Chameleon 1400S power amplifier

[John]

Repairing them seems to be the biggest issue, which is a shame as they are really good

[MAD]

I own 3 Chameleons and they are some of the finest sounding amplifiers I have ever heard.

I came across them quite by accident as I needed a low profile power amplifier to fit into an equipment rack - the sound that eminated from the amplifier when I first used it was a complete revelation!

They are extremely difficult to work on and finding service data is a nightmare - the link above is the first one I've ever seen on the web with any kind of diagrams.

The most powerful Chameleon I own is rated at 1.5Kw per channel into 4 ohms - when I was using it it made a NOTICEABLE difference to my household electricity bill but the sound from it was so effortless - I've honestly never heard the like of these units.

I paid 150 gbp for electric for one of them, I left it on all the time.

[John]

Perhaps the biggest issue is the electric bill!!!

[Effem]

I had a Chameleon Ruby power amp a few years ago. I didn't find it all that exciting to be honest, even though it didn't offend me in any way, so I suppose you could label it as a "neutral" amp. As I recall I replaced it with an Aaron Millenium power amp and that really did get my juices flowing. Dumbest thing I ever did was then selling that amp to buy a Musical Fidelity Trivista 300 integrated.

[hexdiy]

Hey guys,
I stumbled on this forum while looking for the Chameleon 1400 S. Recently, I've come into a pair of these, them being discarded by a studio in which I have friends.
I considered myself lucky until I heard them: both of them produce massive broadband hum, though one more than the other. Not being familiar with the brand, I suspected faulty design, something along the lines of magnetic leakage from the toroidal transformer or such. Happens to great brands too, years ago I had to outrig a mains transformer from a Harrison graphic EQ for that reason.
But tonight I've read this thread, and it seems these beasts have some renown at least. Also, I was suspicious, because sounding like they do now, I was wondering why they had ever been installed in a professional studio in the first place.
So my question is: can anyone of you confirm they can sound great, and have not been designed carelessly, so it will be worth my while to try and restore them.
My oscilloscope today showed an enormous ripple of 1 to 2 Volts on the +/- 24.5 V preamp and ancillaries (fan and relais) power supply, whereas the +/- 84.5 V main stage PSU ripple stays nicely on or below 200 mV. Can anyone of you fall in with my opinion this is not normal?
Thanks in advance!

[Marco]

Hi 'hexdiy',

Welcome to AOS!

Before you go any further could you please pop into the Welcome area and introduce yourself to our community by supplying your first name, basic geographical location, system details and music tastes, as this is a requirement for all new members joining AOS.

Cheers!

Marco.

[hifi_dave]

We had a couple of these amps some years ago when the company was looking for Hi-Fi dealers. They really didn't float our or our customer's boats and we were completely under-whelmed. Powerful yes but uninvolving.

I don't recall them being all that expensive, though we thought them over priced for the performance. Potential buyers should listen before they buy unless the price is low.

[John]

Hey guys,
I stumbled on this forum while looking for the Chameleon 1400 S. Recently, I've come into a pair of these, them being discarded by a studio in which I have friends.
I considered myself lucky until I heard them: both of them produce massive broadband hum, though one more than the other. Not being familiar with the brand, I suspected faulty design, something along the lines of magnetic leakage from the toroidal transformer or such. Happens to great brands too, years ago I had to outrig a mains transformer from a Harrison graphic EQ for that reason.
But tonight I've read this thread, and it seems these beasts have some renown at least. Also, I was suspicious, because sounding like they do now, I was wondering why they had ever been installed in a professional studio in the first place.
So my question is: can anyone of you confirm they can sound great, and have not been designed carelessly, so it will be worth my while to try and restore them.
My oscilloscope today showed an enormous ripple of 1 to 2 Volts on the +/- 24.5 V preamp and ancillaries (fan and relais) power supply, whereas the +/- 84.5 V main stage PSU ripple stays nicely on or below 200 mV. Can anyone of you fall in with my opinion this is not normal?
Thanks in advance!

I have only heard Tim (MAD) 1400s and they been very clean and Transparent
they gone up against Brystons Audio Note and NuForce with good results I have not heard in my own system which is always the ultimate test Tim uses balanced mains and high quality silver cables and uses these to not only listen to music but to test as well Getting these repaired is not easy but did see a link on a DIY site

[PRYML]

So my question is: can anyone of you confirm they can sound great, and have not been designed carelessly, so it will be worth my while to try and restore them

YES, I do believe they're worth the effort of restoration... if you can do so without too much financial expenditure. You'll also be keeping a piece of recording history alive

I was also in attendance at Tim's place when we were auditioning MyClapton Grand MM loudspeakers. I preferred the speakers being driven by the Chameleon as opposed to the other two amps which were on hand i.e. Audio Note and NuForce.

Even though it lacked the beguiling warmth and subtlety of the Audio Note on some recordings, it did a lot to improve the immediacy/timing and impact of recordings that require those qualities for better appreciation. Perhaps matching with a more sympathetic speaker (slightly warmer-sounding) would be highly beneficial

Overall, I believe it's a better all-rounder (as in the Jack of All, Master of None sense though) as it's neutrality doesn't overly favour any one musical genre at the expense of another; great as well if you like your music loud without any obvious sense of strain

Regards,

Malek