Avantone CLA-10A Chris Lord-Alge Active Studio Monitors

Avantone Pro’s CLA-10A Chris Lord-Alge active studio monitors feature the AV10MHF and AV10MLF drivers from the CLA-10, cabinet construction and a beefy Class A/B power amp section.

The CLA-10A’s have an all-new “VTPC” knob or “Variable Tissue Paper Control.” This VTPC allows you to simulate anything from the Vertical “m” model to the horizontal “Studio” model and everything in between.
One of the most common questions asked about the CLA-10’s is which version of the originals are they based on. Now we can proudly say… all of them! The CLA-10A’s have an all-new “VTPC” knob or “Variable Tissue Paper Control.” This VTPC allows you to simulate anything from the Vertical “m” model to the horizontal “Studio” model and everything in between. This tone control allows each user to choose the best tweeter brightness that serves their individual needs.

Most two-way active speakers use a switch mode supply and Class D amplifier. While this has proven to work well in recent years, Avantone Pro are still traditionalists. With the success of the CLA-10 and CLA-200 amplifier combination, they decided to stay with what engineers all over the world have come to expect from this combination. The CLA-10 Active uses a linear power supply and 200 watts of Class AB output. Yes, it requires a heatsink. Yes, it weighs more. Yes, it sounds awesome.

Avantone Pro uses a monolithic integrated circuit Class AB amplifier with wide voltage range and high current output capability. Operating in Parallel Mode with two devices ganged together to deliver higher output power into low impedance loads, allowing better thermal performance at high power. At low power, THD is a phenomenal 0.005%; at rated load it is 0.1%, yielding excellent performance at power compared to class D amps. The circuit uses a mixed bipolar MOS high voltage technology called BCDII 100/120 which avoids secondary breakdown phenomena. This technology handles high current output without unwieldy circuit complexity and external components. This makes it possible to deliver very high power in a reasonable package with the clean, smooth sound of a linear amplifier.

The system is being run at +/-40 VDC, yielding a rock solid 200WRMS at 1kHz into 8 ohms. Rather than use a switch mode power supply with the associated noise, the CLA-200A comes with a more traditional linear power supply. The power supply uses a massive old school toroidal transformer for the classic performance of an AB amplifier. Many companies use SMPS and Class D for this type of system. Avantone Pro made the decision to stay with classic technology in order to maintain the legacy sound that everybody associates with this design.