Sonneteer Campion Vs Sonneteer Orton

Of course it’s not a fair fight on paper because the two are in different weight divisions, but I wanted to try and explain what the differences are.

First the Campion: It’s the most lyrical, serene and composed amp I’d come across. I’ve had a lot of amps through my doors and several have come after the Campion. Every one of them has had their pants pulled down by the Sonneteer, which has left them sounding like they didn’t belong in the same room.

I’ve also ran two Campions together before (the basis of the Orton), and the classiness and verve just ramps up. I’d expected the Orton to be much the same, albeit in a neat single box.

So to the Sonneteer Orton: It’s actually quite different. The first thing that strikes you about the Orton is the sense of power. It’s one of the beefiest amps I’ve had in a long time. It has the sort of qualities I’d expect from a big Exposure, but with more pizazz. It also shares the Exposure-like qualities of being more of a “front row” amp than the Sonneteer Campion. That surprised me and I’m not so sure it’s better.

When the music grows, it really does expand and swell, rather than get loud. It’s a surprisingly dynamic amp and I just can’t understand how a 33 watter can sound the way it does. My speakers are an easy load, so I don’t know how the amp will fare with tricker ones. All I can say is that it’s surprised me in terms of drive and dynamics, which I wasn’t expecting at all.

It’s also clearly “faster”. Naim fans will understand this notion. This is one aspect I’d rather not have. It’s the main area which I feel it loses to the Campion. The speed seems to come at the expense of note decay and vocal phrasing. I need to hear more to see how I ultimately feel about this aspect.

It still does most of the lovely things the Sonneteer Campion does, but the Sonneteer Orton offers a different dimension to the sound which I hadn’t heard anyone else comment on, or lead me to expect. I know my system and room very well. It’s grown dramatically in scale and presence since I installed the Sonneteer Orton. Moreso than in any other area.

Both the baby Campion and the daddy Orton are blindingly good amps AFAIC. Gaining the Orton hasn’t diminished my much loved “baby” in any way. It’s just given me another great amp and I need to figure out where and how to accommodate both. Now all I need is another Sonneteer CD player!