Review: Verastarr SSA-28 Amplifier
Category: Amplifiers
Review:
Verastarr SSA-28 2-Ch Amp.
Date: 6/21/08. Website:
Price $5,999.00
www.verastarr.com
System: B&K 505. Krell kav-250.
Classe cp-35. Ming-Da MC-7.
Ref-Mod Oppo 981. Chang 3200 PLC.
B.G. 420’s Bolender Ribbons. B&W-804/800.
SPK-Cables Analysis Plus Bi-Oval 8.Anti-IC.
RS Cables Solid Silver and Duet IC’s.
Sony A602000 SXRD Rear Projection T.V.
Background: Electronic Tech. Telemetry/Radars/GPS.
30 years U.S. Gov. Audio/Videophile 30 years.
The Verastarr is a big power house of an amp and has enough power to start a car; any body has a set of jumper cables? Well with all that power like “800 WPC”, I said to myself this amp cant sound all that good. Oh no not another high dollar power amp. If you heard one high power amp you’ve heard them all, Wrong!!
I won’t even beat around the bush with the SSA-28, this amp is dangerous sounding and at it price will kick some serious butt. This may be the best amp under the 20,000 dollar mark. And yes I have heard the big boy amps along with the big mono block amps. With the SSA-28 you don’t need a mono block amp, to me that is a waste of money and space. The SSA-28 is a mono block in one box.
The first thing I asked Mike at Verastarr was, can the SSA-28 sound smooth and clean like the baby 100 WPC amps. Oh yes it does he said and with all that headroom the amp still has finesse. To me, just about all high power amps lack in this department. The Krells and the McCormack amps seem to get it right in this department. That rich smooth and clean sound that smaller amps have is hard to beat. Well this amp has it in spades and can rock with the big boys. Why spend $25,000 on an amp when you can buy the SSA-28 and take the rest of that money and go buy a car. After a long listening session I just can’t understand why anyone would spend more on a big amp after hearing the Verastarr. And if you are into surround sound they make the Awesome SSA-644 multi-channel amp.
Day 1: The BASS is very powerful and deep. The bass went very deep only when the music called for it. Not like some amps that sound tight or boomy all the time. Low level resolution was also very good. I could easily hear all bass notes on the finder bass. The big woofers on the B&W 800 had great control and punch. This is probably the best low-end amplifier on the market. I told you guys I wasn’t going to fool around with this review. Boom! Like a bomb explosion watching movies and concerts will scare the life out of you even in two channels.
The MIDRANGE was totally transparent, big Mike was not lying about the power and delicacy of this amp. Smooth and clean all over the place like people standing in the room with you. Voices were real sounding male and female. Once I got it right and matched up my cables I was stun. For a monster amp the SSA-28 is one the best amps I have heard in the midrange. The soundstage was from wall to wall and reminded me of the big counterpoint SA220 hybrid amp. The SSA-28 only did this when the music called for it. The big SIM W5 amp could not keep up and rolled off the top a little. From top to bottom, the Krell KAV-250 and KAV 400ix just could not keep up with the SSA-28. Maybe the McCormack DNA 500 and the Mark Levinson No. 434 mono blocks may give the SSA-28 a run for it, or maybe not. The SSA-28 is still a better value. At this price I have not heard any amp on the market that can stand up to the Verastarr.
Also this is one of the most accurate amps I have heard. That’s the first thing that hit me. Accuracy, accuracy dead on the money, I could hear everything that was going on in the recording studio, even how the musicians was playing their instruments.
The TOP-END was extremely detail and here I go again, one of the best I have heard from a big amp. I could not hear any coloration at all, crystal clear and clean sounding.
Cymbals and bells just float in the air. Percussions had good snap decay that made me want to get up and dance, just like going to a live concert.
Conclusion:
One of the best amps on the market and wont bankrupt you in the process.
Big and bad looking with a killer sound that’s dead on the music.
Bill Glenn
www.thecablenut.com
ibbillglen@hotmail.com
Associated gear
System: B&K 505. Krell kav-250.
Classe cp-35. Ming-Da MC-7.
Ref-Mod Oppo 981. Chang 3200 PLC.
B.G. 420’s Bolender Ribbons. B&W-804/800.
SPK-Cables Analysis Plus Bi-Oval 8.Anti-IC.
RS Cables Solid Silver and Duet IC’s.
Sony A602000 SXRD Rear Projection T.V.
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