Circle Labs A200 hybrid integrated amplifier

[gestalt]

I thought some of you might be interested in a new hybrid integrated amplifier ($8995 USD) from the Polish design studio Circle Labs: the A200.

It's a novel NOS Siemens tube preamp stage combined with a 100 watt/8?, 200 watt/4? solid state power amp in one elegant chassis. Full glass front. Timeless design. Dual mono, premium components, WBT nextgen binding posts, NOS tubes, 200000 ?F of power supply capacitance, 0.1% tolerance precision resistor relay-switched volume control, and ships with a remote. Low output impedance (damping factor of 500) for nice control of most loudspeakers on the market.

It has an immediately authentic sound; think the harmonic correctness and flow of a good SET but with power and drive that opens the door to many non-SET friendly loudspeaker designs. (h/t to Ralph's "power paradigm" sound, but "voltage paradigm" performance.)

Sounds good, looks good, feels good. It's a ton of fun and I think a pretty special piece.

Industry disclosure: I import Circle Labs products into North America.

 

[gestalt]

Here's a recent review in Positive Feedback: https://positive-feedback.com/revie...cle-labs-a200-integrated-amplifier-thank-you/

A juicy snippet:

In short: When it comes to performance, the A200 is a very good value at $8995 USD. This is not the kind of value that has toed the laws of entropy to make something that is overall good by playing averages, rather, the kind of value that truly performs at a higher level than its price would indicate. Here are a few highlights:

Pulling up Lisa Ekdahl's When Did You Leave Heaven on Qubuz as my first listen yielded quite the surprise. On this album, Lisa fronts the extremely talented Peter Nordhal Trio. The trio's understated, but beautiful playing highlight Lisa's dynamic and expressive vocals with flawless synergy.

The title track "When Did You Leave Heaven," absolutely poured into my listening space with a soundstage that appeared to have limitless width and depth. I knew I was listening to something special when the breath of the first word Lisa gently sings, "when," revealed itself with such texture and harmonic correctness, it was as if I felt her whispering in my ear.

Yeesh. That was quite an embellished paragraph, however I am not often caught off guard by the performance of electronics. Since I plan for the worst and hope for the best, I tend not to have expectations going into a listening session. The A200's performance was a wonderful surprise!

A surprise such as this does not come from a single performance aspect. The bass has impeccable control, and micro-dynamic inflections such as the finger-release of the strings were well preserved. The bell-to-body resonances of the cymbals were harmonically rich. Finally, the piano resolution, texture, and dynamics were as good as many expensive separate preamp/amp combos I have heard.

 

[Addicted to hifi]

I thought some of you might be interested in a new hybrid integrated amplifier ($8995 USD) from the Polish design studio Circle Labs: the A200.

It's a novel NOS Siemens tube preamp stage combined with a 100 watt/8?, 200 watt/4? solid state power amp in one elegant chassis. Full glass front. Timeless design. Dual mono, premium components, WBT nextgen binding posts, NOS tubes, 200000 ?F of power supply capacitance, 0.1% tolerance precision resistor relay-switched volume control, and ships with a remote. Low output impedance (damping factor of 500) for nice control of most loudspeakers on the market.

It has an immediately authentic sound; think the harmonic correctness and flow of a good SET but with power and drive that opens the door to many non-SET friendly loudspeaker designs. (h/t to Ralph's "power paradigm" sound, but "voltage paradigm" performance.)

Sounds good, looks good, feels good. It's a ton of fun and I think a pretty special piece.

Industry disclosure: I import Circle Labs products into North America.

Beautiful looking.would sound excellent as well.

 

[tima]

Colin, from the review I could not quite gather the integrated aspect of the A200. Is it strictly a linestage + amplifier or does it include other functions?

Edit: I'm guessing the former based on just 4 buttons on the remote.

 

[gestalt]

Colin, from the review I could not quite gather the integrated aspect of the A200. Is it strictly a linestage + amplifier or does it include other functions?

Edit: I'm guessing the former based on just 4 buttons on the remote.

Hi Tim, yep you're correct it's a linestage + amplifier.

 

[gestalt]

The A200 was included in Part Time Audiophile's The Best Integrated Amplifiers buyer's guide 2022.

The Best Integrated Amplifiers | Buyers Guide 2022

Hi-Fi news, gear reviews, and interviews

parttimeaudiophile.com

 

[gestalt]

The A200 won a Writers' Choice Award, 2021 from Positive Feedback!

Thus far, it has been a challenge to find integrated amplifiers at the sub $10,000 price point that perform like top-tier separate preamplifier/amplifier combinations. Then along comes the Circle Labs A200 integrated amplifier. At $8995 it is pricey, however to get the sheer power, control, and nuanced details that makes the jump into high end, without the bulk, it is a steal!

The Circle Labs A200 is easy on the eyes, too, with very elegant industrial design. Keeping with the theme of simplicity, one of the beautiful aspects of the A200 is that it does not contain peripheral devices such as a DAC or phono stage. This allows the price to stay reasonable, while providing the "meat-and-potatoes" of what an integrated amplifier is: A low noise line stage followed by a powerful amplifier section, with as short of a signal path as possible.

When listening, the minimalist preamplifier section, and proprietary Circle Power technology performs as a well-engineered piece of equipment should. Control, power, and extreme inner detail are all present as one would hear with a top-tier component, or should I say: Components? The Circle Labs A200 truly sounds like a separate specialty line-stage and large power amplifier. It has a hint of romanticism, too, but most seem to enjoy music that airs on the side of romance since we do not listen to test signals. What else can I give than the highest recommendation to a piece that truly embodies the saying, "buy once, cry once."

 

[gestalt]

New review out in HiFi Knights: http://hifiknights.com/reviews/amplifiers/circle-labs-a200/

I think this review does a particularly good job at communicating the soul of the A200.

 

[gleeds]

New review out in HiFi Knights: http://hifiknights.com/reviews/amplifiers/circle-labs-a200/

I think this review does a particularly good job at communicating the soul of the A200.

Looks awesome Colin and great value for money. Congratulations on bringing this brand to the US!

 

[marslo]

I am using as a second amp A100 with upgraded caps and binding posts.
It‘ s the same design as A 200 but with less power in SS amplification section.
Circle Labs started with both A100 and A200 and then concentrated on development of A200 and separate pre and power amps.
Btw pre case is the same as my A100 which is discontinued. For my Trios A100 has enough power ( 2x70 W/8 Ohm) , in the summer I switch to Circle Labs, winter time is a SET time

 

[gestalt]

Looks awesome Colin and great value for money. Congratulations on bringing this brand to the US!

Thanks Gary, it's a great piece.

 

[gestalt]

I am using as a second amp A100 with upgraded caps and binding posts.
It‘ s the same design as A 200 but with less power in SS amplification section.
Circle Labs started with both A100 and A200 and then concentrated on development of A200 and separate pre and power amps.
Btw pre case is the same as my A100 which is discontinued. For my Trios A100 has enough power ( 2x70 W/8 Ohm) , in the summer I switch to Circle Labs, winter time is a SET time

Yep, Circle Labs amps have the purity to work with horns. Great picture; your system is stunning!

 

[skids929]

These look like incredible amps/pre. I am putting them on my short list. Need something to drive my Sabrina X so I am looking for an amp with the musicality and sweetness of my Sugdens but the damping (that the Sugden lacks) to drive SabX.

Need to read some reviews!

 

[gestalt]

These look like incredible amps/pre. I am putting them on my short list. Need something to drive my Sabrina X so I am looking for an amp with the musicality and sweetness of my Sugdens but the damping (that the Sugden lacks) to drive SabX.

Need to read some reviews!

Circle Labs is great with Wilson. You're going to like what you hear.

 

[skids929]

Circle Labs is great with Wilson. You're going to like what you hear.

Have you any experience running on them difficult to drive speakers? Also do you have any customers running Wilsons with them? SabX is unfortunately one of the harder to drive speakers in their line dipping down into 2 ohms.

 

[gestalt]

Have you any experience running on them difficult to drive speakers? Also do you have any customers running Wilsons with them? SabX is unfortunately one of the harder to drive speakers in their line dipping down into 2 ohms.

Yep, have clients with Wilsons enjoying Circle Labs. It's nice! No issues re: impedance swings.