setup. 

We knew we were embarking on a great adventure when we started the cost-no-barrier design exercise that culminated in the development of the OMEGA Series of amplifiers and preamplifiers. Through the exercise we discovered the revolutionary OMEGA circuit design, which has no sonic equal. We have been using variations of the OMEGA circuitry on several new amplifiers, including the CA-201, CA-301, CA-401 and the five channel CAV-500. 

The CAM-350 has inherited many of the sonic benefits of the technology of our OMEGA discoveries, and it represents on its own a long step forward in amplifier design. Each CAM-350 is a true symmetrical circuit, and is balanced from input to output, much like an OMEGA. The amplifier has an oversized, superbly regulated power supply, and a multitude of fast, high current output devices.  

Because the CAM-350 is balanced from input to output it has a greatly enhanced signal to noise ratio, lower induced common-mode distortion, and freedom from grounding problems. 

The power supply of a CAM-350 includes a massive, shielded toroid transformer and a large number of small capacitors. Each amplifier uses a large collection of small sized high-value power supply capacitors. Small capacitors "drain" and "refill" extremely rapidly and completely, supplying all the power required when the source demands it. A faster, cleaner power supply allows us a higher degree of accurate voltage regulation throughout the circuitry. This ensures that no matter what program material is being played at whatever level, the power supply voltages at all the various stages of amplification will remain constant. 

The fast, oversized power supply allows the amplifier to deliver the full current and voltage required to virtually any load. The CAM-350 delivers sound that is clean, liquid and effortless. Imaging, with the better recordings we all enjoy listening to, is both wide and deep. In fact, imaging seems real and human, without the artificial hard edges so common in lesser amplification. 

The Classé CAM-350 will give your favorite recordings and Movies a new life. It will be as if everything you hear is new and you will be able to listen to them again and again. 

Ownership:
Second Owner

Connections:
RCA and XLR Inputs, Screw Terminal Speaker Connectors, IEC Power Cord.

General Sound:
Neutral sound with little to no coloration

Cosmetic Condition:
7 - Some Wear and Light Scratches. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab and listening room.

Included:
Units, power cords, and manual

Packing:
Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.
Specs:
Frequency response: 
20 Hz to 20K Hz, + 0.1 dB

Output Power: 
8 Ohm 350 watts
4 Ohm 700 watts
2 Ohm 1200 watts

Maximum Output swing: 
± 40V

S/N Ratio: 
-112.4db @ full output

THD+N - Full output @ 8 Ohm:
0.00284% 1KHz

Input Impedance: 
75K ohms for balanced

Output Impedance: 
0.017 ohm

Gain: 
29 dB for amplifier section

Dimensions - EACH
w: 12.75" x d: 18.25" x h: 12.25"

Weight - EACH
70 lbs.

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Best

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Better

Kimber Kable - BALANCED XLR Connectors - Best

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Better

Kimber Summit Series Monocle XL Speaker Cables (PAIR) - Best

Kimber Summit Series BiFocal XL Bi-Wire Speaker Cables (PAIR) - Best If Applicable 

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Better

Kimber Kable - Power Cords - Best

Testing Process:
The SkyFi Testing Process for Solid State Amplifiers:

We start with a visual inspection of all internal components to make sure that there are no signs of heat stress or damage. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

If the amplifier passes visual inspection, we move on to a controlled power on sequence using a Sencore safety analyzer to monitor current draw in real time. Once the amplifier is determined to be safe to operate, we connect it to full AC mains for function and power testing. We connect the speaker outputs of the amplifier to a Sencore PA81 Power Analyzer which acts as a dummy load, DC offset monitor, and oscilloscope interface. We start with a low level 1KHz test signal at the amplifier’s input and slowly increase its amplitude while monitoring the output on an oscilloscope for signs of noise, clipping, distortion, or improper channel balance. We continue increasing the signal level until the amplifier reaches clipping. At this point we take an output power measurement and compare it to the spec sheet of the amplifier to verify proper performance. If the device under test has both balanced and single ended inputs they are both tested at this time. We finish off the bench evaluation with a 1KHz square wave check and a 20Hz to 20KHz sine sweep to assess the amplifier’s frequency response characteristics. This battery of tests will usually reveal if the amplifier has any issues that need further attention.

Before the device leaves the bench, we perform a listening test with actual music using a variety of preferred test tracks. Our benches are outfitted with familiar monitor speakers which help us identify inconsistencies that will not always show up on our test gear. The main things that we are listening for are hum or noise with no signal present, proper center image, clicks, pops, or any other obvious undesirable audio characteristics.

If the unit passes all of these tests it is moved to our long term testing rig where we simulate real word operating conditions for 6-8 hours. This allows us to monitor the unit for signs of thermal runaway or intermittent issues that only crop up when the unit has fully come up to temperature.