Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum, but have been following some of your threads. This question should be direceted to Mr Pass himself, but if anyone has any experience with an sa/1 comparison to the sa/12e, could you please share. I am considering one of these amps, but not sure what the differences in character are. I have heard the sa/1's and absolutely loved them. Just wondering if the sa/12e are an extension of the sa/1's or do they give anything up for the extra power? the sa/12e amps seem to be extremely hard to come by, even compared to the sa/1's. To Mr. Pass, I really wished you had put the meters on the sa/12e also, they looked gorgeous, besides gives you a sense on where the amplifier is in output, just my opinion. Thank you to you all and hope to get some feed back.
He'll even flash his pajamas, but no touchy.
I've never had the opportunity to monitor the largest Threshold monaurals, but all magazine test articles of the 12e I've collected mention it's not the most convincing sounding of the SA/ series. The most authoritative they are, which should be pretty obvious.
Which is not entirely surprising, scaling a power amplifier design to a higher output level not necessarily guarantees improved or even equal (sonic) performance.
In my experience, there's always such a thing as an optimum solution, whatever or whichever the topic at hand is.
(I've posted at least a dozen times that my absolute Threshold favorites are the SA/1e monaurals. Which may be a biased opinion, as I was totally smitten by the allround capabilities of those power amps at the time of manufacture)
I've never had the opportunity to monitor the largest Threshold monaurals, but all magazine test articles of the 12e I've collected mention it's not the most convincing sounding of the SA/ series. The most authoritative they are, which should be pretty obvious.
Which is not entirely surprising, scaling a power amplifier design to a higher output level not necessarily guarantees improved or even equal (sonic) performance.
In my experience, there's always such a thing as an optimum solution, whatever or whichever the topic at hand is.
(I've posted at least a dozen times that my absolute Threshold favorites are the SA/1e monaurals. Which may be a biased opinion, as I was totally smitten by the allround capabilities of those power amps at the time of manufacture)
Last edited:
sa/1 vs sa/12e
I have listened to an sa/1 and was absolutely pleased with the way it sounded, but have never auditioned an sa/12e. the write ups are not that convincing, but I would think that it cannot be that different from an sa/1, with the exception of being more powerful. Can you help me with this? I found a set of sa/12e, and would like an opinion, especially yours, so that I can perhaps better understand the differences in words, if any. thank you.Similar would be the word.
It has been 25 years since I last listened to these. My auditory memory
is not that good, and my sense of what sounds good has evolved over
time.
I only recall that I thought the SA/12e was an improvement.
thank you for your reply, but your answer may suggest that you may have a better preference than either of these two models, would you like
to share your thought?
I don't wish to speak for Mr. Pass but I have a feeling that he prefers the XA160.8 to either of these two. Just sayin'
I really don't recall the sound well enough, and as I say, it is possible that I
would have a different take on them today.
THRESHOLD SA12E
JACCO YOU SAID IN ANOTHER POST SA12E WILL BE OVER 2000 EUROS TO REPLACE ALL 16 CAPS.
I HAVE THESE CAPS ON ORDER. IT WILL NOT COST NO WHERE NEAR THAT. THE ORIGINAL MALLORY CGS LINE USED 27000uF/85V DIAMETER 2 INCHES OR 50mm AND ABOUT 6 INCHES LONG (146mm) YOU NEED 16 CAPS FOR BOTH MONOS.
CDE NOW OWNS MALLORY. I RECOMMEND WITH CORNELL FLAGSHIP DCMC LINE 27000uF AT 100V SAME DIAMETER AND LENGTH.
ALSO YOU CAN GET UNITED CHEMICON 27000uF/100V U36D LINE 2 COMPANY MAKE EXACT CAP WITH HIGHER VOLTAGE RATING. ABOUT $700 FOR ALL 16 CAPS.
JACCO YOU SAID IN ANOTHER POST SA12E WILL BE OVER 2000 EUROS TO REPLACE ALL 16 CAPS.
I HAVE THESE CAPS ON ORDER. IT WILL NOT COST NO WHERE NEAR THAT. THE ORIGINAL MALLORY CGS LINE USED 27000uF/85V DIAMETER 2 INCHES OR 50mm AND ABOUT 6 INCHES LONG (146mm) YOU NEED 16 CAPS FOR BOTH MONOS.
CDE NOW OWNS MALLORY. I RECOMMEND WITH CORNELL FLAGSHIP DCMC LINE 27000uF AT 100V SAME DIAMETER AND LENGTH.
ALSO YOU CAN GET UNITED CHEMICON 27000uF/100V U36D LINE 2 COMPANY MAKE EXACT CAP WITH HIGHER VOLTAGE RATING. ABOUT $700 FOR ALL 16 CAPS.
AV Junkie,
Did you ever pick up the SA/12e? I have a pair of S/1000 with those big, beautiful meters. Did you wanna trade?!
Your name sounds familiar. Have we talked on a different forum about plasma TV calibration?
Did you ever pick up the SA/12e? I have a pair of S/1000 with those big, beautiful meters. Did you wanna trade?!
Your name sounds familiar. Have we talked on a different forum about plasma TV calibration?
threshold SA 12/e
Hi Eric, sorry for not responding. I had some computer issues and then totally forgot. anyways, no I did not get the SA 12/e. couldn't get to the seller quick enough. I am from Toronto, and he was in New Jersey. needed to get my passport renewed. do not want to think of it, it makes me sick to my stomach. by the way, I also purchased a set of s-1000. gotta love those meters!! still want a pair of SA 12/e's. seem to be a rare thing to come by. there are two pairs in Europe, but very expensive and still have to get them here.
AV Junkie,
Did you ever pick up the SA/12e? I have a pair of S/1000 with those big, beautiful meters. Did you wanna trade?!
Your name sounds familiar. Have we talked on a different forum about plasma TV calibration?
Hi Eric, sorry for not responding. I had some computer issues and then totally forgot. anyways, no I did not get the SA 12/e. couldn't get to the seller quick enough. I am from Toronto, and he was in New Jersey. needed to get my passport renewed. do not want to think of it, it makes me sick to my stomach. by the way, I also purchased a set of s-1000. gotta love those meters!! still want a pair of SA 12/e's. seem to be a rare thing to come by. there are two pairs in Europe, but very expensive and still have to get them here.
Did you pick up the pair of S/1000's that were on e-Bay a few months back?
I've seen the pair in Europe, beautiful, but at $12k plus shipping, I can see why they have not sold in a year!
I think I saw a WTB post from you for a pair of SA 12/e on Canada AudioMart ... unless there's another AVJunkie in Canada.
We should probably talk so we don't end up bidding against each other when a pair of the elusive 12e's do pop up.
I've seen the pair in Europe, beautiful, but at $12k plus shipping, I can see why they have not sold in a year!
I think I saw a WTB post from you for a pair of SA 12/e on Canada AudioMart ... unless there's another AVJunkie in Canada.
We should probably talk so we don't end up bidding against each other when a pair of the elusive 12e's do pop up.
sa 12/e
hey Eric, it is me with the WTB add, but no luck. regarding the amps in Europe, for sure that is a lot of money for most ppl over there, considering the economic state, and for us, it's just too expensive, considering that they usually sell in the $ 6,000 USD, range, over here and no added cost for shipping or voltage conversion. I love the sound of the s-1000's, they sound considerably different from my krells. if I can't find any thresholds, I may opt for a gryphon.
hey Eric, it is me with the WTB add, but no luck. regarding the amps in Europe, for sure that is a lot of money for most ppl over there, considering the economic state, and for us, it's just too expensive, considering that they usually sell in the $ 6,000 USD, range, over here and no added cost for shipping or voltage conversion. I love the sound of the s-1000's, they sound considerably different from my krells. if I can't find any thresholds, I may opt for a gryphon.