Κώστας Φ.
Truth hurts. Here's a teddy bear.
- Μηνύματα
- 8.978
- Reaction score
- 895

Description: Solid-state integrated amplifier.
Power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 160Wpc into 4 ohms (19dBW).
Conforming speaker impedance: 4–16 ohms.
Frequency response: DC–50kHz, 0/–3dB, into 8 ohms.
Channel separation: >70dB.
Signal/noise: 120dB (measured with a 400Hz–30kHz bandpass filter)
Input impedance: 10k ohms.
Power consumption: 64W into 4 ohms.
Weight: 8.8 lbs (4kg).
Price: $2000.
"Conclusions
The Flying Mole CA-S10 was a difficult product to evaluate. First, its sound seemed to change during the evaluation period, making it hard to pin down its ultimate sonic character. After a good three months of use, I would assume that the sound quality had plateaued, but it's hard to be absolutely certain. The sound of the CA-S10 was also highly influenced by the choice of interconnect feeding its input, and by the nature of the AC power source, the supposedly superior balanced power resulting in a higher level of noise.
After prolonged break-in, and with AC source and associated equipment optimized as much as possible, the CA-S10 produced sound with an exemplary level of clarity, detail, dynamics, and bass extension. However, I found myself merely admiring these sonic aspects without being fully drawn into the music. While the CA-S10 delivered on Flying Mole's promise of high resolution, the sound also had a clinical, somewhat synthetic quality that tended to keep me at arm's length from the music. Of the CA-S10's class-D output stage, audiophiles who dislike digital amplifiers on principle might very well say, "No wonder—it's digital!" However, I didn't have this reaction to the PS Audio GCC-100, which is also class-D.
These responses may not be shared by everyone. If you place the highest value on an amplifier that delivers the utmost in sonic details, the Flying Mole CA-S10 may be the right one for you, especially if the rest of your system complements its sound. It just didn't float my boat." -- Robert Deutsch
"Although its measured performance at low and midrange frequencies is excellent, the Flying Mole CA-S10 did less well at high frequencies. And while the class-D PS Audio GCC-100 with which RD compared the CA-S10 also had some linearity problems at high frequencies, its output signal was overall very much cleaner than the Flying Mole's. I am not surprised, therefore, that RD ultimately found he could not recommend the CA-S10." -- John Atkinson
Full Review: Stereophile.com
