Avantone CLA-200

Good, but could be better for this money

I bought this amp for my Yamaha NS-10M Studio monitors using it with my Apollo Twin MKII audio interface. Today CLA-10 monitors are considered by most as the best replica of NS-10's, and CLA-200 amp is designed especially for CLA-10's. So I thought this amp would be the best match for my NS-10's.

Now that I've bought the amp and used it a few days, I can't tell that CLA-200 is ideal for NS-10's, but nevertheless, it's really a good option and I don't regret buying it. For people looking for the ideal match, I would recommend considering old used vintage amps – it might be hard to find the right one in good conditions on the secondary market, and the price usually is much higher than CLA-200's + some additional risks, but it can be worth it. Personally, I'm pretty fine with CLA-200.

Pros:

+ Sounds and looks really great

+ Silent (even my laptop is much louder)

+ Has Link outputs (I use them for a subwoofer even though it also has its link outputs, just love how all the system works this way)

+ It's heavy, but you only need 4 rack screws in the front to mount it. I thought I'd need some extra mounting using its back "ears".

Cons:

- VU meters don't work well with NS-10, they were designed for CLA-10's, and probably due to some difference in the circuit, you'd hardly see any movements on VU meters. It's a known issue.

- At the minimum volume knob positions (1-1) the real volume differs between two speakers. The problem eliminates from the second volume knob positions (2-2, 3-3 and higher). It might seem not critical (and it's really not that much), but in pair with my Apollo Twin, I don't need that much amplification as I usually work on low volumes.

- When I received my CLA-200, there was a strange sound from the inside when moving the amp. When I uncovered it, it had turned out that one of the screws was unscrewed. I fixed the problem but it was an unpleasant moment.

Would be nice to have:

~ XLR speaker outputs

~ VU meters mode switch for NS-10's