ET3SE and Classic Sixty SE review HIFI + :
The dynamic range and shade of the music is retained perfectly, exposing those little cues that normally get lost in the mix. Naturally, this is the sort of sound that is made for fey-sounding dinner jazz that is still somewhat inexplicably popular in audiophile circles. What people forget is it is also made for playing Chopin, Sigur Ros, Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, John Martyn, John Coltrane and a lot of music that didn’t go to the Julie London school.
It’s not the same criteria that you use to listen to some rip-snorting Allman Brothers live blues or some Joy Division gloom, but the amps have the drive and energy to cope with that end of the spectrum too.
These amps have the deep soundstage and expressive dynamic shading that have long been a c-j trademark, but coupled with enough temporal control to have Naim enthusiasts see what all the fuss is about, the sense of authority that will appeal to ARC users and the precision, top-end shimmer and control that Krell lovers crave. It’s still a c-j sound through and through, which means
a sense of tying things together so that you can set all that aside and listen to the music. Alan Sircom