Recalling the Citation 24 power amps from the 70's designer, I think was Matti Otala, who also had a hand in the Electrocompaniet product a little before that. The Citations were awesome amps, quite out of reach for a struggling apprentice at the time, but eventually after 40 years onwards an opportunity for Electrocompaniet to enter the audio system came to fruition.
There's an AW250R new since Aug-16, 2023 due to a broken Accuphase P-4200. The Accuphase will be repaired, but in the meantime, the AW250R will stay in place in the main system. These days of uncertain expectations with regard to delivery, I was lucky in there was one new AW250R in the country!
The sound character is much the same as the P-4200, with a lot more power, (250W vs 90W) and where did the dynamics come from in recordings that were played quite a few times over the years. The increase in dynamics doesn't come at the expense of distortion, the music is clean, yes, transparent with great imaging qualities. This AW250R is paired with KEF reference 205/2, pre is Accuphase C-2420. It is rare for an amplifier to specify the output impedance and current capability, as far as numbers go, this amp is a rubber stamp of approval.
Still running in, but what music comes out, this amp just gives and gives as the loudness increases. Things must have changed, over progressive models, this one doesn't hum at all. Despite Class A, the amp runs *just* warm to the touch, a recent Yamaha AV receiver runs a lot hotter in comparison, so not an issue even in hotter climates. An Ethergen is difficuilt to hold for more than 2s, it's that hot, the AW250R is nowhere near this ferocity.
Highly recommend this amp, if you're into mono blocks, I'm sure the upper power models will provide many a great listening session for years to come.